Protect your students from inappropriate features in Google Workspace for Education (GWFE)

In this blog post we will explore about Transform Your Teaching with GWFE and Safe Doc. As technology continues to evolve, schools and educational institutions need to keep up with the latest trends to provide their students with the best learning experiences. Google Workspace for Education is a cloud-based suite of productivity tools designed specifically for schools and educational institutions.

GWFE is a suite of tools that offers a range of benefits that help to enhance collaboration, communication, organization, productivity, engagement, and administration tasks.

Introduction to GWFE and Safe Doc

GWFE is a suite of cloud-based productivity tools designed to help educators and students collaborate and learn more effectively. Welcome to the Learning Center

The Google Workspace for Education includes popular tools like Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Classroom, which allow educators to create, collaborate, and share information with students, colleagues, and parents. Google Workspace for Education overview

Finally, Safe Doc, on the other hand, is a Chrome extension that adds an extra layer of security to Google Workspace for Education. It is designed to protect students from accessing inappropriate or distracting content while using Google Workspace for Education.

Safe Doc also provides teachers with additional controls and features to monitor and manage student activity on Google Workspace for Education. What Is Safe Doc

How Safe Doc Improves the teaching experience

  • A Safe Doc is a powerful tool that can help improve the teaching experience in several ways. 
  • One of the biggest benefits of Safe Doc is that it helps teachers create a safer learning environment for their students.
  • By blocking inappropriate content, Safe Doc ensures that students are not exposed to harmful or distracting material that could negatively impact their learning experience.
  • Safe Doc also improves teacher productivity by making it easier to manage students' activity on Google Workspace for Education. Using Safe Doc, teachers can monitor and control student activity, including viewing browsing history, blocking websites, and restricting access to certain features in Google Workspace for Education.
  • This helps teachers ensure that students are staying on task and engaging in productive learning activities.

Benefits of using GWFE and Safe Doc

Using Google Workspace for Education and Safe Doc together can provide several benefits for educators. 

  • Firstly, Google Workspace for Education provides a range of tools that can help simplify administrative tasks, such as managing student accounts and sharing and grading assignments. 

This can save teachers time and allow them to focus more on teaching and student engagement. A Brief History of Google Workspace for Education

  • In addition, Safe Doc helps create a more secure and productive learning environment by protecting students from inappropriate content and providing teachers with more control over student activity. 

This can help improve student outcomes by ensuring that students stay on task and are not distracted by irrelevant or harmful content. The Value of Safe Doc

How to set up Safe Doc with GWFE

Setting up a Safe Doc with Google Workspace for Education is a straightforward process. 

First, you will need to install the Safe Doc Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store. Once installed, you can configure Safe Doc settings by logging into the Safe Doc dashboard and selecting the settings you want to enable.

Safe Doc has two plans, a permanent free plan for personal @gmail.com accounts and a paid plan for school domains. Setup Safe Doc

Get Safe Doc for your @gmail account

Safe Doc is easy to install for a personal @gmail account.

  1. Make sure your @gmail account is signed in to Chrome and the cloud sync is turned on. Sign in & sync in Chrome
  2. To add Safe Doc to Chrome, visit Chrome web store  and click Add to Chrome.


3. A GREEN umbrella icon will appear on the Chrome toolbar if the installation was successful. A GREY umbrella is not working properly. Try to Uninstall and reinstall.

4. After installing the extension, you'll see a guide page, and you'll be able to start using Safe Doc in a New doc. 

Note: @gmail accounts do not have access to all Safe Doc features.

5. Safe Doc does not require configuration for personal @gmail accounts.

For your @gmail account, you can use the Safe Doc free plan. Below are some of the free plan features. And these are applied to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and Drawings,

For your @gmail account, you can use the Safe Doc free plan. Below are some of the free plan features. And these are applied to Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, and Drawings:

  1. Disables Explore features (where students can search images and other information on the web).
  2.  Disables Search for web features (the same feature as above).
  3. Disables Dictionary features in Google Docs.
  4. Also disables the define option, which let the student find information about some specific terms. For example Momentum.
  5. Disable Google Search Games, e.g. search "play snake game", and you will see the game window disappear.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. Safe Doc supports many other security features to protect your students. Please explore our Support page. SAFE DOC HELP

Install Safe Doc for Schools

To begin using Safe Doc in your school, follow these steps if you are a school IT admin:

  1. Request a 30-day trial license.
  2. Once approved, the trial license will be sent to you via email.
  3. Deploy Safe Doc to a test user within a designated test Organization Unit (OU) using the trial license.
  4. Ensure that all desired features are properly activated.
  5. Once you have successfully configured Safe Doc, repeat step 3 for all students within their respective OUs.
  6. Verify that Safe Doc has been properly installed and is functioning correctly on your students' Chrome browsers. SAFE DOC HELP

Safe Doc features and how they benefit teachers

Safe Doc includes several features that can benefit teachers and improve the teaching experience. Some of these features include:

