Teacher Suspended For Homemade Cellphone Jammer

[Steven Bogos]

Teacher Suspended For Homemade Cellphone Jammer

Professional wrestler turned high school science teacher Dean Liptak has been suspended for using an illegal cell phone jammer in his class.

Anyone in any of the "older than high school kid" generations have no doubt said something along the lines of "kids these days spend too much time on their damn phones" at some point. I know I certainly have, and I can hardly imagine how frustrating it must be for the fine teachers of the world who have to try and get these kids to focus on their studies. The frustration of trying to teach people who are constantly glued to their phones proved too much for professional wrestler turned high school science teacher Dean Liptak, who utilized some kind of home-made cell phone jammer in his classes.

Liptak has been suspended without pay for five days following the incident, which the school board's superindentent described as an exercise in "poor judgement" which "posed a serious risk to critical safety communications as well as the possibility of preventing others from making 9-1-1 calls."

In his defense, Liptak stated that he never intended his device to be used for malicious means, and he could have switched it off at any time should an emergency arise. "My intent for using the device was to keep students academically focused on schoolwork. It is counter productive to stop instruction and lose academic focus when I have to tell a student to put his or her cell phone away."

The Federal Communications Commission, states [https://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/jammer-enforcement] that "federal law prohibits the operation, marketing, or sale of any type of jamming equipment." It is unclear where Liptak got his device from, but his letter to the school board describes YouTube videos that show users how to make their own home-made jammers.

Liptak was previously reprimanded in 2013 after he used violent questions on a test referencing the velocity of a student thrown against a wall by a teacher and the mass of a car running over a baby.

Source: Ars Technica [http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/06/florida-science-teacher-suspended-for-signal-jamming-students-cell-phones/]

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[Fappy]

I'd love to be one of his students. Think of how novel this situation is? The "our comms are being jammed!" jokes would never end!

 

[runic knight]

Hell, I'll be honest, I support the teacher in this one. The damn thing having an easy to use switch or even a deadman, and making sure everyone knows "turn this off to use phones again" and it solves all the emergency problems while still being functional.

Legality wise... well, less then right there sadly. I wouldn't argue that the law against jammers is sort of dumb myself, but I think some special cases could really have positive benefits. Considering teachers have fewer and fewer means to actually do anything to stop kids from being assholes, a phone jammer seems reasonable for a guy to drift towards as a solution.

Perhaps he could just install some iron pipe in the walls, or have a couple powerful microwaves running at all times instead? Jamming devices may be illegal, but not the act of interfering with a signal itself through secondary means like a good old Faraday cage.

 

[Objectable]

Wait, he was a wrestler and built his own cell phone jammer?
This guy is awesome.

 

[Meximagician]

I remember seeing a DIY video on making a hand-held jammer, one example of use was for some peace and quite while riding an elevator.

As for the previous reprimands, the baby/car thing is a bit much, but the student-velocity-at-wall question?

In the words of Nathan Explosion: "That's pretty fu--" *pinch harmonic* "--in' metal."

 

[Creator002]

As someone who's taught students before (TESOL - teenage/adult class), I understand how frustrating it is to see students there who don't want to learn and, as much as I see how he thought it was a good idea, I can see problems arising right away.

 

[Dimitriov]

High School Teacher Suspended For Homemade Cellphone Jammer




Liptak has been suspended without pay for five days following the incident, which the school board's superindentent described as an exercise in "poor judgement" which "posed a serious risk to critical safety communications as well as the possibility of preventing others from making 9-1-1 calls."



Permalink

Oh, for fuck's sake. Fine, it may well be illegal to jam communications. But, seriously? The world was fine before everyone had a phone in their pocket to call 9-1-1 at the drop of a dime.

This is a bullshit line of reasoning. Yes, something might happen. Something always might happen. That's not a good rationale for dictating behaviour.

