Tech Tool Box
Blocksi
Blocksi Manager empowers 21st century teachers with a simple and efficient Classroom Management System for Chromebooks. It gives teachers the ability to see what is going on in every Chromebook at any point of time during class, and to collect analytics to improve pedagogy and develop curriculum.
Logging in to BLOCKSI
Select the Login button on the upper right
Select the blue TEACHER button to login using your email and password.
Creating Classrooms
You can create a classroom one of two ways
Link to a Google Classroom that you have ALREADY created
Manual creation
Class Creation through Google Classroom
If the teacher is already using Google Classroom, classes can easily be downloaded to the Blocksi Teacher portal. The teacher just needs to click on “Import classes from Google Classroom”. The teacher then needs to be assured that the same email account is used for Google Classroom and for the Blocksi Teacher portal.
Students will be automatically downloaded from the Google Classroom.
Manual Class Creation
Classes can also be manually created on the Teacher portal. The teacher just needs to enter class name and press “CREATE CLASS” button:
Adding Students to Manual Classroom
Click View Class button and then Add StudentClass Title: Admin or teacher can edit class title according to the requirements.
Duration Time: By default class duration is set to 0 minutes. This can be adjusted according to the schedule requirements.
Class Policy: Here, the filtering policy that will be used during class, is selected. This policy is only used when class session is active. By default everyone is set to On_Campus which will give you basic filtering (game sites are included in this filter). If you want to change to another filter that is provided by HISD, click the down arrow and pick from the list. Your policy options are below. Click here for details about each of these policies
On Campus
Block All
No YouTube
Off Campus
Restricted
Editing the Class Block and Allow List/Black and White List for ONE class period
If you would like to block or add a certain website during the class period and then have it removed after the class is over you can make those changes “on the fly.”
Make sure you have clicked the green Start Class button. This will not work if the class is not started.
Click the white down arrow to the right of “Class Block and Allow List”
Enter the URL that you want to either allow or block.
Click the Allow or Block button. The button turns blue once you have selected it.
Click the Add to List button.
The site will appear under either the Whitelist or Blacklist column.
You MUST end your class at the end of each class period! If you do not end your class, your students will not be seen by their next teacher.
FAQs
Can I see all the screens at the same time while students are browsing?
The Teacher dashboard shows you a collection of thumbnails of every student's screen in your classroom, near real time.
Can I see all the open tabs of every Chrome browser in my class?
The Teacher dashboard allows to see every open tab and close the ones deemed irrelevant.
Does the Teacher dashboard filter the internet automatically?
The Teacher dashboard enforces an internet and Youtube filtering policy set by the administrator.
Can I import my classes from Google Classroom?
The Teacher dashboard allows you to import your classes from Google classroom, as well as add students to the class based on their Google ID.
Does it pose any limitation in terms of Chrome extension that the student can use?
Blocksi Manager is fully embedded as an extension in Google Chrome and uses Chrome as a native browser.
Can I get data and insight of the sites visited during my class?
The Teacher dashboard allows you to collect analytics of which Web category your student visited, which Youtube videos were watched and which sites they went to during your class.
If you feel that you need a custom policy created for your classroom AND you have tried all of the policies that have already been provided, please contact your campus Innovative Learning Specialist by clicking on the button below. She can help you with this process.
AS ALWAYS, I WOULD LOVE TO SUPPORT YOU AS YOU IMPLEMENT DIGITAL LEARNING INTO YOUR CLASSROOM!
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