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Many schools and districts invest in Google Chromebooks and educational tools like Hāpara to enhance student learning. However, without properly configuring Google Chrome management settings, you may not fully realize the benefits of your investment. As the Director of Support, Implementation and Engagement, I have seen this issue firsthand.
A school purchased the Hāpara classroom management solution but did not set up their Google environment correctly. Despite being a Google school, they lacked the necessary guidance to optimize Chrome, limiting the effectiveness of both Hāpara and their Chromebooks. That’s why I want to share my expertise to help you and your school or district team set up Chrome correctly. The goal is to allow teachers and students to take full advantage of Hāpara’s benefits and use school Chromebooks safely.
Here are three key Google Chrome management settings I recommend that you implement.
Key Google Chrome management settings
1. Google Chrome Sync
Google Chrome Sync is often overlooked, but this setting allows users to sync bookmarks, browsing history, saved passwords, installed extensions and preferences across different devices. This ensures that teachers and students have a consistent and personalized experience across devices.
How to enable
In your Google Admin Console, navigate to Menu > Apps > Google Workspace > Google Chrome Sync.
Why it matters
Enabling Google Chrome Sync is critical for schools because it ensures teachers and students are able to continue instruction and learning uninterrupted. For example, students might use Chromebooks at school and another device at home to complete their class activities. Teachers might use a computer in the classroom and then a laptop at home for lesson planning and grading. With Chrome Sync, they don’t need to set up new preferences, re-install extensions or try to remember bookmarks every time they sign in to a device.
Chrome Sync allows for a seamless digital teaching and learning experience across devices with Hāpara. Teachers can more easily facilitate lessons and monitor online learning activity, while learners can more easily complete their Google Drive and Google Classroom activities.
2. Force Chrome sign-in
Security and digital policy is critical to your school environment. One way to ensure that the rules and tools you’ve implemented are always applied is by forcing Chrome sign-in. This means teachers and students must log in with their assigned school accounts, ensuring that your school policies and security settings are consistently applied across all users.
How to enable
- In your Google Admin Console, navigate to Menu > Devices > Chrome > Settings > User and browser settings.
- Search “sign-in” > Select Force users to sign-in to use the browser. > Click Save.
Why it matters
Applying this setting to student logins will result in strengthening device security and policy enforcement. This also ensures that teachers can consistently use Hāpara for complete visibility into student activity and engagement in their Chrome browsers.
Teachers using Hāpara rely on visibility into students’ online activity to manage their digital classroom effectively. Without enforcement of sign-ins, students could appear offline in Hāpara Highlights, reducing teachers’ ability to guide student learning or restrict access to nonacademic content during lessons.
For example, a student who bypasses a policy by using a guest profile or a personal account will appear as “offline” in Hāpara Highlights. This could lead to distractions, inappropriate browsing or even security vulnerabilities. Forced sign-in ensures all activity routes through your school’s policies, creating a safer and more controlled environment.
To learn more about strengthening Hāpara Highlights and preventing student loopholes, check out this article.
3. Extension/app allow/block mode
Controlling Chrome extensions and the app prevents distractions and security vulnerabilities while ensuring students have the tools they need. Extensions and apps can help students with productivity or provide differentiated learning support.
However, some can also be distracting or even harmful if inappropriate or unvetted apps are installed. Controlling Chrome extensions and apps allows you to strike the right balance between enabling useful tools and blocking distractions or potential security risks.
How to configure
In your Google Admin Console, navigate to Devices > Chrome > Apps & extensions > User app settings (allow/block mode) – Edit Legacy.
Recommended settings
Here are two settings that I recommend, depending on your school or district’s needs:
- Allow all apps, admin manages blocklist: Provides flexibility while blocking unwanted extensions.
- Block all apps, admin manages allowlist: A stricter approach that ensures only approved extensions are available.
Why it matters
By managing which apps and extensions are available, you can create an environment free of distractions while keeping students on track. For example, you might want to enable educational extensions like Desmos Calculator. At the same time, blocking games, social media apps or unverified extensions ensures students stay focused on learning.
Of course, you’ll also want to install the Hāpara Highlights extension on student Chrome browsers. To learn more, check out this article.
Why proper setup is essential
Investing in Hāpara and Chromebooks is a step toward modernizing education, but proper Google Chrome management is crucial to maximizing their effectiveness. Without the right settings in place, schools may struggle with security risks, lost instructional time, and an underutilized learning platform. By taking the time to configure Chrome Sync, enforcing sign-ins, applying user policies, and managing extensions, districts can ensure their technology investment delivers real value in the classroom.
For schools looking to get the most out of Hāpara and their Chromebooks, prioritizing these essential settings is key to creating a seamless and productive digital learning experience.
Ensuring seamless onboarding with Hāpara
Hāpara Implementation Services ensures a smooth setup for schools and districts. Our team will help your school or district onboard with ease and unlock our classroom management tools’ full potential.
We will provide technical guidance and provide one-on-one help to answer all of your questions. By partnering with our technical experts, you can minimize disruptions and make sure your Google Chrome management settings and Hāpara integrations are configured properly right from the start.
Hāpara’s team works closely with administrators to customize the setup for your district’s unique needs. Whether it’s setting restrictions, training staff or customizing dashboards, these services allow teachers to focus on instruction while the technology does what it’s supposed to do.
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