What would you -like- to see in Classroom/Network Management Software?

[Cue]

Imagine a sort of hybrid between RM/NetSupport Tutor and a more passive system, maybe a bit of Spiceworks. I noticed a while back a lack of packages that do things similar to RM/NS Tutor, but with the passiveness and power of Group Policy, but of course GP isn't Real Time, nor is it something all that user friendly so you can't give it to teachers (especially since you don't want them having that much power in the first place!).

 

So here I am, setting out on a bit of market research, both for an Academic Project and possibly a Business Venture in the future.

 

What would you guys like to see in a piece of software that allows you to do what RM/NS Tutor does, but on a wider scale? So if you block an application, you don't have to keep Tutor open to have it continue working, and it would stick after a reboot. In other words, passive management as opposed to active, but still in real-time.

 

Instead of Tutor to Client, it would work on a basis of Teacher/Admin Console -> Central Server -> Client. It would be far more customisable than what is currently about, so if you don't want a certain staff level being able to do something, don't let them. Similarly, expandability is a potential area I'd like to look into, being able to not only create your own modules, but also download modules to add to the system (how would you like to see this executed?).

 

Please do feel free to state the obvious, I already have the following on my agenda that I can remember off the top of my head:

 

Block sites (and whitelisting).

Block applications (and whitelisting).

Grouping computers into rooms/etc.

Log-off/Shutdown/Lock/Reboot/Wake-on-LAN.

Messaging.

 

If you note a feature you'd like to see, give it a bit of detail, don't just say "Print Management", say what specific features of Print Management you'd like to see happen in something like this.

 

- Market Research~

 

In short: What would you like to see in classroom management software that can work on a larger scale, and keeps things between sessions and not just when you have the console open.

[philwaud]

For me as a classroom teacher, Id want to be able to demo my screen to the class, exhibit a students screen to the rest of the class, lock the keyboard and mouse of a student so I can wander around to where they are sat whilst they frantically try to close the game website they are on, and also examine surfing history remotely.

 

File transfer and work collection would also probably be on the list!

 

Hope this helps.

 

Phil

(PS, do I qualify for an early adopter discount :-)

[mac_shinobi]

I've found Impero to be pretty good

 

Impero LAN Director Features

[Cue]

I've found Impero to be pretty good

 

Impero LAN Director Features

 

What is it that you like about it though?

[mac_shinobi]

What is it that you like about it though?

 

It works, it has a decent price tag and has a lot of features as per the link I posted which I have seen working.