Classroom Monitoring & Remote Management

[Homer]

Morning all

 

This will likely be a daft question but my searches so far aren't being very fruitful. We're a Windows shop first and foremost, but I am getting some stuff moved over to ChromeOS Flex (some of the older DfE spec laptops) 

 

Two questions;

•  How are you doing remote support on these? Usually we'd use Netsupport or Datto to achieve this
• How are you doing classroom monitoring? We have Netsupport School & DNA but you can't really see what the kids are doing

 

I'd put a ticket in to Netsupport for a bit of guidance but it seems their support site is down this morning.

 

Cheers 

[pipsyp]

With my MSP hat on......gods honest truth, if they aren't good enough to run Windows 11, retire them.  There are few if any RMM tools designed to support ChromeOS/ChromeOS Flex as its of course designed to be tied to Google Workspace.

 

The pains you'll suffer trying to make that a workable solution (given you aren't a Google house) just wont be worth bearing. 

 

Very aware all schools are significantly budget constrained, but sometimes you really just have to draw the line somewhere.  Assuming the devices have seen several years decent use already, then at least they've served a purpose.  If they need replacing, consider looking at some decent used/refurbished hardware from a reliable source.

[TheHyperTechie]

Have a look at classroom cloud.

[pipsyp]

16 minutes ago, HyperTech said:

Have a look at classroom cloud.

A very good call!  My grey matter is terrible, but I think I have looked into this before down the line.  From memory it tends to serve better as a classroom management and web filtering solution than a full blown ChromeOS RMM tool, but could very well fit the bill.

I'm still however always a little sceptical of reinventing the wheel/creating another solution to keep old hardware in the game; it tends not to pay dividends.  If the OP was a Google school, I'd be all for it but as it stands, I think its just potentially creating more work and ongoing cost, where replacing the machines would be the better option.

[TheHyperTechie]

3 minutes ago, pipsyp said:

A very good call!  My grey matter is terrible, but I think I have looked into this before down the line.  From memory it tends to serve better as a classroom management and web filtering solution than a full blown ChromeOS RMM tool, but could very well fit the bill.

I'm still however always a little sceptical of reinventing the wheel/creating another solution to keep old hardware in the game; it tends not to pay dividends.  If the OP was a Google school, I'd be all for it but as it stands, I think its just potentially creating more work and ongoing cost, where replacing the machines would be the better option.

I have to disagree (sorry!). I’ve seen countless scenarios where ChromeOS Flex has kept machines in a usable state for well over a year. I’ve even done it myself. With the current cost of RAM and desktops (even refurbished), a £30 one-off license fee is much more appealing than replacing an entire fleet. Personally, I’d wait for the AI bubble to burst (if and when it does) and for prices to return to normal.

 

Most schools already have a Google Admin console, and setting up SSO between the two isn't very difficult.

[pipsyp]

7 minutes ago, HyperTech said:

I have to disagree (sorry!). I’ve seen countless scenarios where ChromeOS Flex has kept machines in a usable state for well over a year. I’ve even done it myself. With the current cost of RAM and desktops (even refurbished), a £30 one-off license fee is much more appealing than replacing an entire fleet. Personally, I’d wait for the AI bubble to burst (if and when it does) and for prices to return to normal.

 

Most schools already have a Google Admin console, and setting up SSO between the two isn't very difficult.

No HyperTech, no offense taken at all and absolutely fair comment - completely depends on the state of the hardware in question, how many and the use case (which admittedly I don't know lots about :-))  Also for sure, if Google has presence there, then just managing them off of that workspace environment is just fine.

The AI situation is rather maddening, but it'll calm down.  Suppose it's a bit like trying to buy anything half decent during COVID was impossible!

[synaesthesia]

Classroom.cloud.

 

Advertising "Supports MV3" at this point in time is surely like advertising a 4K ultra HD 3D TV with "COLOUR!!!" as a major selling point?

 

Not important but little things like that make question *everything* about a company and/or their products

[Homer]

We've got our Google tenant linked to Azure for IdP and SSO so this all flows really well for us, Google have done a lot of work with integrating into the Microsoft ecosystem down to even OneDrive storage being the default when logged in, and the M365 app does everything else we need.

 

Ran a pilot here with a few devices, got very good feedback so we've converted one trolley of Latitude 3110 laptops (the ones that actually came in Chrome flavour) over and they're going really well! I'd recommend this for schools who have a lot of web heavy content or where their students are used to cloud first or working in online publishing apps.

 

Netsupport have come back to me so I'll do some setting up next week. 

[pipsyp]

On 16/01/2026 at 14:35, Homer said:

We've got our Google tenant linked to Azure for IdP and SSO so this all flows really well for us, Google have done a lot of work with integrating into the Microsoft ecosystem down to even OneDrive storage being the default when logged in, and the M365 app does everything else we need.

 

Ran a pilot here with a few devices, got very good feedback so we've converted one trolley of Latitude 3110 laptops (the ones that actually came in Chrome flavour) over and they're going really well! I'd recommend this for schools who have a lot of web heavy content or where their students are used to cloud first or working in online publishing apps.

 

Netsupport have come back to me so I'll do some setting up next week. 

Best of luck with this Homer, genuinely be interested to hear how this all works out 👍

[Homer]

I will report back! It's about £26 a license per machine so it's good financial sense and those little Dell's really do well on it too. For the vast majority of what the kids are doing (so much is web based now) it does work so well.

 

Might be punting some desktops over in the inclusion unit but we'll see on that. Depends on Netsupport first!