This school year, teachers have a new tool while teaching. Every teacher has a second screen open to a program called Securly Classroom Management, a screen monitoring software that allows teachers to watch students’ computers and control their browsers.
During the 2023-2024 school year, several departments were asked to test out various screen monitoring apps and see which worked best for them as a class. This year, the school bought the rights to use Securly to ensure students stay on task.
“Teachers have the most important job but can also have the most difficult job,” principal Dr. Greg Tiemann said. “I don’t want the one-to-one environment to be a burden for our teachers where they think they’re competing against their laptops or it’s getting frustrating. The number one thing I think is important is that it’s a tool to support teachers.”
While the administration have a certain perception of this, teachers also find it to be helpful for academic integrity
“I think it’s a really good tool to help manage kids who may be off task,” AP World History teacher Angela Bosak said. “It’s also helpful during tests to make sure kids aren’t offscreen cheating or having other tabs open. I don’t announce to my students when I use it but they get a notification on their screen when I do.”
Teachers and staff see this software’s benefits, but some students have some concerns as to whether or not the integrity of the act is in the right place.
“I know it’s not my laptop but I kind of see it as an invasion of privacy,” senior Addison Kloock said. “I also understand why they use it, and it kind of makes sense to me, it could just be seen as them not trusting us.”
No matter how it’s put, some students don’t believe that Securly is the best thing for them, but not all students are against it either, some see the advantages that this can bring.
“I like it; being on games can be fun but it can also be distracting,” freshman Layne Engle said. “Playing games doesn’t help me and I think it affects my learning negatively, I’m not sure who it would help, I think enforcing a way to stop that from happening is good. Also, a teacher can remotely tell the student to get off a game whenever, which I think is a lot more respectful than calling someone out in front of everyone else. So I just think it’s a lot more private and respectful way to go about disciplining someone.”
Securly is seen differently through everyone’s eyes including teachers, students, and staff and it’s safe to say it’s here to stay.
