LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Clark County School District banned a popular video conferencing app, ‘Zoom’, over security concerns. That decision has presented a challenge to teachers and parents.
The change was a surprising notification.
“I was a little sad,” said mother Jamie Johnson.
CCSD informed teachers and parents Wednesday night the app is no longer allowed. Teachers were relying on it for online distance learning.
Vicki Kreidel, a second grade teacher at Lomie G. Heard Elementary, set up class meetings in Zoom.
“I actually figured out how to use it,” she said.
Kreidel admitted she’s not a tech-savvy person, but she found success on the app.
“Every day, I’ve had a little more students showing up to my Zoom teaching session,”she noted.
CCSD claimed instances of hacking created unsafe environments for teachers and students. In a statement, CCSD acknowledged Zoom is a valuable tool. It reads:
“The safety and well-being of our students and staff remains our top priority. CCSD made the decision to disable access to Zoom out of an abundance of caution due to instances of hacking that created unsafe environments for teachers and students.
Understanding that Zoom is a valuable tool utilized by our school communities, we are looking at options to strengthen security precautions to potentially reopen access. CCSD is also developing additional tutorial materials for all platforms currently recommended for distance learning.”
“I think it’s a good program,” said Johnson. “I don’t see any problems with it.”
Johnson stated the change adds an additional challenge as her fourth-grade daughter adjusts to online education.
“It’s just another thing,” Johnson lamented. “You know, we thought we had everything under control. It was going good.”
Kreidel said she has to spend spring break learning a different platform she hasn’t used before.
She and others now need to adapt. They’ll choose another digital platform on the list approved for communicating with CCSD students.
