Using Blank Screen

Using Blank Screen

Overview

LanSchool Air's customizable Blank Screen feature enables you to push a Blank Screen to your students' computers. When you enable Blank Screen, students are not able to view or listen to anything on their device until the Blank Screen is disabled by the instructor. The feature can be used, for example, to:
  1. Get students' attention or return students' attention back to you
  2. Limit computer-related distractions including video and audio
Watch this quick video demonstration of how to use Blank Screen with students in LanSchool Air:

Configuring Blank Screen

Instructors can configure their own preferences for Blank Screen from within Class Settings. These preferences include a customized message and background image.
  1. From the Class Toolbar, click the Class Settings  icon. The CLASS SETTINGS page displays.

  2. From the side navigation, click Blank Screen under My Class Settings.



  3. Customize the screen:

    1. In the Blank Screen Message box, type a message to display on students' computers.
    2. Choose a background image from the gallery.



    3. To upload a custom image select Custom. 
      1. Images are not able to be uploaded from your computer. They can only be loaded from a URL. 
      2. Supported custom image files are PNG, JPEG, BMP, and GIF. Maximum width 480px



    4. Click Done. The customized Blank Screen is now ready to push to student computer.

Enabling Blank Screen on Student Computers

A Blank Screen can be pushed to a single student, a selected student, or all students in a class.
While blanked, students will not be able to interact with their device and all audio will be temporarily muted.

To push Blank Screen to one or more students:
  1. From the Classes page, click a class card for the class you want to start.



  2. Click START CLASS on the Class Toolbar.



  3. (Optional) Select one or more students to push Blank Screen to. If you do not select any students, Blank Screen can be pushed to all students only.

  4. Click the Blank student screens icon on the Class Toolbar



    A menu opens.

  5. From the menu, select either Blank All Screens or Blank Selected Screens.


    Blank Screen is pushed to the whole class or to selected students, depending on the option chosen. The Blank student screens icon shows either "All" or the number of students for whom Blank Screen is turned on. 



    To unblank screens, use the appropriate unblank options on the menu.


    • Related Articles

    • Sharing Instructor Screen with the Class

      Overview When a class is started, the instructor has the ability to broadcast their screen to the student devices. The instructor can choose to share their entire screen with the class, only an application window or a specific browser tab. This is a ...
    • Teacher FAQ

      LanSchool Air - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Managing Classes What if a teacher forgets to end a class? Will the class session time out? A class session will end when the teacher selects "Exit Class" or signs out of LanSchool Air. After two hours ...
    • Using Web Limiting

      Overview To block troublesome or distracting websites or limit students to a select few websites pertinent to the class, use the Web Limiting feature in LanSchool Air. There is currently no limit on the number of URLs that can be added to the block ...
    • Using the Class Toolbar

      The Class Toolbar is present on class screens. If a class has been entered but not started, the Class Toolbar shows a green START CLASS button. Active-class only functions (Push Website Blank Screen, and Limit Web) are disabled. Refer to the table ...
    • Using Class Group View

      Overview Switching to Group View allows instructors to position student screens in a way aligns with how they manage the classroom. For example, an instructor might group students together that need to managed more closely. Another group might ...
    • Popular Articles

    • Viewing Student Client Status

      Overview If a student device is appearing as offline, check the status of LanSchool Air client installed on the student's device to make sure it's provisioned and connected. To see the current status of the student client, open the LanSchool Air chat ...
    • Using Web Limiting

      Overview To block troublesome or distracting websites or limit students to a select few websites pertinent to the class, use the Web Limiting feature in LanSchool Air. There is currently no limit on the number of URLs that can be added to the block ...
    • Mass Deploying LanSchool Air for Chromebook Student

      This guide walks site administrators through the process of deploying the LanSchool Air app to students using Chromebooks and getting LanSchool Air ready for instructors to use. For information on installing the LanSchool Air app to Windows or Mac ...
    • Controlling Student Browser Tabs

      Overview Controlling browser tabs is currently supported for students using Chromebooks. Students on Windows or macOS devices will only display the most recently viewed website. In List View and Student Details, you have added controls over tabs on a ...
    • Using Blank Screen

      Overview LanSchool Air's customizable Blank Screen feature enables you to push a Blank Screen to your students' computers. When you enable Blank Screen, students are not able to view or listen to anything on their device until the Blank Screen is ...
    • Recent Articles

    • Closing Student Applications

      Overview Instructors can view a list of students' running applications and can force close distracting applications on students' Windows or MacOS devices. This feature can help instructors keep students on task during class. App closing is not ...
    • Excluding Students from Class

      Overview If a student is absent from class or otherwise does not need to be monitored, an instructor can choose to exclude them from the class session. Excluding a student will temporarily remove them from the classroom view and any commands issued ...
    • Enabling Two-Factor Authentication

      Early Access: To request this feature be enabled for your LanSchool Air organization, please contact the Customer Success team. Overview Site Admins can enable two-factor authentication for other site admins or teachers. This provides extra account ...
    • Scheduling Classes to Dismiss Automatically

      Overview Instructors can set their classes to automatically dismiss the student devices when the class ends.  When a class is started and restrictions are enabled for a group of students, those restrictions will remain in place until the feature is ...
    • Using Co-Teaching

      Overview Instructors can add other instructors to a class to be able to monitor and manage the class together. A co-teacher could be a classroom aid, a substitute, or an administrator. Co-teaching allows multiple instructors to all engage with the ...