Here is a fun fact: classrooms are moving online. Gone are the days when monitoring a student was as simple as walking around the classrooms. Now, students are taking their studies online, prompting teachers to seek ways to take their “monitoring spirit” to the internet. The Classroom Relay is one such tool to help teachers in their virtual classroom duties.
The world is constantly changing from the manual lifestyle we are used to, to a virtual one that we are trying to get used to. Formal education is not left out, making it imperative for educators to keep up with the trends.
Therefore, this article explains to students, parents and teachers what they need to know about Classroom Relay.
What is Classroom Relay?
According to Go2Tutors, Classroom Relay is a way for teachers to monitor students’ internet use during classroom teaching hours. It is an online teaching tool that is powered by Google Classroom and allows teachers to tune into what is happening on a registered Chromebook device that is being used by a student in real-time. With Classroom Relay, teachers can check on their students both physically and virtually.
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However, the tech is set in such a way that teachers can do their monitory only during classroom hours. Other functions of this tech include talking with students one-on-one, responding to students who need help and blocking any site that a teacher deems inappropriate for a student. In simple terms. Classroom Relay is the virtual form of walking around the classroom to monitor what your students have been up to.
Classroom Relay Lightspeed
The Classroom Relay Lightspeed, also known as Lightspeed Classroom Management, is an online educational technology that helps teachers effectively manage classrooms in real time by taking control of students’ devices to limit distractions. Teachers will also have more time to support their students in learning by vetting URLs, closing distracting tabs, blocking inappropriate websites and enabling screen sharing for a more engaging and interactive classroom session.
To use Lightspeed Classroom Management, visit the website and click on “Lightspeed Login” on the top left to sign up.
How does Classroom Relay work?
You can set up Classroom Relay through Google Classroom, where you can set up each class with the appropriate periods. Make sure you sync with those students’ classroom accounts. This is very important so you will be able to monitor what they are doing in real-time.
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There are various ways to monitor your students using Classroom Relay. Let us take a deeper look at these ways:
Insights
Insight is the first thing you will see on Classroom Relay. This function prompts the teacher to see if there are concerns about what a student is browsing online or if they are not performing their tasks. Insights also alert the teacher if a student is attempting to login into a blocked site.
Share screen allows a teacher to share their screen or a student’s screen with the whole class at the same time. It is just a click away to let the students see whatever their teacher chooses to share with them.
Lock screen
The lock screen allows a teacher to quickly lock the screen for a student with the click of a button. For instance, the teacher can choose “lock for five minutes” if they want to lock the screen quickly.
Record screen
A teacher can record what a student is doing or working on at the moment. They can also set the Classroom Delay to record a single student’s screen for a designated period or toggle it on or off to save the recording.
Send a message
If you want to know if your student is staying on their task, all you have to do is ask. With Classroom Relay, you can use the send message function to individual student or the whole class.
Send link
This works like the send a message. The only difference is that the teacher will send the link that they want their student to see as part of their lesson.
Focus mode
This part of the Classroom Relay allows the teacher to limit students’ access to certain websites. For instance, the teacher can choose to grant access to only one website, especially if the students are taking a test.
Overall, the Classroom Relay has become a necessary part of classrooms both in schools and other locations where virtual learning is allowed.
However, there are concerns about privacy violations. Katie Gorton wrote an article, Know Your Phone Rights! where she argues: “Schools do not have any right to look at your personal property or information without a warrant.”
Classroom Relay undeniably comes with a lot of benefits. However, it is unclear if these benefits outweigh privacy issues.
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