If you’re a teacher who works at a district with a 1:1 technology implementation, you may worry about students using their devices for personal use instead of for learning. While technology is a great tool to keep students engaged, it also has the potential to distract students if teachers do not have control over the devices. Introducing, GoGuardian.
GoGuardian helps teachers stay in control both on and off campus. We think that GoGuardian will save you so much time and effort spent on monitoring what students are using their devices for.
One of the main concerns for teachers is that it can be hard to keep track of 20 to 30 screens at the same time. With GoGuardian, teachers have access to the tab control feature. Tab control allows you to close out tabs a student has up and view all of the screens at one time. So if a student is off task in a minor way like browsing the web or checking social media when classwork is assigned, a teacher can close out the tab and send a reminder for the student to stay on task via the student teacher chat feature of GoGuardian.
Kids can be sensitive if they get in trouble, so the student teacher chat feature can prevent potential tears and make off-task students feel less singled out. This feature also prevents teachers from interrupting the lesson and distracting children who are on task by calling a student out verbally. The teacher and student chat feature allows teachers to talk directly with students whenever they need to keep in touch. This is great for kids who are shy or feel uncomfortable asking a question in front of the entire class, because students can send teachers a question privately. Teachers also can see student screens, so if a student is visibly struggling, the teacher can come over to provide assistance.
GoGuardian also allows teachers to create individual policies for different students on their dashboard. Teachers can also disable all internet access. This feature can prevent the temptation of cheating. GoGuardian also has options for teachers to create custom lesson plans, so students will know exactly what assignments they should be working on.
In our opinion, Go Guardian’s Smart Alerts makes this program a game changer for teachers. Smart Alerts are designed to scan pages and make decisions whether to block or allow specific content. Algorithms of the software can actually understand the content of the page in real-time. Smart Alerts can analyze how severe the inappropriate content is, and alert the teacher so he or she can take action immediately. Adult content like pornographic sites are blocked automatically.
GoGuardian offers a free hour long training course to cover the basics and make sure that teachers are trained on how to use the software correctly. This software is easy to navigate, and even if a problem arises, customer care agents are available to chat during school hours.
Overall, we feel that GoGuardian is a great tool for teachers to help students practice safe internet use and teach kids what sites are inappropriate and appropriate for school.