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To create a safe and engaged digital learning environment, you need a solution that is both powerful and easy-to-use: meet Hāpara. Our all-in-one classroom management and safety solution gives schools real-time visibility into what’s happening across student devices. This gives technology directors and educators the insights they need to manage digital distractions, block harmful content online and support responsible digital habits.
This blog post will explore how Hāpara helps your district stay ahead of digital challenges and create a learning environment where students thrive.
The Manaiakalani school cluster in New Zealand needed a better way to manage learning in a new digital environment. While using Google Apps for Education (now Google Workspace), they realized they needed more visibility into what students were doing and tools to help keep them on track. By collaborating with Manaiakalani, Hāpara’s first tool, Teacher Dashboard was developed in 2011.
Hāpara comes from the Māori word for “dawn.” What began as a tool to give teachers a clearer picture of student activity has grown into a suite of tools that makes digital learning more productive and secure.
Managing classrooms in a digital environment isn’t just about tracking what students do online. It’s about creating space where students can engage with personalized learning experiences, develop executive functioning skills and collaborate.
Hāpara’s classroom management solution allows teachers to see students’ browsing activity in real time and close distracting tabs or even send a quick note of encouragement. The focus is on guiding online behavior so students can be successful.
Alisha Miller, an educator at Paul Public Charter School, says, “This is an excellent application for monitoring and guiding students as they work using technology.”
Hāpara is also a proud partner with Gaggle, a 20-year veteran in student safety, offering their real-time dynamic web filter alongside our classroom management solution. The partnership between Hāpara and Gaggle means your district can be proactive about student safety, ensuring your students are protected no matter where they’re learning.
Primary benefit: Helping teachers manage digital distractions, developing learners’ executive functioning skills and promoting digital citizenship
How it works: This browser monitoring tool works on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, allowing teachers to see what learners are doing in their browser. With this visibility, teachers can redirect off-task behavior, support learners’ by sending direct messages, focus learners on websites and schedule guided browsing sessions ahead of time.
(Available to schools who use Google Workspace for Education)
Primary benefit: Providing a birds-eye view of learners’ Google Drive progress for quicker formative feedback
How it works: From one dashboard, teachers can see learners’ recent Google Drive files, preview them and open them with one click, making it easy to provide formative feedback.
Primary benefit: Differentiation and personalization
How it works: Teachers can search, create, change and share digital materials, lessons and projects.
(available in the Southern Hemisphere)
Primary benefit: Allows you to proactively support learners in need with student wellness alerts
How it works: This award-winning student wellness tool uses advanced machine learning and human review to analyze student content and alert your school team about at-risk situations.
Most schools are required to have some sort of digital monitoring system, including a web filter. While Hāpara has both of these features to keep learners safe and on-task, it also has many other benefits. For example, using filters and monitoring, teachers can check on learners to ensure they are focused on the task at hand or intervene when a student needs help. Teachers can model good research, and do in-class activities to encourage positive digital citizenship.
Hāpara not only gives teachers an inside look at how learners are progressing, but it also provides learners a way to show their parents what’s happening in their digital learning environment.
With over 2.2 million users in 40+ countries, Hāpara is trusted by schools and districts across the world to create safe and engaged digital learning experiences. With real-time visibility into learning across devices, your district can also protect students and keep them on track.
Want to see what Hāpara can do for your district? Request a free demo today and take the first step toward a safer, more engaged digital learning environment.
