Why can’t Securly Classroom monitor all Chromebook activities, and how can I manage this limitation?

Securly Classroom is a powerful tool for managing and monitoring student activities during class. However, when used with Chromebooks, it has certain limitations due to the structure of ChromeOS and the APIs provided by Google.

Overview of Chromebook Monitoring Capabilities

Securly Classroom on a Chromebook functions as a Chrome browser extension. This means:

• It can monitor and manage activities within the Chrome browser.
• It cannot see or control applications or activities that occur outside the Chrome browser environment, such as standalone apps or system-level functions.

Understanding API and ChromeOS Limitations

The restrictions exist because Securly Classroom relies on APIs supplied by Google to function on Chromebooks. These APIs are specifically designed to work within the Chrome browser, and therefore, they do not allow the app to monitor or block activities outside of this environment. Non-Chrome applications, media players, or other system-level tools are not visible to Securly Classroom.

Managing Limited Monitoring Using Google Admin

To address the limitations of monitoring, you can take the following steps:

1. Identify Non-Chrome Applications: Determine which apps students might use that are outside the Chrome browser (e.g., a media player or Android-based apps).
2. Use Google Admin Console: Through the Google Admin console, block or restrict access to these non-Chrome apps. This ensures students are confined to activities within the Chrome browser, where Securly Classroom can effectively monitor their actions.

This proactive measure helps teachers maintain better control over students' activities during class.