Security and the absense of reason

I had (am having) an interesting conversation with my supervisor.  Several Elementary school teachers have expressed concerns that their computers (Windows XP) are locked down to tightly - that they cannot install trivial peripherals, try new software, etc…

My position in our conversation is that a few trusted users should be granted power-user privileges.  It strikes me as asinine that computers are put into a teachers room, and then so locked down that the teacher cannot use them!  This is a classic fear-based response to network management, and qualifies as a “think-about-what-is-easiest-for-the-network-administrator-and-not-the-teacher” error. As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, there is a connection between how a teacher feels about technology and how the teacher implements technology.

Should a network be wide-open, with full administrator access to everything? no. Should a school be skillfully managed, balancing the needs of the users versus the needs of the organization? Yes. It makes me crazy when this happens in schools…what if we said to our kids…here is a computer, but you can only do 5 things with it…don’t bother exploring, or engendering curiosity… it’s better for everyone if the device just sits there, locked down.

Of course, these are windows machines, so some extra effort must be taken to keep them safe. But when security locks down a machine so much a user can’t explore it or use it, or try anything new, it’s an object-lesson in frustration.

Allow trusted users limited administrative access so they can experience the joy of trying something new in the teachable moment - the moment when they see something and want to try something, curious, motivated, and engaged.

On 26 September 2007, Aaron Ball inscribed the following thoughts about this post:

Bill I totally agree with you. In my school system the PCs we use carry a prescribed set of tools which are supposed to be enough for us. I’ve ended up using applications from Portableapps.com so that I can bridge some of the gaps left by on our computers. Right now I’m surfing in Firefox which isn’t supported by our school board. I also bring in my own laptop so that I can run games (yes, educational ones) without having to stress out our techs. There are ways around the road blocks but I wish I didn’t have to cheat my way through this stuff.

On 04 October 2007, A. Caldwell inscribed the following thoughts about this post:

As usual Bill, I agree with you, but how do those of us in the “tech departments” of schools best assess in a quick, fair, and consistent manner, who are the “trusted users”? It usually takes a certain amount of time, observation, conversation to figure out who those individuals are. For some teachers that window is too long, and by the time they are granted some access, they’ve lost the motivation to try to implement technology. It’s sad to loose those teachable moments! And as Aaron replied, it’s too bad we have to cheat to get around the blocks. So, maybe to answer my own question- design a tech aptitude test for teachers, require certain professional development prior to the “unlocking” of priveleges….  what do you think?

On 04 October 2007, Bill inscribed the following thoughts about this post:

Hi Anne!

I think all machines should be unlocked “just enough”  - Some teachers have no desire to plug anything in or install anything - that is fine…their computers should be locked up nice and tight, with an update server which can push changes to clients.

But for the slightly more technically inclined, I think allowing “slightly privileged” access is the key - don’t open up the whole machine, but allow them to:

1) install software
2) install drivers

I think they need to be trained, and the security on the machine has to be rock-solid. But without the ability to control your own desktop, computing becomes the total antithesis of what it should be…and open exploration, a journey of discovery.