GoGuardian has become the fastest growing education company in the country, but one of its core products, which enables teachers to monitor their students’ computer activity, has brought forth concerns about student privacy.
According to the company, the software, dubbed GoGuardian Teacher, has been used in over 30,000 schools across the United States. As the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district shifted into a remote learning environment, the district adapted GoGuardian’s technology to facilitate online learning.
“Technology—computers or phones—has the potential to be a major distraction, even for students who care about their academic performance,” English teacher Michael Irwin said.
The accessibility students have to non-school-related content, such as online games, can interfere with learning by diverting a student’s attention away from the material presented by the teacher. GoGuardian Teacher offers school districts a solution to the problem.
While the classroom management tool is running, teachers are able to see all the tabs that students have open. If a student is off task, the teacher can use GoGuardian Teacher to close tabs, send messages to a specific student or lock student screens. Teachers can also access a timeline-like report after class that shows what their students have been working on and how long they have been working.
“It has been a great tool to help keep students on task and can provide the necessary support for students during both remote and in-person learning,” the school’s Instructional Technology Facilitator Kenneth Kingsberry said.
Irwin agrees with Kingsberry’s sentiment and uses GoGuardian to keep his students focused on their assignments.
“Quite simply, if you are on a game when we are doing a writing assignment, I will lock you out of that site, which should theoretically steer you toward actually participating in our lesson,” Irwin said.
Students have acknowledged the usefulness of GoGuardian Teacher, as well.
“It’s a bit of a controversial take, but I think that [GoGuardian Teacher] is a good thing and can help students really stay on task,” senior Cole Malinchock said.
There are many teachers who have not yet adapted to using the software, however.
“I think the best way to monitor students’ work is to walk around the classroom, physically see what students are working on in their Chromebooks and address any problems with that student if they are off task,” social studies teacher Samuel Wilkins said.
Furthermore, the intrusive nature of GoGuardian Teacher has drawn criticism for its ethical implications. A prevalent complaint is that the software can operate at full functionality at any time, allowing teachers to monitor the activity of students’ usage outside of class or at home.
“The fact that it can be used at home is kind of concerning. It should only be used during a certain time period, from like nine to four,” Malinchock added.
The ability to access GoGuardian Teacher outside of school was created to accommodate a remote learning environment. Even so, its capability adds another layer of unease.
“If teachers want to use it during remote school, that makes sense. Beyond that, I think it’s very invasive for a teacher to be able to see into your personal laptop,” senior Molly Zolotor said, voicing her concern.
While GoGuardian complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, students and their families are often unaware that the monitoring software even exists, and school districts seldom communicate privacy implications with families.
“I think that students and parents should be notified about teachers that use it and how and when they’ll be using it, and they should have to give their permission,” Zolotor said.
