How Screen Monitoring supports stronger student engagement

When students are working on 1:1 digital devices in the classroom or learning remotely, it can be difficult for teachers to maintain visibility into what each individual is working on and how they’re progressing. LanSchool’s Screen Monitoring feature gives teachers the ability to view individual students’ screens or see all screens at once in thumbnail view so they can more effectively guide learning within the digital workspace. 

The new digital workspace: Why Screen Monitoring matters 

Incorporating digital learning in the classroom has opened up a world of opportunities for students to explore and grow online, but many students need guidance to stay focused and make the most of those opportunities.  

LanSchool’s Screen Monitoring feature allows teachers to be present with students – whether learning happens in the classroom or remotely – so they can more effectively guide learning and encourage student engagement.  

When a teacher recognizes a student is off-track, he or she can reach out to redirect them. Teachers may also choose to reach out to students who they observe to be progressing more quickly in order to expand on the lesson or personalize it. In addition, students can ask teachers to view their screens when they have a question about the assignment or their own progress. 

The technical side: How Screen Monitoring works

There are three primary views teachers will use to monitor student screens:

1. Grid View, which shows all student screens as a thumbnail.
2. Group View, which enables teachers to position those thumbnails in an order of their choosing. Teachers can also choose to expand any thumbnail into a fullscreen view for better visibility.
3. List View, which shows a list of each student in the class and enables the teacher to perform basic functions like pushing a website or blanking a student’s screen. If you’re in List View and the students are using Chromebooks, you’ll also have the capability to see a list of each student’s open browser tabs and close any tabs you deem inappropriate for the lesson at hand.

When students are using multiple displays, teachers will have different visibility levels depending on the student’s devices. For multiple Windows displays, LanSchool will cycle through each screen, whereas if the student is using multiple Mac displays, teachers will see the screen the student used most recently. Alternatively, if the student is on a Chromebook, the teacher will see the active browser tab, unless they enable Desktop View and receive the student’s permission to see one of their screens.

Voices from the field: How Screen Monitoring is making a difference 

Lucille Rivera, a seventh grade English Language Arts teacher in Waterbury, Connecticut, said that introducing LanSchool Air to her students immediately changed the level of engagement her students brought to their assignments and improved their communication with her as they worked. 

Engagement went up so much the second we were able to use LanSchool. Now [students] constantly ask me to view their screen to make sure what they’re doing is on track with my expectations.

Lucille Rivera, 7th grade English Language Arts teacher

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