April 2007 — News
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Biometrics in K-12: Ban or Buy? (Part 1)
See for Yourself You might have visions of those fingerprint-taking scenes in movies in which suspects roll their fingers over an ink pad. The capture process is now digitized. Anil Jain of Michigan State University has done extensive research on biometrics, particularly in the area of fingerprint technology. Several of his presentations are available at Michigan State University's Biometric Research home page for those interested in the fine details of how the technology works. View the product demo of M2SYS Windows-based Bio-Tracker. Don't be alarmed when you see the scanned fingerprint image on the screen, as I was. I spoke with a sales representative of the company (personal communication, March 29, 2007) who assured me that the feature can be disabled in product set-up. See the Quicktime Virtual Reality demos of hand and fingerprint readers from Human Recognition Systems. Use your mouse to rotate product images to see all sides. Be sure to turn off any pop-up blockers on your system. Panasonic provides a demo of its BM-ET300 for iris recognition. |
Biometrics are creeping into nearly every market in our society. The technology is used in forensics, government and law enforcement, healthcare systems, the military, business enterprises, and now in education to authenticate transactions, control entry into various facilities, monitor time and attendance, secure access to laptops, PCs, and networks, and more.
According to Anne Marie Dunphy, Chief Financial Officer of IdentiMetric, fingerprint recognition is by far the most developed of the biometric technologies, and represents 85 percent of the biometrics market ("Ask the Experts," 2006). However, after reading The Truth about Biometric Devices in Schools (Johns, March 27, 2007), I began to wonder if fingerprint scanning is really needed in a school lunch program and why biometrics, in general, might be needed anywhere within the K-12 setting. Aren't there more cost-effective ways to provide services for our young people and ensure privacy and security?
Parents, students, and civil liberties groups have legitimate concerns about biometrics.
My quest into the nature of this emerging technology revealed that before you decide to ban its use or buy into biometrics, you need to have an understanding of three aspects of biometrics:
- The technology itself and applications available;
- Knowledge of key issues and concerns that have been raised; and
- A keen eye for vendor claims coupled with a sound business plan of action that leads to a security solution you really need.
So, stay with me for a three-part look at this topic.
Initial considerations
I've taught in small towns, mid-sized and large urban districts and in more than one state. I'll be honest with you about my initial reaction to the article that prompted this investigation: "Use biometrics for food service to speed up a lunch line? Give me a break." Biometrics don't really save time, do they? The cafeteria staff can only put food on a plate so fast. Students take a while to make up their mind about what they want to order. And what's wrong with teaching students some responsibility? If they lose their lunch money or school debit card, well ... sometimes the cafeteria staff had that peanut butter sandwich and carton of milk available. I recall the days when there was a teacher or paraprofessional or volunteer in the cafeteria to monitor the lunch line so that bullying and cutting in line would not occur. Sometimes there were fights in the cafeteria. Certainly this was a greater security issue.
I thought that waiting for students to properly scan their finger on a reader might actually slow down mass-entry into the school. What's wrong with the good administrator and his/her teaching staff greeting students at the main door and classroom doors in the morning and during the day and knowing who the students are? (I hear you; you can't know everyone.) What's wrong with locking all doors except for the main entrance after the school day begins, so you can get out via any door for safety reasons, but not back in except via that main entrance? Visitors must enter through only one door and report to the main office for a visitor's pass.
I thought of other security measures we took in those buildings in which I taught. We had paraprofessionals who walked the halls and security guards. The year we installed surveillance cameras inside and outside of the school was a wake up call. Those dogs that were brought in sometimes to sniff out drugs really bothered me. I recall ID badges for students and staff, the classroom we converted for a city policeman to take up residence in the building each day, and the patrol cars that regularly circled the building during peak hours of student movement. In our initial attempt to secure data, staff and students used passwords for computer access.
Then the tragedy of September 11 (AKA 9-11) happened, and biometrics gained in popularity. My European relatives and visitors to the United States now need their fingerprints and picture taken to gain entry. These are high security measures. So, biometrics in schools seemed to be a questionable and costly solution for security--like technology looking for another home.
