Tap "ChinaWire" above ↑↑↑ to follow us！
source: epochtimes.com
A high school in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province located on the eastern coast of China, has employed facial recognition technology to monitor students’ attentiveness in class.
At Hangzhou Number 11 High School, three cameras at the front of the classroom scan students’ faces every 30 seconds, analyzing their facial expressions to detect their mood, according to a May 16 report in the state-run newspaper The Paper.
The different moods—surprised, sad, antipathy, angry, happy, afraid, neutral—are recorded and averaged during each class.
A display screen, only visible to the teacher, shows the data in real-time. A certain value is determined as a student not paying enough attention.
A video shot by Zhejiang Daily Press revealed that the system—coined the “smart classroom behavior management system” by the school—also analyzes students’ actions, categorized into: reading, listening, writing, standing up, raising hands, and leaning on the desk.
An electronic screen also displays a list of student names deemed “not paying attention.”
The school began using the technology at the end of March, vice principal Zhang Guanchao told The Paper. Zhang added that students felt like they were being monitored when the system was first put in place, but have since gotten used to it. Teachers have used the data to change their teaching methods, Zhang said.
Since the school has introduced these cameras, it is like there are a pair of mystery eyes constantly watching me, and I don’t dare let my mind wander. -student at Hangzhou Number 11 High School
An unnamed student was quoted in an article published by the Sina News portal: “Since the school has introduced these cameras, it is like there are a pair of mystery eyes constantly watching me, and I don’t dare let my mind wander.”
Chinese netizens, however, raised concerns about such heavy surveillance of young students. On Sina Weibo, a social media platform similar to Twitter, one user from Beijing said: “this is more frightening than being in prison.”
Many users felt the school was violating these students’ basic rights with such monitoring. “They are not studying machines. Any human being will have moments when their mind wanders,” said a user from Fujian Province with the moniker “Laren.”
Check out www.echinawire.com for more content!
Subscribe by scanning below QR codes to get started.
A convenient way for foreigners and Chinese to buy real foreign imported products while living in China. Stay with ShopWire as we expand our products range. You can use either WeChat wallet or PayPal to purchase our products!
ChinaWire is the largest English WeChat Official account in China with over 150k subscribers. We post articles related to china and around the world as well as a survival mandarin section to help foreigners improve their Chinese skills.
WorldWire is a diversified account which mainly publishes breaking world news, entertainment, lifestyle, culinary and sports news from around the world.
Shop在线 is the Chinese version of ShopWire mainly for Chinese Customers. You can also use it if you are a foreigner with great chinese skills or introduce it to your Chinese friends. We guarantee only real imported products are sold on our shop.