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

  • TCU Marks Campus Expansion Milestone

    Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a topping-out ceremony to mark progress on a major campus expansion effort including four new residential facilities and a five-story parking garage, according to a news release.

  • ed tech conference calendar

    Upcoming Awards, Events & Webinars

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Hawaii Elementary School Reopens Following $25M Campus Modernization

    Haʻaheo Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, has reopened to students following a three-year, $25-million campus modernization and expansion project that significantly increases the school's instructional space while preserving one of the island's oldest educational institutions, according to local news.