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

      Overview 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, Limit Web, Snapshot, and Share Instructor ...
    • 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

    • Deploying LanSchool Air Using Jamf Pro

      Overview The LanSchool Air for MacOS agent supports a few different deployment methods. See Mass Deploying LanSchool Air for Mac Student for more detailed instructions. Please note that our support team can only provide limited assistance with ...
    • Disabling Fast User Switching

      Overview LanSchool Air does not support Windows Fast User Switching feature. The student client will not function properly when the computer is switched to a second user account. It is recommended to disable Fast User Switching in order for the ...
    • Configuring Idle Timeout

      Overview By default, instructors will be automatically logged out of LanSchool Air after they have been idle for 2 hours. Site Admin users can configure the idle timeout settings to increase the amount of time instructors can remain idle before being ...
    • Downloading User and Device Lists

      Overview Site Admins can download CSV files containing a list of registered users and devices installed with LanSchool Air. This allows Site Admins the ability to review and manage which devices are consuming licenses and which users are using ...
    • Managing LanSchool Air Licenses

      Overview The LanSchool Air client is installed per device for Windows and Mac OS devices. As devices are repurposed or replaced, it is important to fully recover (free up) the LanSchool Air license. Recovering the LanSchool Air license takes 2 steps: ...