Managing LanSchool Settings on macOS Using a MDM
Update March 26, 2024: Release of macOS 14.4 has broken the ability to use SSID Whitelisting. Anyone currently using SSID Whitelisting, it is recommended to delay updating to macOS 14.4 until this issue has been fixed. Overview
A Mobile Device Management (MDM) system can be used to manage LanSchool Student and LanSchool Teacher Console settings. Most MDM systems allow importing .mobileconfig files in order to deploy profiles to devices. LanSchool provides two files that contain default settings for both LanSchool Student and LanSchool Teacher Console:
These two files contain the default settings for LanSchool Student and the LanSchool Teacher Console, respectively. They can be customized for your organization's settings.
Deploying LanSchool Classic Settings Using a MDM
- Download the two .mobileconfig files from the LanSchool product download location.
- Customize the settings in each file for your organization.
For example, to customize the “channel” setting for the LanSchool Student, edit the LanSchoolStudent.mobileconfig file, changing the “channel” value to the desired channel number. Import the .mobileconfig files into your MDM system.
Deploy the LanSchoolStudent.mobileconfig profile file to your Mac LanSchool Student computers.
Deploy the LanSchoolTeacher.mobileconfig profile file to your Mac LanSchool Teacher Console computers.
Do not change anything except values. The .mobiconfig files are Apple XML plist files and must conform to a specific syntax. Check the syntax of the .mobileconfig files in Terminal like this: /usr/bin/plutil -lint ./LanSchoolStudent.mobileconfig.
If the file syntax is correct, the following displays:
. /LanSchoolStudent.mobileconfig: OK.
Otherwise, an error displays.
. /LanSchoolStudent.mobileconfig: OK.
Otherwise, an error displays.
LanSchool Student Settings
The following is an explanation of the settings that can be customized in each .mobileconfig file:
| Setting | Description | Options | Type | Default |
| AllowDumpUploads | Controls whether or not crash log files are uploaded to our servers. Crash logs allow us to fix crashes in our software, and no private information is conveyed. | 0=do not allow 1=allow | integer | 0 |
| AllowInternetMonitoring | Controls whether the LanSchool Student software records website visits. | 0=do not allow 1=allow | integer | 1 |
| AllowKeyboardMonitoring | Allows the LanSchool Student software to record keystrokes. | 0=do not allow 1=allow | Integer | 1 |
| Authorization | Contains a one-way secure hash of the password for use in verification. Passwords are never stored. This value can be copied from /Library/Preferences/com.lanschool.student.settings.plist for a student that has already been properly configured in Secure Mode. | N/A | integer | 0 |
| Channel | As with a TV station, every LanSchool student who is “tuned in” to the same teacher channel is visible by teachers on that same channel. The channel number must be a number between 1 and 16,000. See the Channel Strategies section below for more information. | N/A | number | 1 |
| ClassroomServerAddress | Contains the name or IP address of your LanSchool Connection Service (LCS). Examples of this value would be “192.168.2.200” or “LANSCHOOL-LCS”. A static IP address for the LCS is preferred above a hostname or dynamic IP address. | N/A | string | “” (empty string) |
| DetectTampering | Controls whether the LanSchool Student software detects Ethernet and wireless tampering. If activated, when a student unplugs the ethernet cable or turns off Airport, the screen will be locked periodically until connectivity is restored. | 0=do not detect 1=detect | integer | 0 |
| InstallChromeExtension | Controls whether the Web Helper Chrome extension is installed. This extension allows our software to collect web history and perform web limiting in Google Chrome. | 0=do not install 1=install | integer | 1 |
| LogLevel | Controls whether or not logs are created by the LanSchool Student software. These logs are helpful if you are having issues and seeking help from our Support team. | 0=logging disabled 1=logging enabled | integer | 0 |
| NotifyClassListLoad | Controls whether a student is notified when loaded into a class by a teacher. | 0=not notified 1=notified | integer | 0 |
| SecureMode | Controls whether the LanSchool Student software communicates with teachers who have entered the correct password in the LanSchool Teacher Console. See also Authorization. | 0=off 1=on | number | 0 |
| StealthMode | Controls whether the Student software hides the system menu bar item. | 0=off 1=on | integer | 0 |
| ssidWhitelist | Contains a list of wireless SSID (i.e. wireless network names) that the student computer should be connected to. If the student connects to a SSID that is not on this list and items on this list are available, the computer is locked periodically until a connection is made to one of the SSIDs on the list. | N/A | array of strings | empty array |
| ssidWhitelistEnabled | Controls whether the SSID whitelist above is used. | 0=not used 1=used | integer | 0 |
LanSchool Teacher Console Settings
The LanSchool Teacher Console supports most LanSchool Student settings. These settings are used when a Teacher Console updates student software or when the teacher selects the Become A Student menu in order to temporarily run the LanSchool Student software on the teacher device. The LanSchool Teacher Console supports the following LanSchool Student settings:
- AllowDumpUploads
- AllowInternetMonitoring
- AllowKeyboardMonitoring
- Channel
- ClassroomServerAddressAuthorization
- LogLevel
- SecureMode
- StealthMode
- ssidWhitelist
- ssidWhitelistEnabled
See the table above for more information on these settings. The LanSchool Teacher Console also supports the following settings:
| Setting | Description | Options | Type | Default |
| AlertOnUpdate | Controls whether the teacher is alerted when there is an update to LanSchool. | false=don’t alert true=alert | Boolean | True |
| AllowAudio | Controls whether the teacher can listen and talk to students via the console. | 0=don’t allow 1=allow | integer | 1 |
| AllowTaskmanLimiting | Controls whether the teacher can prevent Task Manager/Activity Monitor from running on student computers. Note that this does not activate the feature but merely enables it. | 0=don’t allow 1=allow | integer | 1 |
| AutoApproveRemoteControl | Controls whether the teacher is asked for permission to be remote controlled by a LanSchool Tech Console. | false=don’t allow true=allow | Boolean | false |
| DisableClassLists | Controls whether the teacher can use class lists. | false=don’t allow true=allow | Boolean | false |
| DisableBrowseForStudents | Controls whether the teacher can browse for students in order to create a class list. | false=don’t allow true=allow | Boolean | false |
| DisableDataTransmission | Controls whether the teacher can change the network transport settings. | true=cannot change false=can change | Boolean | false |
| EnableChannelSelect | Controls whether or not the teacher can change her channel. | false=cannot change channel true=can change channel | Boolean | false |
| NoRegistration | Controls whether or not the LanSchool Teacher Console prompts to register the product. | false=prompts true=does not prompt | Boolean | false |
Channel Strategy Recommendations
The following are strategies for settings channels, depending on your environment.
- Lab environment. In this simple type of environment, you can set all student computers to a specific channel, perhaps the lab room number. Configure the Teacher Consoles for the lab with that same channel.
- Teachers using class lists. In this type of environment, we recommend installing students to a “home” channel of your choosing (1-16,000). If many teachers are in the environment, it may not be practical to use managed profiles to configure a specific channel for each teacher. Instead, configure the Teacher Consoles so that each teacher is allowed to change her own channel. Use the EnableChannelSelect = true setting and do not specify a channel. These settings allow each teacher to change the channel manually to her unique channel (perhaps the room number).
When a LanSchool Teacher Console loads a class list, students loaded into the class temporarily change their channels to match the teacher’s channel. Students should not be visible in the LanSchool Teacher Console before a class is loaded. If students are visible, it indicates a possible channel conflict with two or more teachers.
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