As a member of The Old Schoolhouse Crew I was given the opportunity to review an interesting bit of software called LanSchool. LanSchool is classroom management software that basically gives a teacher access to and control over a student’s computer. With LanSchool a teacher can remotely start or end a student’s computer session, restrict access to distractions such as internet, instant messaging and other applications, send and receive messages and answer questions, and even poll students during a session to check progress and comprehension.
The boys and I tested out the home version of LanSchool, which is just like the classroom version except that the license is for only 3 computers. I was afraid I would have to finally setup a “network” on the two computers we use for school, but thankfully I didn’t. I simply installed the teacher version of LanSchool on my laptop and the student version on our other computers and we were off and running. The website has many helpful video tutorials to walk you through using the software but it is also quite user friendly itself.
I found the software to be quite useful in a homeschool setting. I was able to see at a glance what was on the student screen and make sure the child (or teenager in the other room) on it was on task. I could easily make what was on my screen appear on the student screen as well. The boys liked being able to ask me a question through chat without having to interrupt what they were doing (although most of the time the questions were along the line of, “What is for lunch? and Can I take a break?”)
The LanSchool home version is a perpetual license and costs $99 dollars, including 3 years of updates and support. I received the home version license for free to facilitate my review. To see what other crew members had to say about LanSchool, click on the button below.
This really is a great program, isn't it? Nice review.
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