Reply #55: This is a truly stupid move by some schools

[comrade snarky]

And their IT departments. From the above article it sounds like the software to monitor laptops is freely available to school administrators so all you need is the password or monitoring application to gain access.

That is insane.

As a former IT administrator at a college there is no way in hell I would have allowed unfettered access to laptop webcams for school administrators to spy on and "mess with" students. Not without a massive chain of protests letters and replies going up to the top management and some final statements making it clear that I was doing this under protest. Even to activate one in case of theft I'd want a damn police report. My job search would begin the day I had to set this up. If I could afford it I'd walk out the door.

These people need a harsh lesson.