What's New in Classroom 8.1

Securly Classroom 8.1 brings several new features for teachers and admins alike. These features are available in the new Classroom UI - Nucleus, not in the classic UI. Here's a rundown of what's new!

• Google Coursework
  When using Push URL or Site Lock, teachers can now browse and select from materials saved in their Google Classroom as coursework items.
  
• Force active window to maximize, preventing side-by-side windows
  Teachers now have an option that will automatically force the currently active window on the student’s Chromebook to maximize to full screen. This prevents side-by side windows and can help with keeping students focused on a single site at a time. It can also help prevent students from leaving a window to the side with a video they want to watch (YouTube, Netflix, etc.) while leaving their schoolwork in a main focused window that the teacher sees in thumbnail view.
  
  
• Close Tab and Add to Block list
  When teachers close a tab on a student device, from tab view or detail view, they will now have the option to also add the site that was closed to the currently enabled block list so that students cannot open it again in the future.
  
• Add site to all block lists at once
  Teachers with more than one block list can now add a site to all block lists with one click.
  If you're a teacher that manages multiple distinct block lists for use during different classes, you may discover a new site that you want to block during all classes. This feature lets you add the site to all of your block lists at once, rather than editing each one individually to add the new site.
  
• Choose class end time by class length or by end time
  When starting a class, the teacher can now choose the class end time rather than choosing the length of time that the class should run.
  
  
• Automatically apply Site Lock when class starts
  Teachers can now choose to have a site lock automatically applied when a class starts, including scheduled classes, thus limiting student browsing to selected sites right from the beginning of class.
  
• Bring selected tab to front
  Teachers now have the ability to bring a selected tab on a student device to the front. This can be useful when assisting students remotely who have difficulties navigating their device.
  The feature is available in the detail view by dragging any tab from the list of open tabs on the student device to the top of the list.
  (Thanks to Cory U. from U46, Elgin, for the feature suggestion!)
• [For Admins] Allow users to view and start classes of other users or edit other users' classes.
  It’s now possible to configure Securly Classroom to allow users of any selected role (such as teacher) to view and start class sessions for any other user in the same location, even if they are not a co-teacher of the class.
  This capability allows for an easy way for substitute teachers to manage any classroom without having to be added as a co-teacher prior to class. It’s also possible to grant permissions to any role (such as technician) to be able to edit other users' classes.
  These settings can be found under Settings > Permissions > Classroom