Scenes are a feature of GoGuardian Teacher which provide greater control over the websites and web pages that students can access during class sessions. Scenes come in two types: Allowed or Blocked, both of which can be customized to fit each classroom's needs.

In addition to web filtering, Scenes can be used to limit the number of tabs each student can have open at a time as well as automatically open websites for students when applied to the class (see below).

• Components of a Scene

• Allow List Scenes

• Block List Scenes

• Creating a Scene

• Deleting a Scene

• Sharing Scenes With Other Teachers

• Block or Allow Sites with Wildcards

Depending on which type of Scene List is created, websites can be blocked or allowed using *wildcards, another term for * (asterisks). To block by keyword, add a word with an * immediately before or after the word to your exceptions list. Blocking by keyword in a Scene will only block or allow website domains or sub-domains containing that keyword, but will not apply to website paths (anything that comes after .com, .org, etc).   

Example: *games or games*  

When added to an Allowed Websites List Scene, this would allow all websites and website sub-domains that contain the word “games” e.g. games.com or example.games.com. Example.com/games would not apply. 

• Additional Information on Wildcards

• Scene Filtering and Adding Websites

• How to Check If a Website Is Blocked

• Scenes for Student Groups

• Using Scene Statuses

• Allowing Access to Blocked Sites for Students

• Common Problems With Scenes

Auto Open Tabs

You can configure your scene to automatically open websites on your students' devices when applied using the Auto-Open Tabs section. URLs added to this section will be opened when the scene is applied.

Tabs will only open if the student has a Chrome web browser window open and running. So, if your student does not receive them right away, ask them to open a Chrome web browser window, and they should receive the tabs.

The option to auto-open tabs is in a different location for Allow Lists and Block Lists.

For Allow Lists, you must first add a site to the allowed list before the option will appear. Once a site is added to the allow list, a check box will become available on the right side.

For Block Lists, the Auto-Open Tabs section will be available as soon as you go into the Create Blocked Websites List screen.

A pop-up window will appear, and you can enter any sites to be auto-opened that you wish. When done, simply click Update Scene.

Maximum Open Tabs

You can limit the number of tabs a student can have open at a given time using the Maximum Open Tabs option. By default, there is no limit set, but you can quickly adjust the limit using the drop-down menu. The tab limit is only in effect while the scene is actively applied to your classroom session. When a scene with a tab limit is applied, any tabs over the limit will be closed automatically.