 

[klaynexas3]

My biggest concern with this idea is my lack of understanding of jammers. Does it work in a radius? If so, doesn't that mean that unless the jammer is programmed to be just the size of the classroom, and is also dead center in the room, that the jammer would affect other classes that couldn't simply switch the thing off? Again, I could be off, so correct me if I'm wrong on that people.

 

[Kyogissun]

The questions are odd but maybe he just has, you know, a sense of humor.

As for the jammer, if the device was actually capable of harming communications, sure, reprimand him, but a suspension seems like bullshit.

 

[Yopaz]

Hell, I'll be honest, I support the teacher in this one. The damn thing having an easy to use switch or even a deadman, and making sure everyone knows "turn this off to use phones again" and it solves all the emergency problems while still being functional.

The problem is the radius of the jammer. Let's say someone has a seizure in a different classroom and they need to call 911. Then it may confuse those in the other room why they suddenly can't make a call and they have to actually find the jammer in order to turn it off.

Now I understand this guy all too well. A cellphone jammer would be practical in schools to prevent communication, especially under tests, but I see it all to easy how this could lead to harm. I don't know about elsewhere, but we're getting rid of all land lines within next year so cell phones are soon the only way of communicating, but if every classroom had a land line this wouldn't be a bad idea.

Edit: Someone cleared it up for me that most schools in America have a land line in every class room making my point invalid. Please disregard my entire post.

 

[JemothSkarii]

First thing I thought of was Lesson of the Evil. Thought wrestling moves instead of an over-under shotgun would have been humourous to say the least.

Anyways, I can see where he's coming from. Don't necessarily agree with it (Kids who don't want to be there will do anything regardless of whether their phone is active or not) But at least he's only being slapped with a suspension and nothing heavier. Unless suspensions for teachers are really bad.

Bit silly to be upset over 'violent' questions though. When I was in Primary School our teacher read us a book where he'd kill the cast at the end of every chapter in various ways. It's just a sense of humour.

 

[shirkbot]

Hell, I'll be honest, I support the teacher in this one. The damn thing having an easy to use switch or even a deadman, and making sure everyone knows "turn this off to use phones again" and it solves all the emergency problems while still being functional.

The problem is the radius of the jammer. Let's say someone has a seizure in a different classroom and they need to call 911. Then it may confuse those in the other room why they suddenly can't make a call and they have to actually find the jammer in order to turn it off.

Now I understand this guy all too well. A cellphone jammer would be practical in schools to prevent communication, especially under tests, but I see it all to easy how this could lead to harm. I don't know about elsewhere, but we're getting rid of all land lines within next year so cell phones are soon the only way of communicating, but if every classroom had a land line this wouldn't be a bad idea.

You live either in a world gone mad or a world of 100% perfect cell phone reception. But seriously, last time I checked, the schools in my area still had landlines because of a combination of spotty cell reception and that they provide a good way to allow communication between teachers and the main office. I don't know about the school in the article, but it's in the US so I would be amazed if it didn't have a landline system.

 

[Yopaz]

Hell, I'll be honest, I support the teacher in this one. The damn thing having an easy to use switch or even a deadman, and making sure everyone knows "turn this off to use phones again" and it solves all the emergency problems while still being functional.

The problem is the radius of the jammer. Let's say someone has a seizure in a different classroom and they need to call 911. Then it may confuse those in the other room why they suddenly can't make a call and they have to actually find the jammer in order to turn it off.

Now I understand this guy all too well. A cellphone jammer would be practical in schools to prevent communication, especially under tests, but I see it all to easy how this could lead to harm. I don't know about elsewhere, but we're getting rid of all land lines within next year so cell phones are soon the only way of communicating, but if every classroom had a land line this wouldn't be a bad idea.

You live either in a world gone mad or a world of 100% perfect cell phone reception. But seriously, last time I checked, the schools in my area still had landlines because of a combination of spotty cell reception and that they provide a good way to allow communication between teachers and the main office. I don't know about the school in the article, but it's in the US so I would be amazed if it didn't have a landline system.

