GoGuardian Teacher vs. Study Island

GoGuardian Teacher is great for a teacher who needs a way to monitor student activities and work time on a laptop. It is easy to set up, simple to use and helps to keep students accountable when online in class. It integrates with Google Classroom which is a big help. It is more powerful for teachers experienced in using tech in the classroom. The archiving ability is great but the UX needs to improve.

Incentivized

Over all, I was very impressed with my experience using Study Island. I think that it provides a great resource for teachers of larger groups of students. On the other hand, it may not be as worthwhile of an investment in a small group or individual student level. All in all, kids love this program, and it provides teachers with an in-depth look at how a child is progressing or understanding the content/standard being covered in the Study Island activity. The colors are fun, the graphics are fun, and the questions are nicely organized and customizable.

Incentivized

• Cloud-based. Teachers do not have to monitor from just one device - they can do it from any device.
• GoGuardian allows teachers to lock a student's screen when he/she needs the students attention.
• GoGuardian allows the teacher to view all students' devices simultaneously.

Incentivized

• Fun user-friendly format.
• Engaging games for students.
• Easy to navigate for all teachers, regardless of their familiarity with computers.

Incentivized

• Scope of device monitoring (laptops, desktop computers and not just Chromebooks)
• Needs an updated interface to more accurately fit advances in technology
• Ability to more easily interact and adjust with a student's device

Incentivized

• The program would be great with seasonal games.

Incentivized

For a technology-heavy school, it is a necessary and good tool for managing classroom use of laptops. It is easy to set up and use. Helps track time on task and internet usage. Another source of data when speaking to parents about student work and activity. Can help plan and manage work time when you have limited devices.

Incentivized

The support is great. On the rare occasion that I've had to reach out to support they have been very quick to respond and extremely helpful. I've also had teachers reach out directly to support themselves. Most of the time I don't even know that a teacher has reached out to support until after the fact. They always seem satisfied.

Incentivized

I have used Hapara in a previous school district. GoGuardian is more user-friendly and easier to setup. I do think GoGuardian has some room on improving the ease of finding some areas of the program, but once you know the path to get there it is quick.

Incentivized

I didn't choose Study Island over Renaissance Accelerated Math. Study Island doesn't offer the in-depth review of standards over and over like Renaissance Accelerated Math does. Plus, Renaissance Accelerated Math also makes them wait 2 weeks then re-introduces the standards they have mastered to make sure they still have that mastery, and if they don't, it makes them re-do that standard.

Incentivized

• We have been able to identify inappropriate websites that students have discovered. For example anonymous proxies, movie streaming, etc. Through this software, we have been able to identify the students and in turn block the websites.
• We have been able to identify which students have been using other user's accounts. This was an unintended side effect of the software. If a teacher knows that a student is using a Chromebook but the student is not showing up in the software, we are easily able to deduce that the user must be using another student's account.

Incentivized

• It has put teachers on the same page since we are all using the same platform
• It has improved student test scores and retention
• It has given us a platform to create and give student assessments in a fun way outside the typical classroom setting

Incentivized