Limiting Website Use

Limiting Website Use

Overview

To block troublesome or distracting websites or limit students to a select few websites pertinent to the class, use the Limit Web feature in LanSchool Classic. The teacher can choose to restrict all web activity, allow only certain websites, or block only certain websites. This is often used to keep students focused or to create lessons that require students to access only certain sites.



Here's a short video, demonstrating how to limit website access for students:


Requirements

LanSchool Classic can limit student website access in Google Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

Due to changes in Mozilla Firefox's requirements, Web Limiting does NOT work with Firefox. The Mozilla Firefox extension is currently not supported and is under review. It's recommended to utilize the Limit Apps feature to restrict the Firefox browser.

A browser extension must be present in the student's browser in order for these restrictions to be applied. If you're experiencing trouble with Web Limiting, see Troubleshooting Web Limiting. You may need to contact your LanSchool Air site administrator.

If you are using LanSchool Classic in a Thin Client/ Terminal Services environment, web limiting is not supported. 

Configuring Limit Web

  1. Click on the drop-down arrow to the right of the Limit Web button in the toolbar.
  2. Select Configure Web Limiting... 
  3. Select the Web Limiting tab.
  4. Select either Block AllAllowed Web Sites or Blocked Web Sites and add website addresses to those lists.


Adding Websites to the List

When adding websites to the Allowed or Blocked lists, start by entering only the site's domain name to allow or block the entire site (e.g. facebook.com, google.com).
Entering a more specific website address (e.g. mail.google.com, en.wikipedia.org) will only block or allow that specific part of the website.
There is a 30,000 character limit or 1400 bytes.
Examples:
  1. Add to Blocked Sites: facebook.com  Result: All parts of facebook.com will blocked.
  2. Add to Blocked Sites: mail.google.com  Result: All parts of mail.google.com will be blocked, but docs.google.com will be allowed
  3. Add to Allowed Sites: docs.google.com/document/d/1llCNxxxxx  Result: This specific Google Doc link will be allowed. All others will be blocked.
LanSchool Classic cannot disable private or incognito browsing and cannot limit websites open in private or incognito browsing.  
It is recommended to contact your organization's IT team to block incognito/private browsing use with device management policies. 

Using Wildcards

Use an asterisk (*) to act as a wildcard character to specify even more websites in your allowed or blocked website lists.

Examples:
  1. Add to Blocked Sites:  https://*youtube.com/  Result: All parts of youtube.com will be blocked.
  2. Add to Blocked Sites:  https://*.*games*  Result: All websites with the word "games" in the URL will be blocked.
  3. Add to Allowed Sites:  https://*.*london*  Result: All websites with the word "london" in the URL will be allowed.
  4. Add to Allowed Sites:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenovo*  Result: Only the Lenovo section of Wikipedia will be allowed.

If the student is taken to a completely different domain (website) than what is in the Allow or Block List, that website will need to be added to the list. For example: A student logs into the main page of their SIS but it then takes them to the school's domain. You will need to add the school's domain to the list.

Enabling Limit Web on Student Computers

  1. Select one or more student computer thumbnails. If none are selected, all computers will be limited.
  2. Click the Limit Web icon in the toolbar. Use the drop-down arrow to select either Block All, Allow List or Block List.
When a student accesses a site that is not allowed, they will be redirected to a LanSchool Access Denied page. If the Allow List is selected, a list of allowed websites will appear.

To stop limiting the web, click the Limit Web button again to toggle this feature off.

    • Related Articles

    • Troubleshooting Web Limiting

      Overview With LanSchool, teachers can help students focus on their work by limiting online access to approved websites and even disabling internet access during tests and quizzes. LanSchool relies on the LanSchool Student client running on the ...
    • Limiting Application Use

      Overview Teachers can control the applications that are allowed to run on the student computers. The application limiting policy can stop ALL applications from running except for those specified in an "allow list" or can allow all application except ...
    • Using Assessment Mode

      Overview Assessment Mode allows an Administrator or Teacher to put student devices into a secure, locked mode in order to take a test or exam. When applied, the students devices enter Assessment Mode. During this mode the Teacher can't interact with ...
    • Pushing Websites and Applications to Students

      Overview This feature allows you to run an application or launch a website on student computers. This can be quite useful for younger students who have trouble navigating to a specific web address or starting a specific application. Here is a brief ...
    • Installing LanSchool Student for Windows

      Overview The following instructions will assist you with manually installing LanSchool Classic Student on a single Windows student device. For information on installing the teacher client or mass deploying LanSchool throughout your organization, see ...
    • Popular Articles

    • Limiting Website Use

      Overview To block troublesome or distracting websites or limit students to a select few websites pertinent to the class, use the Limit Web feature in LanSchool Classic. The teacher can choose to restrict all web activity, allow only certain websites, ...
    • LanSchool Classic Teacher Guide

      LanSchool Classic Teacher Console The LanSchool Teacher Console is the interface teachers will use to manage their classroom and students. It contains all the tools necessary for a teacher to effectively interact with students and create a ...
    • Installing LanSchool Teacher for Windows

      Overview The following instructions will assist you with manually installing LanSchool Classic Teacher Console on a single Windows device. For information on installing the student client or mass deploying LanSchool throughout your organization, see ...
    • Latest Release Notes

      LanSchool Classic Release Notes Customers with an active LanSchool subscription will have access to download the latest version from the LanSchool Classic Portal. For instructions, see Downloading LanSchool Installers. LanSchool Classic 9.3.0.28 ...
    • Blanking Student Screens

      Overview Blank student screens on your channel and disable student keyboards and mice. This feature is useful when you want to lecture without the distraction of students playing with their computers, or you need to quickly gather their attention. ...
    • Recent Articles

    • End of Life LanSchool Classic Chromebook Student

      End of Life LanSchool Classic Chromebook Student In January 2025, Google will transition away from packaged apps on ChromeOS devices. This means that LanSchool Classic will no longer be available on Google Chromebook devices. This does not affect ...
    • End of Life LanSchool Classic Android Student

      As of August 15, 2024 LanSchool Classic Android Student has reached End of Life and will no longer be developed.
    • Disabling Teacher Console Registration Prompt

      Overview New installations of LanSchool Classic Teacher Console will receive a prompt to register LanSchool. This prompt may be disabled to prevent disrupting teachers. Disabling Registration Prompt Using Registry Key Navigate to this policy key: ...
    • LanSchool Classic 9.3 Installation and Updating

      Overview The LanSchool Classic Teacher console requires a LanSchool Classic license key in order to run. This license key can be found under the Manage License section. Deploying LanSchool Classic 9.3 as a New Install If you are deploying LanSchool ...
    • Purchasing or Renewing LanSchool Classic

      Purchasing Contact If you are looking to purchase LanSchool Classic, renew your LanSchool Classic license or require a quote, please visit our website at https://lanschool.com/purchasing. You may also contact sales at 833-247-2527 or fill out the ...