Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Rhode Island SD Implements Software to Cut Student Distraction

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 09/13/19

The Warwick School Committee in Rhode Island unanimously approved the implementation of a software called GoGuardian Teacher to curb student distraction while using technology in the classroom. The software, described as a “Chromebook classroom management tool,” will cost the district about $120,000.

GoGuardian allows a teacher to monitor every student’s screen in their classroom. It will show the current website the student is viewing, as well as other tabs that are open and a history of sites that have been accessed during the session. Teachers are able to close tabs that are off task and direct message with each student.

Technology director Doug Alexander told the Warick Beacon that he hopes the software will “provide data-driven insights into how students stay on task and how many go off task, as well as help teachers observe and optimize their students’ use of technology within the classroom.” He wants teachers to view the tool as a way to boost engagement with students instead of a disciplinary tool.

The software will be used in secondary schools during school hours and only works when using the school WiFi.

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • 144-Year-Old High-School Campus Debuts New Academic Facility

    San Diego High School (SDHS) in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new student services and classroom building; the project is part of a larger SDHS Whole Site Modernization project that began in 2022.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.