A new version of Securly Classroom is being released next week! Here are the new updates that are on the way:
Custom Chrome Extension URL for Manifest V3 (MV3) distribution
In preparation for the upcoming required update to Chrome extensions that use Manifext V3 (MV3), all Classroom installations need to be updated to our new extension distribution system known as Crextnaut. This involves replacing the Chrome extension information configured in Google Admin.
Note that this process will not automatically switch your district to an MV3 extension deployment. Rather, it sets the stage so that we can later switch to MV3 when you’re ready without the need to change the configuration in Google Admin again.
For instructions on how to change to the new distribution system, see this article. Please make this change as soon as possible.
See tab icons alongside thumbnails
We’ve updated Card View to show icons for each open tab on the student device below the screen thumbnail. Clicking on a tab icon will reveal the usual tab actions to visit the site, block the site, or close the tab. If there are more tabs than can fit in a row, an overflow button (+X) indicating the total number of additional tabs will appear, linked to the student’s detail view where the full list of tabs can be seen.
Full URL Support in Blocking Plans
Previously, the organization-wide block list and “block only” blocking plans only supported blocking of full domains. Now these areas support blocking of full URLs, which allows you to block a specific page or path on a website instead of the whole website.
Here are some examples of what’s now possible:
- Block YouTube Shorts (youtube.com/shorts) without blocking the rest of YouTube
- Block NY Times games (nytimes.com/games) without blocking articles on NY Times
- Block all Google Doodles (google.com/doodles), but not the rest of Google
- Block a specific Google Site such as sites.google.com/site/thegamecompilation/home without blocking other Google sites
Improved Web Link and Blocking Plan management
Similar to blocking plans, web links now have a setting to make them public or private. This will help districts keep a curated list of district-approved shared web links, separate from the clutter of hundreds of teacher-created links.
A new permission setting is available to choose which roles can create and edit public web links and blocking plans, making it possible to reserve this for only technician or admin roles. By default, teachers will only be able to create private web links and blocking plans.
You can have this setting on if you want teachers to be able to share web links and blocking plans among each other, or have it off if you’d prefer to keep a centralized and streamlined district-approved set of web links and blocking plans.
Students detail page now shows blocked sites
When you navigate to Users > Students tab to view the list of sites visited by a student, blocked sites are now shown in addition to visited sites. A copy button is provided to easily copy the URL for use in a dependency list, organization allow list, or elsewhere, matching the functionality in the student history page for a class session.
Automatic allow for subdomains in Site Lock and Allow-only plans
When using Site Lock or Allow-only blocking plans, sites may fail to work if they redirect to a subdomain (e.g., “blooket.com” might redirect to “id.blooket.com”). Previously, you’d have to add the subdomains as dependencies to the web link or add it separately to the allow-only list. Now, entering just the root domain (e.g., blooket.com or www.blooket.com) will automatically allow all subdomains, removing the need to find subdomain dependencies.
However, if a specific subdomain is entered (e.g., jr.brainpop.com), only that subdomain will be allowed.
Classroom Mac Agent Updates
The native agent for macOS has seen a number of additional features added in the past few months. It now supports:
- Full desktop screen view
- Site Lock
- Push URL
- Blocking plans
- Screen Lock
Preserved search parameters and filters
When you search or apply filters to a table, open an item from it, and then return to the table, the search string and filters will be remembered. They will remain in place until you navigate to a different area of the system.
Other Changes
- When adding web links to an ‘Allow-only blocking plan,’ an option is available to limit the list to “My Web Links”
- The Students table now includes student grade and assigned schools fields. They are also part of the table export.
- The Admin Dashboard will now show 10 items instead of 7 on the widgets that list sites and 100 instead of 50 when showing more details.
Fixes
- Fixed an issue where the custom message entered for screen lock was reverting to the default text each time, rather than remembering the previously-used message.
- Fixed an issue where sorting of student list by student name in class session history was not working properly.
- Fixed an issue where students could prevent a site from being visible to the teacher by injecting certain text after about:# in the HTML.
- Fixed an issue where the list of commands sent during class in session history were sorted by name instead of date.
- Fixed an issue where resetting to default did not work on all table settings.
- Fixed an issue on the Admin Dashboard where the bar chart for active teachers and active students was over-counting users, causing inflated numbers when the time frame was set to more than one day.
- Fixed an issue where announcement messages were not always reaching all students.
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