Right-click lockdown

[Crispness]

Hi

I'm an ICT link governor (and a Technology Director in RL) and our Network Manager has told me that he has disabled right-click in the user profile on all the student PC accounts.

I understand his reasoning ("What they can't access they can't fiddle with!", but is this common practice in schools or is he a little OTT?

As an employer I want my employees to understand and use right-click because it is one of the most productive UI enhancements ever, IMHO. So I believe students should learn to use it at school.

Who is right? Am I living in a fantasy world in expecting students to behave properly when given access to a PC?
Ta

[kingswood]

Hi

I'm an ICT link governor (and a Technology Director in RL) and our Network Manager has told me that he has disabled right-click in the user profile on all the student PC accounts.

I understand his reasoning ("What they can't access they can't fiddle with!", but is this common practice in schools or is he a little OTT?

As an employer I want my employees to understand and use right-click because it is one of the most productive UI enhancements ever, IMHO. So I believe students should learn to use it at school.

Who is right? Am I living in a fantasy world in expecting students to behave properly when given access to a PC?
Ta

I think your Network Manager is probably right!

I have had the same issues here, with teachers stating that they "must" have right-click context menus not only in IE but in Windows Explorer. Although it is a great invention, it *can* give the willing student things that they perhaps shouldn't have. The compromise for me is to enable it for the lesson that needs it and then turn it back off. Still not nice though.

Sorry. That probably wasn't the answer you wanted!

[kiran]

Many schools do disable right click - but I do believe it is wrong. As a user I would get very frustated and irrated by not using right click, and therefore I do not think it is acceptable to disable right click.

I totally agree with you about students learning to use this right click - although I think the main reason why people look it down is because of Internet Explorer and the desktop wallpaper.

[pallen]

Yup, disabled here. Too many times the kids were doings things they shouldn't have been doing and a decision was made to disable it. Yes, it is frustrating when you are used to using it, but as always there are numerous methods to achieve the same result.

Although it probably is a case of a few spoilling it for the many, it saves a lot of problems by disabling it.

[zag]

Disabled here as well, but I do agree its an annoyance.

The kids simply use it to cause damage to our network, it is very easy to get around security with right click, for instance starting the command prompt.

I would love to be able to enable it for all students but time and time again they have abused it.

[cookie_monster]

IMHO i think that right click is very handy, 'very' easy and will always be there everywhere else, making them use the alternatives is good education and helps students to not become too regimented in their thinking. The lazy option is available at home and in the work place, i've used a desktop without right click and the alternatives soon become second nature.

The security issues that has been discussed on here before give us reason to disable it. I think this should be reviewed occasionally as most trouble is generated by a few individuals.

[Ryan]

Not disabled here, and if i can possibly help it, never will be. As stated previously, they need to learn how to use it. Too many bloody staff can't use it. All you can do is try to lock down the damage they can do with it i suppose. I feel that learning to use this - pretty fundamental - feature is more important that setting getting fiddled with.

Must dash, i think i just heard something break...

[jcollings]

Right click is available here - we seem to have no trouble with it as we use group policy to lock out bits we don't want students to have access to.

I agree it is important they learn how to use it.

[ricki]

We have problems with the kids hacking into things that they should not have access to with it enabled do its now disabled

[Ryan]

"hacking into things"?

[strawberry]

not available here, has too many security risks and everything that's there can be achieved by menu navigation.

[sidewinder]

disabled here too, it is frustrating if you're used to using it but its not as if the functions arnt available elsewhere

[russdev]

Right click enabled here and gpos to stop students accessing stuff they should not.

Russ

[Joedetic]

We had it disabled for some and enabled for others.

[StewartKnight]

Disabled here too.

In an ideal world, where students come to learn and don't "mess" then i'd enable it.
However kids will mess, and if they can ruin something, they will do, just because they can.