Using visuals for the right reasons

When does visual technology cross the line and invade personal privacy? The recent episode of a Pennsylvania school using distance activated webcams to spy on a student in the privacy of his home has opened the door to examining when it is acceptable for "officials" to activate spying devices and when it has crossed boundaries of acceptability.

While the parents signed waivers for their children to have access to school purchased computers, this didn't entitle school officials to activate the webcam of a student who had not reported his computer missing (the reason the school was to be able to activate the device).

The whole area of visual and technical literacy comes with a whole new set of ethical problems for society to explore and act upon. For some time schools have been making deals with computer companies to put computers in the hands of our students. The computer in question was a 13-inch MacBook with built-in webcam. It seems harmless enough until it is discovered that it can be activated by adults spying on children in their homes. This seems to be giving too much control in the hands of educators or others in power positions.

What we can see and can't see is just as important as how we interpret what we see. Privacy is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. The lawsuit surrounding this case may be a step in the direction of setting more appropriate boundaries as to who can spy and when.

February 28, 2010

Some of the best sights I've seen this week are things of which I don't have pictures. Driving back from night classes I've had to pass through a valley filled with fog. It's the only place on the drive that had the dense moist air on either side of the high way. I was thinking how I wanted to stop and take a picture, but a picture wouldn't have captured it. I've tried taking pictures in the fog before, and my camera doesn't do it justice.

One of my favorites fogs occurred about a year ago in the spring when the snow was melting. A ground fog moved into the park across the street from my house. A thick mist hovered on the ground enveloping the bottoms of trees and the playground and skimmed across the top of the pond. I tried taking a picture, but it came out looking more like an overexposed photo. The fog, being an elusive entity that won't allow its picture to be clearly taken.

All weather seems like that. Snow flakes lose their magical quality and turn into streaks rather than the lacy patterns of ice. Rain takes on the same fuzzy characteristics of fog--turning the world into an unclear view. The aftermath, however, can be breathtaking: ice crystals formed on a weed, snow blown against a fence or piled deep in the back yard, puddles of water reflecting back a rainbow view.

I find the picture is never quite as striking as the original, yet, I still try to capture it.