District Administration - February 2008 - (Page 16)

BRIEFINGS SecurityUpdate Cameras Document Evidence In Columbine-Style Plan AN IPBASED SURVEILLANCE SYS tem at Long Island’s Connetquot Central School District did the job in a case in which two teenagers had planned to create a Columbine High School-style massacre inside the local high school. The teenagers were charged last July after two people gave a handwritten journal detailing the plans for the attack to school oﬃcials at Connetquot High School, in Bohemia, N.Y. Given the district’s Dynaview Network Video Recorder (NVR) cameras, oﬃcials proved they reacted within minutes and identiﬁed the people who dropped oﬀ the journal, says Don Flynn, coordinator of security services. Summer school and camp activities were underway around the time, which meant up to 600 students and staﬀ members were in the building, Flynn says. “In the follow-up investigation, there were a lot of questions, such as how the journal came into our possession , and they [the cameras] proved a timeline, which helped us show that the district did not sit on the information,” Flynn says. When the people brought the journal to the high school oﬃce, staﬀ members brought it to the building principal, who notiﬁed Flynn’s oﬃce, and they contacted police. Better Quality and Scalability The district started implementing the new network-based camera system in 2006 and has 45 cameras, which hold about 10 times the storage and oﬀer greater picture quality than traditional DVRs, which the district had used. The cameras are “intelligent network devices” that use the school’s wide area network and are centrally connected to the NVR in the high school, according to David Antar, president of IP Video Corp., which manufactures the cameras. The system provides unlimited scalability, which can easily allow for additional cameras. It can also tie into access control systems, such building entry; building management systems, such as water level controls in boiler rooms to protect property; and video analytics. Similar IP-based surveillance systems also include On-Net Surveillance Systems, LenSec, and those from Axis Communications. StrandUSA, software integrator of digital Internet-based surveillance systems, can manage dozens of cameras and By Angela Pascopella A Connetquot School District security oﬃcer monitors video surveillance cameras from the Connetquot Security Command Center. software deployment. Principals at Connetquot can monitor cameras in their own building. Certain staﬀ members can also view the buildings’ cameras from home. The district monitors the cameras 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing real time information which can be immediately relayed to patrolling security oﬃcers. “We use the system proactively, not reactively,” Flynn adds. The high-quality cameras have saved the district in some civil liability cases, such as claims of injuries on school property and ﬁghts, he says. Connetquot school oﬃcials want to create a video area network where the Suﬀolk County police would be able to view school cameras. Diﬀerent brands of equipment could be brought to a central place without needing software. Ads Redirect Students from Studies MORE THAN THREEQUARTERS OF school principals and administrators consider commercial and pay sites as among their greatest Internet concerns for students in school, according to a 2006 survey by David Michaelson & Co. that was commissioned by Thinkronize. Administrators believe dangers for students on the Internet, such as online predators, are increasing, but 76 percent of respondents were most concerned with unauthorized redirection to commercial or pay sites when conducting online research. “Ad16 February 2008 supported sites allow for a wonderful free ﬂow of information,” says Randy Wilhelm, CEO of Thinkronize. “However, as the Internet becomes more and more ubiquitous and commercialized, we need to teach our weaned-on-the-Web children how to evaluate sites and to be critically aware of the ways they are being targeted for potentially dangerous and commercial purposes.” Educators report taking some actions to protect students, including installing ﬁlters, giving students instruction on safety, and purchasing special search engines. District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - February 2008

District Administration - February 2008
Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Technology Update
Security Update
Virtual Schools Update
Curriculum Update
Inside the Law
District Profile
The “Other” Advanced Program
State of the Superintendency
Landing the Chief
Purchasing Security Products and Services
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
Speaking Out
Professional Opinion
Supervisor’s Opinion
Overheard on the Pulse
New Products
Problem Solution
Computer Literature
Research Corner
Calendar of Events
Products Showcase
Understanding the Times

District Administration - February 2008