Tips and Tricks for Netop Vision and Vision Pro
Allow, filter, lock: Control Internet use in class and during lessons
The Internet is a dynamic structure that offers a lot of potential for teaching and learning, but it's also rife with distractions - which makes you wonder: how can I restrict Internet access while still providing my students with important online resources they need?
With Netop Vision and Vision Pro, you decide which web sites are accessible during class and which are not.
With the following Tips & Tricks, we'll show you step by step how to: 1. Block web access
2. Create and apply resource lists and (permitted web sites) 3. Create and apply block lists (blacklist)
4. Export lists for other teacher computers on a USB stick
1. Block web access
With Netop Vision, you can control student access to the web so that students can only use it when appropriate in a teaching and learning situation. With the click of a mouse, you can block web access on all student computers, for a group or an individual student.
To block web access for the entire class:
In the Vision console, on the Home tab in the Controlling group, click on Lock Web.
If the students open the Internet browser, a message indicating that web access is blocked is displayed. To unlock access, click on the Lock
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2. Create and apply resource lists
A resource list includes one or more web sites that students are allowed to use; the rest of the Internet is blocked. By creating resource lists that you use in various teaching scenarios (for example, to complete a specific assignment or in a test situation), you can quickly and easily limit student web access to appropriate sites only.
2.1 Create a resource list
On the Home tab, in the Controlling group, click on the Filter Web and then click on Manage Lists. The Filter manager opens.
In the Filter manager window, in the Home menu, click on the New Filter button.
TIP: Choose a name that is descriptive and corresponds with the overall topic of the websites in
the list. For example, "French Revolution" or "Ancient Egypt".
In the next step of the resource list, enter the required Internet addresses.
Click on New Link to add new web sites to the resource list.
Type or copy-and-paste a web address and type a name for each link.
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When a resource list is applied (multiple lists can also be applied simultaneously), the restrictions of the list are immediately enforced and the students in the classroom can only access the
websites on the list; access to the rest of the Internet is blocked.
On the Home tab, in the Controlling group, click on Filter Web and then select the list you wish to apply.
A small icon on each student thumbnail in Vision indicates that a resource list has been applied to these student computers.
The list of permitted websites is automatically displayed on the student computer as soon as the web browser is started.
3. Create and apply block lists (Pro version only)
If you only want to restrict student access to websites that would interrupt the class or the learning process (e.g. social media web sites such as Facebook or online games), you can create one or more block lists.
A block list includes one or more websites that students are not allowed to access. Note: The "Block list" function is only available in Vision Pro
3.1 Create a block list
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In the Filter Manager window, in the Home menu, click on the New Filter button.
Select Block List as a filter type and type a name for your new block list in the Filter
Name field.
Then type a name for your block list in the Filter Name field. This name then appears under the block lists on the Filter Web menu.
3.2 Apply a block list
When a block list is applied (multiple lists can also be applied simultaneously), the students in the classroom can no longer access the websites on the list. The block lists are immediately active.
On the Home tab, in the Controlling group, click on Filter Web and then select the list you wish to apply.
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4. Export lists to a USB stick for other teacher computers
Once you have created one or more lists to restrict student web access, you might want to share your lists with other teachers who use a different Vision teacher computer.
The easiest way to do this is to export your lists from your computer to a single file and then import the file on the other teacher computer. The export file is a standard XML file that can be copied from one computer to another, for example, by means of a USB stick.
4.1 Export lists
1. In the Filter Manager, under File, click on Export and then on Save.
Note: The default location and file name is C:\Users\<user
name>\AppData\Local\Netop\Vision\WebFilterPolicy.xml. You can change the file name and location at any time.
4.2 Import lists on other Vision teacher computers In the Filter Manager, under File, click on Import.
Before proceeding with the actual import, Vision asks whether you want to save any lists you may have defined on the computer. This is because the import deletes any existing lists and replaces them with the imported lists. The import procedure does not therefore add any lists, but
overwrites/replaces all lists.
If you have not defined any lists on your computer or if you want to replace them with the new lists, click on No.
Click on Yes if you wish to create a back-up of your existing lists before proceeding with the import.
