What will students try to do with the new laptop computers in Chatham schools? Just ask the infamous “Kutztown 13.” According to one report,
The trouble began last fall after the district issued some 600 Apple iBook laptops to every student at this high school about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The computers were loaded with a filtering program that limited internet access. The machines also had software that let administrators see what students were viewing on their screens.
But the students easily cleared those barriers: The administrative password that allowed students to reconfigure computers and obtain unrestricted internet access was taped to the back of the computers.
Using that password, the students began downloading forbidden content. At least one student viewed pornography. Some students also turned off the remote monitoring function and turned the tables on their elders “using it to view administrators” own computer screens.
The administrative password on some laptops was subsequently changed, but some students decrypted it with a password-cracking program.
The students eventually got caught. You can read their side of the story at their own rather impressive website.