Cctv in Classrooms: Positive or Negative?

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CCTV in the classroom: positive or negative? During the past several years there has been an increasing interest in the use of CCTV in education. CCTV stands for closed circuit television, and by definition CCTV is a system of using video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors (dictionary.cambridge.org). CCTV was first used in WW2 by the Germans, and then was developed in the US in 1949 in New York for surveillance purposes. The UK is known as the leading user of CCTV. The UK government have a special code to operate this system and the public authorities have legislated in 2000 against CCTV (Act 2000 FOIA). Googling “CCTV definition”, in almost every search, the claim is that the main purpose of such cameras is for security and crime prevention. Studies have focused on the impact of CCTV on the element of safety and the legal issue about privacy (Hassard 2013)). So why in classrooms? Are schools becoming prisons? This article explores the use of CCTV as a teaching aid. Firstly, it discusses a current debate concerning this approach, secondly it explains the importance of observation in teaching and thirdly it analyses a case study where CCTV was used. Current Debate: There are a limited number of studies about the use of cameras in classrooms. Yet many educational institutions are using CCTV in schools, especially in the USA, the UK, and the Gulf. The use of those devices was outside classrooms such as in the corridors, playgrounds entrance gates, etc. But now, more schools are considering installing CCTV in classrooms. According to one source (Gates 2013), a project was funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation concerning this subject, which consists of installing CCTV in every classroom in the US. The concept is that teachers will be videotaped in their lessons and later, they will be evaluated by group of

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