Nov. 13, 2023
By Sean Disbrow
Staff Writer
If you feel like your teacher is constantly watching your computer screen, you are probably right.
One of the most significant changes students have noticed in their classes this year is the classroom management tool Securly Classroom. This extension allows teachers to view students’ screens and tabs, open a new tab for all students, send messages to an individual student or to the whole class and lock students’ screens. Once the session ends, it sends a report to the teacher with a record of the tabs and websites students opened.
At the start of the school year, English teacher Mr. Belmont, who is also LHS’ technology specialist, trained the faculty to use Securly Classroom. He said it motivates students to stay focused.
“It holds students accountable for their work and will continue to show value as the year goes on,” Belmont said. “It can really help with students’ time management in class. It’s good to know if students stay on track or if they go off track.”
Belmont said he uses Securly Classroom almost every day.
“I don’t think it’s necessary for when students are doing activities or when I’m walking around the room. It is helpful to get the reports at the end,” Belmont said.
“As beneficial as it is, it’s unfortunate that we have to go through these steps to prevent students from cheating.”
Like Belmont, English teacher Mrs. Ruiz said she finds Securly Classroom beneficial, especially when she gives short answer quizzes.
“You can tell last year the answers were taken from SparkNotes, whereas now, we are getting better, original answers,” Ruiz said.
Although she finds Securly Classroom helpful, Ruiz said she wishes there were no need for it.
“As beneficial as it is, it’s unfortunate that we have to go through these steps to prevent students from cheating,” Ruiz said.
While Ruiz supports the use of Securly Classroom, sophomore Emily Salazar said the extension invades students’ privacy.
“It’s helpful, but there should be a limit when it is used,” Salazar said. “It is good to make sure no one is cheating, so using Securly would help ensure that everyone is doing what they are supposed to.”
Salazar said if she were a teacher, she would not use Securly Classroom.
“I’d want to give [my students] a chance to work on their own because they can be responsible for themselves, and without the use of Securly, they can show that,” Salazar said.
INFOGRAPHIC BY JESSICA CERRITO This infographic reflects the opinions of 71 LHS students whose teachers use Securly Classroom.
Unlike Salazar, senior Yahir Perea said teachers’ use of Securly Classroom is not an invasion of students’ privacy but a way to make sure they are doing their work.
“If a student is doing something they’re not supposed to that goes against school regulations, then it is good to use because a student shouldn’t be doing certain things on the Chromebook,” Perea said.
Perea said if he were a teacher, he would use Securly Classroom.
“I would be using it to make sure students are focused and see where they’re at with their work,” Perea said. “If they are distracted on another tab or website or confused, I could help them.”
Perea said Securly Classroom has assisted him in remaining on track with his classes, including Law and Civics.
“I’m usually just on Google Classroom. Since Mr. Newman can see everything I do, it helps me be more focused in understanding and listening,” Perea said.
Senior Amber Vergara said she supports teachers’ use of Securly Classroom during tests because it prevents cheating students from scoring higher than others.
“We should not be tolerating, let alone rewarding, people’s laziness,” Vergara said.
Although she does not like it when her teachers use Securly Classroom for normal class activities, she said it has helped her focus and keep up with her work.
“I constantly found myself dozing off during class or scrolling through Pinterest instead of doing my work. With the installation of Securly, there are limited options as to what websites you can access,” Vergara said. “This forces me to be productive and get my classwork done in class rather than starting it at home, benefiting me in the long run.”
