October 2025 product update: Student browsing history

Listen to an audio version of this post:

Introducing student browsing history

We believe that a classroom management solution should empower educators and learners. That’s why our new student browsing history feature in Hāpara Highlights is based around making instruction more meaningful and supporting digital citizenship, not simply monitoring behavior.

Hāpara Product Manager Meagan Jakubec says, “We’re not a policing tool. We want this new feature to be rooted in instructional value.”

When teachers record student browsing history in Hāpara Highlights, they can freely move around their classroom without being tied to their computer. After they record the browsing history, they can review the insights after class to explore how they can best support learners.

Teachers are excited to use this feature to:

• Gain insights into student progress without needing to sit behind their computer during class
• Communicate with parents about their child’s progress
• Help guide learners to reputable websites during research activities
• Have digital citizenship conversations around the use of AI
• Ensure safe browsing during class
• Share learners’ progress with administrators
• See how long a learner spent on a class activity to provide tailored support

How Hāpara’s student browsing history works

We’ve made student browsing history simple for teachers to use. In Hāpara Highlights, teachers will see a Record button in the top right-hand corner.

Here’s how it works:

1. To capture student browsing history for a class session, click the Record button.

2. The teacher will enter or select a time duration for the recording, up to a maximum of 60 minutes.

3. The recording automatically stops when the time limit ends, or the teacher can manually end it at any time.

Once the recording is complete, teachers can access the student browsing history in the Recordings tab in Hāpara Highlights. 

They will see details, including the student’s name, the website URLs they visited and timestamps for when they opened or closed a site.

This browsing history data is saved for seven days, giving teachers a window to review student activity and adapt their instructional strategies.

Why Hāpara’s student browsing history stands out

What makes Hāpara’s approach different? While some browser monitoring tools record all student online activity, our feature is more intentional and designed to make instruction and formative feedback the main focus. Instead of automatically recording all student activity, our feature encourages teachers to have a specific reason to record. This deepens student privacy and ensures that teachers have an instructional goal for recording learners’ browsing history.

Focuses on instruction

There are several instructional reasons a teacher may want to record student browsing history. Some examples include:

• A teacher needs to move around the classroom to provide personalized support during an essay-writing lesson and wants a record of the class’s online activity.
• A learner has been struggling with a science concept, and recording their browsing history can give the teacher a clearer picture of where the learner gets stuck.
• A parent has questions about their child’s progress during a math unit, and recording the learner’s browsing history helps the teacher give detailed feedback to the parent.

Supports digital citizenship

Hāpara’s browsing history feature also gives teachers the chance to have meaningful conversations about responsible online activity. It becomes a teaching tool rather than a punitive one.

Promotes student agency

Hāpara’s new feature gives teachers meaningful insights or visibility when it matters, while empowering learners to take ownership of their digital behavior. This helps learners build self-management skills in a more trusting environment.

Become an early adopter of student browsing history

Does your school or district want to be the first to experience the new student browsing history feature? You can get early access and see how it can support teaching and learning in your classrooms.

To join the early adopter program, please email our Product Manager, Meagan Jakubec, at megan.jakubec@hapara.com.

Recap: Recent Hāpara updates

Here’s a quick look at some updates we’ve rolled out recently to help you streamline digital classroom management.

Overview Panel: Providing teachers with class activity insights

Last month, we unveiled the Overview Panel in Hāpara, giving teachers a bird’s-eye view of student activity across the class. This update helps teachers quickly see who is on or off track so they can tailor their support. 

Hāpara Highlights for Microsoft Edge

Great news for Microsoft 365 Education schools! Hāpara Highlights is now fully available for the Microsoft Edge browser. This means your teachers can use browser monitoring to guide learners’ browsing during class, share links directly to their screens, pause screens and close their tabs. Learn more about classroom management for the Microsoft environment.

OneRoster integration

We’ve made rostering easier than ever with our new OneRoster integration. This simplifies setup, reduces your workload, and ensures your class information is always up to date. All support is handled directly by Hāpara, removing the need for third-party involvement and reducing response times. 

Hāpara is deeply committed to protecting student data and adheres to leading security and privacy standards, including SOC 2, ST4S, and GDPR, ensuring your district’s information remains secure and private.

Do you need help making the switch to OneRoster? Reach out to the Hāpara Support Team at support@hapara.com

Coming soon: Hāpara Hall Pass 

Get ready for a new kind of hall pass system! We’re putting the final touches on Hāpara Hall Pass, a digital solution to manage student movement safely and efficiently. We’ll be launching this new product in early 2026.

Do you want to be the first to try it? Join our waitlist

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How does the new student browsing history feature work?
   Teachers can record student browsing sessions in Hāpara Highlights by clicking the Record button and selecting a duration of up to 60 minutes. Teachers can access the browsing history in the Recordings tab for up to seven days. The history includes details like student names, websites they opened and closed and times.
2. What makes Hāpara’s student browsing history feature unique?
   Unlike other tools, Hāpara’s browsing history is rooted in instructional value rather than constant monitoring. It promotes meaningful instructional and digital citizenship support in the classroom.
3. Does Hāpara automatically record all student browsing?
   No, Hāpara’s browsing history is designed for intentional use. Teachers make the choice of when to record during class time, such as when needing to review a struggling student’s activity or monitor while moving around the classroom.
4. What other recent updates has Hāpara introduced?
   Hāpara has rolled out several exciting updates, including the Overview Panel for a quick view into student activity, Microsoft Edge integration for classroom management and OneRoster integration to simplify roster syncing.
5. What is Hāpara Hall Pass?
   Hāpara Hall Pass is a digital solution that modernizes how schools manage student movement. It will replace traditional paper hall passes with a streamlined system that has real-time data.