  • Block Search the Web: Teachers can block Search the web option in Google Workspace that allows students to search images on the web. This feature is available in Google Docs. Teachers reported of searching inappropriate images by students with that feature. So, Safe Doc let’s you block this feature easily.
  • Block YouTube Search: Safe Doc also block the YouTube search from Slides, Forms, Google Classroom, and sites. Just like above feature, this also provide a loophole to students searching video on web. Read more about it.
  • Activity Controls: Teachers can block certain features within Google Workspace for Education, such as chat or commenting, to help ensure that students are staying on task and avoiding distractions.
  • Customizable Settings: Safe Doc settings can be customized for individual students or groups of students, allowing teachers to tailor the Safe Doc experience to their specific classroom needs. Safe Doc Features

Examples of Safe Doc in action

To give you an idea of how Safe Doc can be used in the classroom, here are a few examples:

  • Google Search Games is a distracting feature for students. They can simply search “Google Search Games” on Google and there will be many games that can be played online. So, with the help of Safe Doc, teachers can block google search games.
  • Blocking students from adding people in Google Meet. Many schools reported that some mischievous students disturb the classroom meeting by adding other people in meetings. Safe Doc can easily prevent students from adding other people in Google Meet.
  • A teacher can use Safe Doc to block chat or commenting features (docs,sheets,slides) within Google Workspace for Education to ensure that students are not engaging in off-topic conversations during class time.

Here are some how  Safe Doc adds value to Google Workspace for Education:

  1. Enhanced security: Safe Doc enables IT administrators to control student access to specific features, such as remove inappropriate functions in google sheets or disable private comments in google classroom. This ensures that sensitive data is not shared outside of the classroom or school network.
  2. Prevents distractions: Safe Doc can also prevent students distractions by preventing students from adding people to google meet and prevent students from blocking teachers in google chat and also by block google search games.
  3. Saves time: Safe Doc can save valuable classroom time by blocking off-task behavior, which can otherwise lead to distractions and disruptions block youtube in google search. Teachers can focus on delivering quality instruction instead of constantly monitoring student behavior. prevent students from turning in assignment late in google classroom.
  4. Customizable configuration: Safe Doc's settings are fully customizable, enabling IT administrators to create policies that meet the unique needs of their schools or districts. Safe docs have a lot of customizable configuration that can be turned ON and OFF according to the need. Here is the link from where you can find the configuration Safe Doc Configuration .
  5. Simple installation: Safe Doc is easy to install and use, with no additional hardware or software required. IT administrators can quickly deploy it across their entire organization, and teachers can start using it right away. 

Click on: Setup Safe Doc

Tips for using Safe Doc effectively

To get the most out of Safe Doc, here are a few tips:

  • Take the time to customize Safe Doc settings based on your classroom needs. This will help ensure that Safe Doc is providing the best possible experience for you and your students.
  • Use Safe Doc in conjunction with other Google Workspace for Education tools, such as Google Docs and Sheets, to create a streamlined and productive learning experience for your students.
  • Encourage students to use Safe Doc at home as well as at school to ensure that they are staying safe and productive while using the internet. Safe Doc Community 

Training resources for GWFE and Safe Doc

Google provides a range of training resources for educators who want to learn more about using Google Workspace for Education and Safe Doc. These resources include:

Conclusion

Google Workspace for Education is an excellent suite of tools that helps schools and educational institutions enhance their teaching and learning experiences. The suite of tools provides a range of benefits, including increased collaboration, enhanced communication, streamlined organization, improved productivity, increased engagement, cost-effectiveness, simplified administration, and flexibility. 

The Safe Doc Chrome extension is an essential tool for ensuring the security of student data, making Google Workspace for Education an excellent choice for schools and educational institutions.

So why not give Google Workspace for Education and Safe Doc a try and see how they can help transform your teaching experience today?

Frequently asked questions

  1. What is Safe Doc, and what does it do?
    • Safe Doc is a browser extension designed to enhance Google Workspace for Education by providing additional security and compliance features, including content filtering, URL blocking, and real-time monitoring.
  2. Is Safe Doc free to use, or does it come with a cost?
    • Safe Doc offers a free trial period of 30 days, after which users can choose to upgrade to a paid subscription for additional features and support.
  3. Which browsers does Safe Doc support?
    • Safe Doc is currently compatible with Google Chrome.
  4. Can I customize Safe Doc settings to meet my school's needs?
    • Yes, Safe Doc offers a range of configuration options, here is the link you can find: Safe Doc Configuration
  5. Is Safe Doc easy to install and manage for IT administrators?
    • Yes, Safe Doc comes with a straightforward deployment process and a user-friendly admin dashboard that allows IT administrators to manage and monitor Safe Doc features across multiple devices and users.

Get a free 30-day trial for your school today.

You can download Safe Doc from the Chrome Web Store.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/safe-doc/mmhppocgfdombmapajfeafhecobfcjpk

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