04.16.2007 at 9:17 am
how to make crack
on friday afternoon, i caught a student of mine reading an article on the Internet that was entitled how to make crack and freebase cocaine during my class.
well, let me start from the beginning... i recently purchased a software program named synchroneyes for my computer lab. it was $800, but worth every penny. it allows me to see everything that each student is doing on their respective computers from my desk. all at once. it also allows me to block certain computers from access to the internet and other various programs at my discretion. best of all, it has a quiz feature that lets me send a quiz to each student's computer for them to take. once they finish the quiz and submit it, the program grades it for me and sends each student their score.
Using SynchronEyes software, you can monitor and control your students' computers using the Thumbnails view, which displays real-time images of your students' desktops. You can completely customize the appearance of this view. In addition to viewing the thumbnails, you can capture snapshots of a student's screen, take control of a student's desktop, place a temporary lock on your students' computers, remotely shut down your students' computers, block Internet access, block the use of specific applications and broadcast your desktop to students. You can also use SynchronEyes software to communicate with your class, a group of students or an individual student. You can broadcast your desktop, conduct polls, send messages to students and receive replies, send files to students, distribute interactive quizzes, and more.
so, on friday, i had forgotten to turn on the block for the internet. there are certain classes who have pretty much free reign over the computers, and others that do not have access to much more than MSOffice and Paint.
apparently it was just too much temptation for some of them. i noticed that a couple of them were looking up shoes and prom dresses -- nothing too bad. even though, mind you, they knew they were not suppose to be on the internet. although, i have since found out that my students believe that if it is not blocked out, they have the right to use it. so, they get to say bye bye to the internet for a good long while now.
when i caught this student reading how to make illegal pharmaceuticals, i didn't react. i was actually waiting to see just what else he was going to look for. maybe i could catch him looking for some naked women -- or heck, naked men for that matter.
just as i made a screen capture of his screen (which is another nifty little feature of synchroneyes) someone's foot hit the button to the surge protector that goes to his row of computers.
and let me tell you, he was MAD. i found it quite amusing, seeing as he wouldn't be able to finish his reading. i walked over to him and asked him why he was so upset, to which he replied, "i was reading something!"
to which i replied, "why do you want to know how to make crack, anyway? you know exactly where that will get you."
he said that he was just reading -- he wasn't doing it.
i am sure that he was surprised that i knew what he was reading about; even though he knows i have this program that will allow me to see what they are doing. i then went back to my desk and printed out the screen capture of what he was reading. i instant messaged our school secretary to let her know what had happened, and within 5 minutes he was called to the office -- where he stayed the rest of the period.
after school, i went to the office to turn in my evidence, and i was told that the student had called him mother and wanted her to come to the school to tell them that he did not do what i said he had done.
now, explain to me, HOW IN GOD'S GREEN EARTH could his mother who was probably at work (or at least not in my room at the time) know exactly what he was doing while in my classroom?
i have been worried all weekend about having to meet with this parent. this is not the first unruly incident that this student has had in my classroom. i actually had a list and a few more screen shots of things he was doing on the computer that he wasn't suppose to be doing -- such as finding pictures of me and a few other teachers on his computer (school picture-day photos), putting them into MSPaint, drawing on them, and writing obscene words on them.
yeah.
so far, i haven't been called to the office for anything. hopefully i won't be.
xoxo
tell me i'm beautiful...
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