GoGuardian helps teachers monitor student progress

The Chrome-monitoring software GoGuardian becomes a valuable tool for teachers to help students while distance learning.

MacArthur students are having their web-browsing monitored by GoGuardian while distance learning. GoGuardian is a web-based application that teachers use to monitor students to see what they are doing during school hours.  Teachers can close tabs if students are not school-related websites, and they can make private comments to students to give them a warning that they can see their screen when they are not on task. 

“I can’t imagine running my class without GoGuardian,” said eighth-grade Science Teacher Mrs. Imrana Iqbal.  “I told the students on day one that I will be monitoring them on GoGuardian so they are aware.  I use GoGuardian for multiple reasons, some of them are the following:

Through GoGuardian I can see misconceptions that a student might have about an assignment, and I re-address it to the entire group.  I use GoGuardian to send texts to individual students to remind them to be on task if they are working on another assignment.  I can close unnecessary tabs that a student might have during my class.  I take screenshots of students’ screens if I want to share their work as an example (I keep it anonymous).  

Sometimes I use screenshots as evidence for that student not being on task.   Also, I can open tabs or send links to students if they are having trouble getting to a site, especially my tests and quizzes on google forms that are limited by ‘scenes.”

Iqbal also said most of the “teachers use it to monitor students and hold them accountable for being on task but GoGuardian has a lot of other sources too, which I have mentioned above.”  She thinks GoGuardian “is not only helpful for teachers but also for students because it helps keep them on task and allows her to help students who are struggling”. 

Students, though have different perspectives on the monitoring software.

Eighth-grader Tiffany Enciso said, “I don’t really like GoGuardian because it sees everything we do during school.  But at the same time, other kids might be searching up in inappropriate stuff,  so then the teacher can see what they are doing and will get in trouble.”

Eighth-grader Marie Gonzalez said, “I think GoGuardian is a good thing to have for teachers since we are in distance learning and many people may just cheat through school, but I also don’t like that they can see everything we do.”