Princess Anne teacher keeps tabs with extra eyeballs

BIG BROTHER ISN'T WATCHING the computer screens at Princess Anne High School. But teacher John Harrison is.

Harrison has been using a program called SynchronEyes this year to watch every monitor in his classroom from his desk.

"There's a great temptation to do anything other than what they're supposed to do, especially when they think the teacher can't see them," said Harrison, who has been teaching computer programming for eight years.

From his desk in the computer lab, Harrison can stand and see most of the students' monitors as they work independently. But from his computer, he can get an unobstructed view of all 22 screens, along with icons showing whether each student has permission to be on the Internet.

He can pull up individual screens for a closer look, switch Internet access on and off and exchange files and messages with individual students or the whole group.

Not all students are happy with the technology, which is used in schools in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Norfolk and at local colleges. Some use other software with similar functions.

"I don't like it, because it restricts us a lot more," said Mike Armeli, a 17-year-old senior in Harrison's class. "It does its job."

Several students said such scrutiny is unnecessary.

"You're adding a block on top of a block," said Matt Issler, 17, referring to Internet filtering software that prevents students from reaching many Web sites on school computers.

To access music to add to the "worlds" they create in the Alice 3-D programming language, students must request special permission to go online, they said. Those music clips can mean extra points on an assignment.

Harrison said the software has been a timesaver. Before it was installed, students would get distracted by the Internet. Now, he said, students get more done in class.

SynchronEyes was provided as part of the grant that paid for the Alice programming tool and associated equipment. The software is made by Smart Technologies, the company behind the interactive whiteboards called Smart Boards.

Students already have found several work-arounds to disable SynchronEyes. Some methods crash it; others shut it off. Harrison said he's had a few "heart to hearts" with the class about letting the software do its work, and now most leave it alone.

Although some students miss playing games such as "Minesweeper" or checking their e-mail, most seem resigned to the restrictions.

"You have your personal space," Issler said, "but you're a student in a public school."

Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com