Copperas Cove ISD implements new technology to detect online threats
By WENDY SLEDD
Special to the Leader-Press
The amount of time children spend glued to a screen has risen dramatically in the last 20 years. According to ChildWise, children ages 5 to 16 spend an average of six and a half hours a day in front of a screen compared with around three hours in 1995. Teenage boys spend the longest, with an average of eight hours. Teenage girls now spend an average of seven-and-a-half- hours a day watching screens.
With every student in Copperas Cove ISD being issued his own device, Chief Technology Officer Maron Samuel says school safety and security is a priority for the district and that includes keeping students safe when online.
“We take this very seriously,” Samuel said. “A number of alerts have been received from our firewall safety policies and we needed to take a proactive measure in allowing the campuses to review those alerts.”
The school district has implemented Bark for Schools which proactively monitors student text messages, YouTube, emails, and more than 30 different social networks for potential safety concerns. Both the school district and parents are able to monitor student activity.
"Bark provides an additional content filter notification that comes directly to administrators,” said S. C. Lee Junior High Principal Brian Jost. “This allows campuses to respond promptly to areas which may cause a health, safety, or security threat."
Bark for Schools was developed in the wake of the tragic shooting at Parkland, Florida, providing technology for keeping children safer while on their devices and providing an additional layer of security for schools. Bark is free for education entities and provides a parent portal for active review by parents.
“Bark connects to most applications used by our students in the district and is able to detect and report on our students’ online or digital worlds,” Samuel said. “By actively monitoring our kiddos, we are able to better prepare them for the outside world as well as detect potential security risks. These risks include suicide discussion, active threats towards the district, bullying, and others.”
Copperas Cove Junior High Principal Jeff Shannon sees Bark as beneficial to the safety of his campus and its students.
“Bark filters key words and phrases associated with all different types of negative behavior,” Shannon said. “This technology surveillance allows us as administrators to address many of our student concerns in a discreet but meaningful manner. Bark is timely and efficient and allows for early detection of possible negative outcomes.”
Samuel said the district implemented Bark this week and will make the parent access available in the near future after all connections with the program are completed.
“Every campus is involved in the review process for its students,” Samuel said. “Effectiveness will be measured by how we actively prepare our students for digital awareness and being responsible with their own digital footprints.”