As the COVID-19[1] pandemic continues to disrupt the education system, students are fighting back against the remote methods employed by some colleges to keep an eye on their activities during assessments.
Due to stay-at-home and lockdown orders, teachers and students worldwide were required to pivot to remote learning systems and platforms. Without warning, teachers found themselves trying to engage pupils over Zoom; online libraries and research platforms replaced traditional, brick-and-mortar buildings, and the parents of younger students found themselves balancing work from home and entertaining their kids.
For many governments, now, keeping kids in school is a top priority -- not only for their education but also to free up parents to go back to work.
See also: Students, university clash over forced installation of remote exam monitoring software on home PCs[2]
As college and university students head to campus to start their new term, at the same time the cold and flu season is beginning, COVID-19 outbreaks are also occurring.
Despite social distancing efforts, thousands of confirmed and suspected cases at US campuses[3] have prompted local lockdowns and students are being told to self-isolate.
In the UK, mere days after welcoming a new wave of students, 32 universities[4] recorded positive cases, including the University of Kent at Canterbury, the University of Glasgow, and Manchester Metropolitan University. In the latter case, students have called imposed lockdowns a form of "false imprisonment[5]."
The escalating situation may see many students -- whether or not they are in college accommodation -- return to online-only teaching. However, this has now become a minefield for privacy.
Back in August, ZDNet reported protests[6] organized by Australian National University (ANU) students for the enforced download