Student Accounts Provide Security
Safe Academic Computing Environment for Online Educational Activity
Floppies were once the safe saving media of choice for schools and students were expected to be careful when web surfing. Now it is thumb drives and firewalls. These methods, however, still pose potential problems for safety and security within a school. More schools are now creating local area networks for student use that provide students with their own account access through solutions such as roaming profiles, NIS and Kerberos.
Data Safety
As of 2005 about 50% of US schools had a computer available in each classroom. Since many schools have computer labs available for students, there is approximately one computer available for 3.8 students nation wide. To protect their work from theft or deletion students need to be able to keep their data secure.
USB thumb drives provide a convenient transport device for students and a small amount of security. They are also, however, easy to loose or damage.
Thumb drives have the additional security risk of viruses and portable software. Though portable software might sound useful, especially if encountering the inability to load a favorite web browser, it also permits students the means to play a favorite game or tunnel around a firewall to view a blocked site.
Providing students with their own account on the school’s network with a solution like roaming profiles, NIS or Kerberos gives them the ability to log in from any networked computer within the school. From there they can access their files and school assigned email. Some schools also allow external access to these accounts from home, allowing students easy access to their data and assignments from anywhere they can access the Internet.
Online Security
No matter how diligent a teacher is when students are using technology, students will find ways to access inappropriate sites or use instant messaging while researching. Firewalls can block many sites and instant messengers, but if someone gains access anyway, the firewall can only determine from which computer the site was accessed. Accounts allow administrators to determine which account and, by association, which student was involved in the incident.
Accounts also provide security within the school’s network. They prevent unauthorized access to the school’s resources. Backups of student data and resources can be made from a centralized location, reducing the potential for students to loose their work due to technological failure.
Student accounts are a consideration when assessing a school’s technology infrastructure for safe and secure computing. They provide a safe way for students to save their data and access both local and online resources. Accounts also give administrators more control when assessing student use of the network.
Reference:
Institute of Educational Sciences: National Center for Education Statistics. Access to Technology. Retrieved, July 9, 2008.
