September 2003 — Applications
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Internet Monitoring Software Keeps PACE-Brantley Hall School's Students Online, In-Line
School administrators learned that Pearl Echo could also alleviate the risk of potential legal liabilities. For instance, an incident occurred where a teacher was accessing inappropriate Web content for which the teacher was reprimanded. Without the monitoring software, the teacher's actions would have gone unnoticed and the school could have been held liable if someone had complained about the teacher's online activities.
One of Pearl Echo's features that particularly impressed Glase was its ability to set varying levels of restrictions for different user groups. Because the program can be set to allow Internet access at certain times of the day, the school's students are provided Internet access from 7 a.m. - 5 p.m., while teachers are allowed access all day. Teachers are also allowed special access, such as limited online shopping privileges, which students are not.
In addition to pinpointing network abusers by user name, Pearl Echo recognizes each computer's "MAC address," which is a unique ID embedded into a computer's hardware. Thus, a network administrator can prove that a particular machine was used to visit a forbidden site or send unauthorized e-mail. Glase can then compare this information with teachers' classroom computer logs to track down offenders.
Although Glase finds Pearl Echo easy to use, he says it would be difficult for students to hack. "When Pearl Echo is running on a computer, it is transparent to the user," he says. "The software resides on a restricted server so there is virtually no way a student could gain access to disable the program."
While students were obviously happier when they could freely roam the World Wide Web, PACE-Brantley Hall School administrators and parents now rest assured that there are controls in place to protect children online. "I'm not Big Brother," says Glase. "I am just making sure that the school network is used for what it was originally intended - helping children learn."
Contact Information
Pearl Software
(800) PEARL-96
www.pearlecho.com
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