Update for Tech Managers 12-07-2022

 Hello everyone!  Some quick technical-oriented updates on what we're doing this month.

Wireless update ... Fremont1_BYOD

The Fremont1_BYOD network is solely for non-district devices; it should not be used by any district-owned device.  If a district Chrome device does connect to it, the device will switch itself back to Secure within a minute or so.  We are hearing that some devices that should be able to connect are being disallowed, and we are also seeing in the dashboard that devices that should NOT be allowed on BYOD are still getting on (especially Android devices).  We are reaching out to Meraki to see if there's a way to fine-tune the identification settings that determine what kind of device is connecting.  If there is a student or staff member with an educational personal device who is having trouble, let us know the details and we can add it to our investigation.

Wireless update ... Fremont1_District new secure network

We are planning to make this network the default network for all Chrome devices on Wednesday the 14th, so we can ensure all devices have its settings before the holiday break.  We will leave the Secure SSID on until break to ensure the change has a time to get to as many Chromebooks as possible.  The new network will be called "Fremont1_District" to prevent confusion with its name and wireless key.

Linewize content filtering for Chrome devices

The Linewize content extension is now installed on all Chromebooks and Chrome desktops.  As of Tuesday the 6th, we have ​also ​turned on some of the ​filtering ​rules ​so ​we can fine-tune our settings and see how live traffic appears in the Linewize dashboard.  

Our goal is to switch from IBoss to Linewize for all Chrome OS devices over the holiday break. ​The change can be done in a minute; we just turn off the IBoss extension when we're ready, and the change goes out when a Chromebook updates its settings.​

The Linewize block screen (shown below) is more informative than IBoss' screen.  It includes a "See why" button that lists the applicable rule that caused the site to be blocked.  If you see something that is now blocked and shouldn't be, send us a screenshot of the "See why" screen so we know the exact rule to investigate.​  One site that may no longer be available is duckduckgo search, as this does not enforce a "safe search" structure.  There may be other sites.  ​

  

Linewize content filtering for Windows desktops

Once our physical appliance arrives, then we will start moving Windows and other non-Chrome devices over to Linewize.  This work will be ongoing through the end of April (when IBoss expires) and will have to be done manually because IBoss does not uninstall very gracefully.  We will let everyone know in January about this, and start scheduling remote times to connect and get it done.  This spring work will replace our summer PC work that we normally do.

Once the appliance is in place, we can also start to bring web browsers back to our interactive TVs for teacher convenience.  We administratively removed them previously as we did not have any way of filtering these kinds of devices, but the appliance will now do that for us.

Linewize student safety monitoring component

There is an additional component that goes with the Linewize filtering suite that we are currently piloting.  It is a human-moderated content monitor that monitors student behavior and evaluates certain keywords with intent and contexts, and sends an email or voice alert in real-time.  Principals have been asked to identify those in each school who should receive alerts, and they are already receiving content.

Classwize teacher class monitoring

We are also piloting the Classwize add-on module, which is similar to Hapara with screen-capture, Internet pause, focused sites, etc.  But it also allow teachers to have some control over what sites their students may access during their class hours.  More on this later once we get the other pieces fully online.

Amazon Echo and related devices

There have been questions about how teachers can connect their personal Echo devices now that the open Guest / Visitor network is not available in all parts of the building.  As they are not district-owned devices, we cannot add them to our internal secure network.  This has been a struggle as there are good points for their usage, as well as against.  We reached out to state tech directors and found out that no one is allowing these in their schools, due to FERPA violations and other privacy-related issues.  However, everyone is aware that a personal smartphone does essentially the same thing, and no one mandates their removal.   We seem to be the outlier in that we haven't made an issue that they are in use, but a lot of that is because we are (still) one of the only districts that have an open guest network for them to connect to.  

Based on this feedback and from conversations in our district admin meetings, we are going to continue our policy of not encouraging or supporting the use of these personal devices.  With the change to the open wireless network, many of them may not be able to connect.  This of course does not apply to the Merlyn voice-command units, as they are education friendly and do not store or profile voice requests.

For January, we are going to prepare a "Quick Ways to Do Echo Tasks" or something with a better title.  It will be a list of easy alternatives to the most-common Echo uses: setting a timer, background and transition sounds, etc.

Thanks!