I live in a modern country where we're moving away from analog signals because they are more expensive to maintain and offer no advantages over digital. This is what 21st century looks like.

Edit: Also, does every classroom have a separate land line? If not my point still stands.

 

[shirkbot]

I live in a modern country where we're moving away from analog signals because they are more expensive to maintain and offer no advantages over digital. This is what 21st century looks like.

Edit: Also, does every classroom have a separate land line? If not my point still stands.

I sent a PM about the other bit, so I'll just address the edit: Yes. Teachers need to dial a special extension in order to call any number not within the school, but every classroom has, or at least had, its own landline phone.

capcha: I... I have no idea... I had to flip through over 20 capcha pictures before I found one I even thought I could read...

 

[Cartographer]

Hell, I'll be honest, I support the teacher in this one. The damn thing having an easy to use switch or even a deadman, and making sure everyone knows "turn this off to use phones again" and it solves all the emergency problems while still being functional.

The problem is the radius of the jammer. Let's say someone has a seizure in a different classroom and they need to call 911. Then it may confuse those in the other room why they suddenly can't make a call and they have to actually find the jammer in order to turn it off.

Now I understand this guy all too well. A cellphone jammer would be practical in schools to prevent communication, especially under tests, but I see it all to easy how this could lead to harm. I don't know about elsewhere, but we're getting rid of all land lines within next year so cell phones are soon the only way of communicating, but if every classroom had a land line this wouldn't be a bad idea.

You live either in a world gone mad or a world of 100% perfect cell phone reception. But seriously, last time I checked, the schools in my area still had landlines because of a combination of spotty cell reception and that they provide a good way to allow communication between teachers and the main office. I don't know about the school in the article, but it's in the US so I would be amazed if it didn't have a landline system.

I live in a modern country where we're moving away from analog signals because they are more expensive to maintain and offer no advantages over digital. This is what 21st century looks like.

Edit: Also, does every classroom have a separate land line? If not my point still stands.

I'd suggest that the ability to get a phone message out in the presence of digital jamming equipment is a pretty major advantage over digital

Seriously though, you're arguing convenience over necessity. It was never common to have a phone in each room of any building before we got mobiles and carried them everywhere, we managed fine having to move short distances to get emergency signals out, that fact has not changed just because we're used to being connected 24-7. Frankly, I'd support any legislation that exempted schools from any anti-jamming laws (and cinemas, god don't get me started on the ignorant, self-centred morons who think it's ok to ruin everyone else's experience "'cus Chantelle texted and she's totes got some hot goss!").

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Florida is completely retarded anyway. Here's a country that stands to lose the most because of climate change, and they don't even believe that it's real. Hard to have sympathy for such idiots. They also have that stupid "stand your ground" law. So this latest example of idiocy doesn't surprise me either.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

So a wrestler-turned-science-teacher made an illegal signal jammer to keep kids off their cells, and he's had issue before with violent descriptions? That's sounds like something out of an Adult Swim show. (Hence the Nathan Explosion quote above.)

Couldn't he have just threatened to power bomb (preferably the tactical nuke from Metroid, but I guess the wrestling move suits him better) or suplex any brat that can't keep their phone tucked away for 50 minutes? Sure, that is illegal too, but who knows how effective his jammer could have been. Also, wasn't he allowed to confiscated them at least for the duration of the class, if they became a problem? When I was in high school a decade ago, my district acted like a totalitarion communist dictatorship and confiscated phones, cd players, handhelds and the like, even if you were just in the hall minding you own business well before the first class of the day.

I also can understand his predicament, though. I was in a class about metal cutting tools for a month in a room with computers for everyone, and almost everyone else had random youtube vids or some unrelated website popped up during the lectures. And that was a group of people ranging from mid 20s to 50s.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Honestly I'm in more support with this teacher or rather I don't get why the entire school boards don't have one already, that is if they can afford it?

