What is Biometric Technology?
“Biometrics are automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristic” (The Biometric Consortium, n.d.). Before one can consider the use of biometric technologies in an educational setting, or any setting for that matter, it is necessary to understand the basics of this powerful technology. In this section we will examine the basics of biometrics, and then move on to the details of specific biometric technologies. In everyday life, it is useful and necessary to both identify individuals and confirm what needs, responsibilities, rights and restrictions that person has. Such tasks are certainly necessary in educational environments, and they can be generalized into two specific steps: authentication and authorization. Authentication is the identification (who is this person?) and verification (is this the person I think it is?) of who a given person is. Authorization is the connection of appropriate actions (needs, responsibilities, rights, restr
