Selecting Chromebook View Modes (Active Tab View vs. Desktop View)

Selecting Chromebook View Modes (Active Tab View vs. Desktop View)

Overview

LanSchool Classic provides two different ways to display student screens of Chromebook students to teachers: Active Tab View and Desktop View. 

When the LanSchool Student app is deployed to Chromebooks, the administrator can define the default Chromebook thumbnail view within the JSON configuration file.

To designate Active Tab view as the default (recommended), set the full_screen_thumbnail parameter to false. For more information about deploying the app to Chromebooks using the Google Admin console, see Deploying Chromebooks with the Google Admin Console.

With Active Tab view as the default configuration, teachers can decide to switch one or more students to Desktop View at any time. See Enable Desktop View below for instructions.

Active Tab View

When Active Tab View is enabled, LanSchool Classic displays a live image of a Chromebook student's active browser tab. If the student does not have a browser open, LanSchool Classic displays a placeholder image. Students do not have to grant permission to share the active tab.

Desktop View

In order to show the student's full Chromebook desktop, LanSchool Classic must prompt the student for permission to share the screen. Students are prompted for permission to share the full screen as soon as the teacher starts a class. LanSchool Classic displays a placeholder thumbnail image until the student grants screen sharing permission.

Enable Desktop View

  1. From the LanSchool Teacher Console, select the student thumbnail.

  2. Select View All > Chromebook > Desktop View. The student thumbnail displays a "Waiting for full screen permission" message.

  3. Ask the student to grant permission to share the screen. After permission is granted, the student's full desktop displays in the student thumbnail on the Teacher Console.

  4. (Optional) Select the student thumbnail to view a larger version of the student's screen.