Obviously we all know the teacher are not stupid to keep it on during an emergency or there should be a clear off button on it.

 

[CrystalShadow]

heh. Well, that's a bit extreme, but I can understand the temptation.

Fun fact, I'm a student pilot, and this made me even more curious as to why mobile phones have to be switched off during a flight...

Well, I finally got an answer or two, and it's kind of surprising.

Firstly, yes, they do interfere with onboard equipment. (radio equipment. You can hear interference on the radios sometimes if there's nearby mobile phones)

But the reason they are banned is actually because early on when we had analog phones, some models of phone would jam the cell tower network if taken to high altitude.

Remember that at ground level you have maybe half a dozen towers visible to any given phone. These towers all have to process a signal from your phone.

Now imagine you fly over a city at 20,000 feet. Your mobile is now potentially in range of thousands of mobile phone masts all at once. Which, as it turns out, with certain combinations of old analogue phones and infrastructure could... In effect cripple ALL of the towers your phone connected to, because they weren't intended to handle that.

So... In theory, a phone on an airliner could cripple mobile phone coverage over a huge area.

Weird, isn't it? XD

But seriously though, who thought it was a good idea to stick a jammer in a classroom?
And how far is the reach of that jammer?

It's not nessesarily just the classroom itself you are jamming. You could be jamming signals over a much wider area.
Being able to turn it off is meaningless if you are jamming signals half a block away where people don't have the slightest clue what it is that is jamming the signal.

You might be able to turn it off in an emergency IF you see the emergency in that one classroom.
But if it's not there, you may well be messing things up for people quite far away who would have no idea you are jamming the signal, and neither would you know you are messing up their signal...

Not a good idea.

 

[Lil_Rimmy]

heh. Well, that's a bit extreme, but I can understand the temptation.

Fun fact, I'm a student pilot, and this made me even more curious as to why mobile phones have to be switched off during a flight...

Well, I finally got an answer or two, and it's kind of surprising.

Firstly, yes, they do interfere with onboard equipment. (radio equipment. You can hear interference on the radios sometimes if there's nearby mobile phones)

But the reason they are banned is actually because early on when we had analog phones, some models of phone would jam the cell tower network if taken to high altitude.

Remember that at ground level you have maybe half a dozen towers visible to any given phone. These towers all have to process a signal from your phone.

Now imagine you fly over a city at 20,000 feet. Your mobile is now potentially in range of thousands of mobile phone masts all at once. Which, as it turns out, with certain combinations of old analogue phones and infrastructure could... In effect cripple ALL of the towers your phone connected to, because they weren't intended to handle that.

So... In theory, a phone on an airliner could cripple mobile phone coverage over a huge area.

Weird, isn't it? XD

But seriously though, who thought it was a good idea to stick a jammer in a classroom?
And how far is the reach of that jammer?

It's not nessesarily just the classroom itself you are jamming. You could be jamming signals over a much wider area.
Being able to turn it off is meaningless if you are jamming signals half a block away where people don't have the slightest clue what it is that is jamming the signal.

You might be able to turn it off in an emergency IF you see the emergency in that one classroom.
But if it's not there, you may well be messing things up for people quite far away who would have no idea you are jamming the signal, and neither would you know you are messing up their signal...

Not a good idea.

Preeeeetty sure the radius isn't half a block, as I'm almost certain that people everywhere would be getting angry every time someone made a jamming device.

But still, I kinda get where some people are coming from, but he could always limit the range to the classroom. Really wouldn't be that hard.

Also, the whole "THEY COULDN'T CALL 9-1-1!" bullshit? Bugger off, people have survived an emergency without immediately being able to hyperventilate to a responder. Christ, in my primary school we were all taught that if in an emergency where you couldn't get an adult, just use the land line in any damn room and press 0-0-0 (far more convenient to a child's brain that 9-1-1 if I do say so myself)