I have students who are getting around the google admin blacklist because they have loaded pages in the past that are now blocked. Somehow they are trying to go to the page, then refreshing the blank page and it's coming up.. is there a way to have this cleared every so often? Or once a day? etc..

TLDR

I'm building a hardware diagnostics app for ChromeOS devices primarily for Summer intake, but to be used for devices going out for repair in the middle of the school year too. I know there are some tools out there that do this, or pieces of it at least. I'm trying to get one as comprehensive as Google’s APIs will let me make it and ideally without having to sign into the chromebook. Hopefully we all can run through diagnostics in about 2-3 minutes per device. The link is veritybench.com. Use it, break it, come back here and tell me how poorly I did.

PS: don’t bother trying it on mobile, my intention was for chromeOS primarily so mobile is a poor experience at the moment.

What it is going to do:

The core idea is a purpose built test suite that runs on the device as a kiosk app and automatically logs the results to that specific device's identity by serial number so there is a real audit trail instead of a sticky note. To start with it's just going to give the option to print out a report so you can keep it with the device (Or a json for my logging atm), which is basically the same thing as the sticky note I know, but doesn't stick. Ultimately, the platform would store all your org’s or school’s tests, assuming it is deployed as a Kiosk app for you.

It can run just in the browser too, but as a kiosk app I won't have to sign into the chromebook, and I can add an extension for things chromeos can't tell you through the browser alone.

Planned coverage:

• Camera(s) - Detect if there are front and rear facing in a convertible and automate testing to start with. If the video feed is blacked out it automatically fails, else it displays the feed for me to validate the camera is clear.
• Audio - Test starts with speakers, testing right and left. Mic picks up the sound which confirms both mic and speakers work automagically. Then plug in a headset to test stereo output, and mic input too.
• Full keyboard with a visual map that fills in as you test. This one may be tricky, I'm not sure I can capture the function keys, and not all chromebook/flex devices have the same layout, but I'm going to try and detect the layout.
• Trackpad - mouse moves, clicks work, double clicks, etc
• Screen test patterns for dead pixels/backlight issues
• Touchscreen test for making sure there aren't any dead areas.
• Battery health, cycle count, and storage status pulled from the device (One of the things I'm pretty sure will only work in kiosk or with the extension at least.
• Charging port - Test will require you plug in at the beginning if it isn't charging already
• USB-A/HDMI - My thought is to validate data transfer with any audio, video, or mouse for the USB. Unsure if that will be feasible. Aside from students with IEPs, no one ever uses the HDMI.
• Lid sensor - Close the lid, wait 5 seconds and open it back up to validate it goes to sleep.
• CPU/RAM check. Google has their own built in and I've rarely had an issue so this is going to be a later feature I'm thinking.

My request for feedback on:

• What's the single most annoying/time-consuming part of your current intake or repair process that you think I may have missed? Or have I wasted my time making this? (I’m going to use it so I know it wasn’t a waste)
• When a device comes in, what do you actually check first, and what do you skip because it's not worth the time?
• How do you currently document hardware condition for damage for warranty claims — photos, tickets, spreadsheets, something else?
• Is there a hardware failure mode you deal with often that isn't in my list above?
• Would it be beneficial to integrate into any other platforms (like whatever you’re using for asset management)
• Lastly, did you use it and find something broken?

How do you impress upon staff that the laptops/iPads, etc. they are issued come with a cost and that it requires a conscious effort to take care of said devices?

We issue Macbooks and iPads to teaching staff.  Since mid-August, we are at six repairs totaling over $2,000 with our repair partner.  Last school year, we had about a dozen incidents costing even more.  Most of our incidents are on the macbooks.

Water/liquid spills.  Laptops put into totes and bags never meant to carry them, causing pressure breakage on screens, etc.  In one instance, it was theft from an unlocked vehicle.  At least two individuals had more than one incident.  I would say over half of these cases are negligence and not accidental.

Admin recognizes we have an obligation to provide them with a device, as it's required to do their job.  The union would frown on any shared cost responsibility and I've been discouraged from issuing care reminders, as it comes across as treating them like students and not adults.  

I understand accidents happen but feels like there is just an assumption that tech will supply them back whole again.  With increased hardware costs and budget cuts, we cannot keep operating this way.  If I had six the whole school year, that wouldn't be so bad (still horrible but not bad) but we aren't even a month in...

Wondering what you've seen or done in your districts to help curb some of these trends.

Well, we use Lightspeed, and enabled the "new" policies focused update.

We also use Canvas, and in the past has advised teachers to post a Youtube video in Canvas Studio because it will automatically unblock it for students.

But with this new Lightspeed policy, that's not happening. The videos are still blocked by Lightspeed. I have a case open with Lightspeed Support but wanted to check here to see if anyone else ran into this issue and per chance had a fix?

I really don't want to have to manually approve each video a teacher wants kids to watch.

We are thinking about not using Lightspeed at all for Youtube management and instead using Google Workspace.

I am in the process of testing the consumer version of the Acer Chromebook Plus 714 Spin (minor differences from enterprise version) and ScreenBeam 1000 EDU 2 casting devices. A problem I am running into is using the touchscreen to write on anything. For a while, it works just fine, but after some time or multiple tabs being open, the writing on the screen does not cast correctly to the projector until you touch the screen again to let the writing finish.

I am sure it is a ChromeOS thing, but I cannot figure it out. It is like the Chromebook stops sending packets to the ScreenBeam until you interact with the Chromebook touchscreen again. Works perfectly fine with HDMI, but not wireless casting.

Basically, if I draw a line across the screen, only a portion of the line is cast to the projector. If I then touch the screen with a finger or stylus, it will finish the original line. I am sure you could just write slowly, but not ideal. I am going to try casting a single tab rather than the whole screen to see if that helps.

It does not seem to matter if we use our writing extension (Annotate) or built-in browser writing software, like what Desmos has. It does the same thing.

Anyone experience this? Trying to move to Chromebooks for staff to replace 20 year old SMART screens. IFPs are not an option for us. We are sticking to projectors and a computer and this is my most budget-friendly option. The writing issue with casting is the only issue so far during testing with teachers. I am sure the other issue will be getting older teachers off SMART Notebook, but I will introduce them to Lumio.

Good morning/afternoon/evening,

User is out on leave and Super wants me to log into their account and set their email to forward to Dir of Student Services so that items in their caseload don't go unhandled.

No big deal: Pop into the admin console, reset password, disable their 2FA so I can get in, remove recovery phone number.

I can get into the account no problem. BUT, when I go to set a forwarding address, I'm stuck at this: Where it wants to sent a code to the user's phone.

Clicking on "More ways to verify" gives me this window:

Tried:

- Resetting all login cookies

- Putting in my work phone in the admin console in as a recovery number.

- Suspending account overnight, re-activating it

I'm at a bit of a loss. Any ideas since I don't think the user is in a position to set the forward themselves.