Gasconade County R-2 Technology Director Casey Fisher explained safety feature GoGuardian during the Sept. 19 board of education meeting as part of his quarterly report.

Fisher also proposed additional technology that will need to be purchased as part of the district’s next major no-tax-increase bond issue.

“I would like to give you all a quick demo,” Fisher said during the board meeting as he set up three Chromebooks between the board members and controlled them via his own device as if he were a teacher on the program. His screen was linked to the board room’s two TVs to help explain the program. 

The teacher login allows for the instructor to see a mini version of every student’s screen.

“What I want to talk about primarily is a tool we use called GoGuardian,” Fisher began. “You’ve seen that name before. It comes with a big bill you pay every year.”

Fisher explained the tool is imperative to help teachers keep track of where students are, especially when everyone had a device.

“At the admin level, this is what we use for content filtering so it is what we use to set the parameters of what the kids can access on the internet,” Fisher said. “It also provides reports and notifications to me when kids are searching for things they are not supposed to.”

The program provides a resource for teachers to be able to monitor and control their Chromebooks and keep everyone on task.

“Sometimes people get caught up in the fact that it is a security tool and think that is all we use it for — so we can spy on kids while they use their Chromebooks,” Fisher said. “I want to be able to show you some ways the teachers can use this in the classroom.”

Fisher explained that GoGuardian is not teacher-controlled after 5:30 p.m. to allow the kids some privacy at home. That does not mean that the district can’t see the search history, and the content filter is still running.

However, the screens are constantly monitored and recorded during the school day. Teachers can see a live feed of everyone’s screen. They can also go back to see what the student was doing and if they were on task during the class period.

“Teachers have total control over Chromebooks, they can lock screens, open and close or limit tabs, and lock websites.

“GoGuardian is recording what the kids are doing in class,” Fisher said. “So even if the teacher doesn’t see it in real-time, they can go back.”

GoGuardian can also take screenshots of what is on the student’s screen to show parents when necessary. A control setting called Scenes will allow teachers to block the entire internet except for the places they want students to go.

“They can also set the SCENES up to force things open,” Fisher said. “If I apply a Scene, like wanting kids to solely focus on IReady, it prevents them from trying to go to another task or open another tab.”

The software also has a distance-learning feature for students who may be out of the classroom long-term. The added feature was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic but can also be used during other illnesses or prolonged distance learning.

“Sometimes it’s great, sometimes kids are working in groups and everything can be shared to a larger screen,” Fisher said.

Safety online is also a concern that the technology department has focused on this year for both students and teachers. In addition to helping teachers identify phishing schemes and emails, they have also introduced two-factor authentification.

“This will create an additional layer of security for all staff accounts,” he said. “As ransomware and phishing schemes are on the rise, we want to remain proactive in protection our district.”

Technology that secures the building needs updated.

“We have an aging security system that will need to be addressed in the very near future,” Fisher said in his report. “Security cameras and keyfob entry doors are beginning to lose functionality and need repairs and replacements.”

The district recently replaced five outdated cameras, averaging around $200 each. “A major bond issue item,” Fisher said in his report. “The new security door has been installed at the Administration Building as well.”

Fisher said his team provided all staff with a three-hour technology training session during the back-to-school training week. They focused on Google Classroom, Chromebooks, GoGuardian, and several other resources teachers have access to.

Fisher said middle and high school students are taking their Chromebooks home every day.

“We are still promoting and accepting the Protection Plan,” Fisher said. “This is a great investment for parents as the fee is less than any one repair would cost.”

Since the beginning of school, five Chromebooks have been turned in for repair of which two had insurance.

Additionally, all first, fifth, and ninth graders received new Chromebooks at the beginning of the school year. However, with new purchases, the district has moved towards HP Chromebooks due to short-circuiting issues with the Lenovo 100 second-generation Chromebook.

“We are around 15 percent of the fleet that has been replaced,” Fisher said. “We were able to replace around 40 devices that were under warranty.”

As the Lenovo company does not offer any assistance outside of the warranty period, the district has been able to offer students surplus devices they had on hand while working towards ordering a different device brand.

“If the devices continue to drop at this rate, we may be forced to purchase additional devices.”

Fisher estimated a large order in 2023.

“We can expect to have to purchase around 450 Chromebooks and cases to supply first grade, fifth grade, and ninth grade during the summer of 2023,” he said.

A third project the technology team has been working on is television installations in every classroom on campus.

“We have installed 35 televisions across the district since July 1,” he said. “We should be able to complete this project next summer and all classrooms will have a television.”

At the Gerald campus, the Gerald Elementary School fiber project has begun.

“Show Me Technologies has already started installing fiber that will allow the GES campus to increase its bandwidth numbers,” Fisher said. “We do not have a completion date for this project as it’s funded by a grant.”

Overall, Fisher said the biggest issue he sees is technology equipment reaching the end of its life expectancy. “This is what I know at this point, but the list will likely grow as we begin to evaluate equipment throughout the school year,” Fisher said. 

Outdated equipment means the technology on hand will no longer receive updates from the manufacturer or be under warranty, which makes the devices unsafe to use on the district network and causes issues with websites and apps that teachers and students use.