Tracking and Enhancing Student Engagement in Distance Learning with Google Workspace

Distance learning has transformed the educational landscape, with schools rapidly adapting to new methods of instruction. However, one significant challenge is tracking student engagement in this online environment. With students, teachers, and devices now spread across various locations, the role of technology in maintaining educational standards has grown exponentially. Tools like Google Workspace have become central to daily activities, leading to increased usage of Google Drive, Meet, and Classroom. This article will guide you through effectively monitoring student participation using Google Workspace tools, ensuring that you can identify disengaged students and take appropriate actions to re-engage them.

Understanding Student Engagement in a Digital Environment

Tracking student engagement is not a new challenge, but the absence of in-person interaction has complicated it. In the digital classroom, measuring whether students are actively participating can be challenging. To address this, IT departments are increasingly turning to the power of data and analytics, with one key metric being the students' login activity. Identifying students who are not logging into their Google Workspace accounts is often the first step in recognizing disengagement.

Leveraging Gopher for Users to Monitor Login Activity

Gopher for Users, an add-on for Google Sheets, provides an effective solution for monitoring student login activity. This tool allows you to pull native login reports from Google Workspace and sort them into time frames such as the past 7 days, 7-14 days, 14-30 days, and beyond. For a more visual approach, the tool integrates with Looker Studio to create a daily dashboard that offers an explorable view of user data admins can share with district leaders.

Digging Deeper: Analyzing Granular Login Data

For more detailed insights, you can use Google Sheets to examine individual users' most recent login times. By filtering the Last Login Time column, you can quickly identify students who have not logged in during your specified time frame—today, this week, or this month. This granular data enables you to take targeted actions to address disengagement.

UserEngagementFilter.png

Addressing Potential Data Accuracy Issues

While Gopher for Users provides valuable insights, there are some limitations to be aware of. For example, mobile and Android devices may not always capture accurate login data. Additionally, students using Chromebooks at home may remain logged in for extended periods. In this case, misconfiguring certain settings can lead to inaccurate last login times. To mitigate these issues, you should:

Check Lid Close Actions: Ensure the Action on lid close setting logs users out upon closing the lid and enforce an idle time limit.

  • From the Admin Console: Navigate to Devices > Chrome > Settings > Users and browser settings. Scroll to the Power and shutdown section, then select Idle settings. For the Action on lid close, select Logout from the drop-down and Save.
    ActionOnLidClose.png

Utilize Session Length Limit: Implement the Session Length Limit setting to require users to log in again within a specified time, typically between 8 and 24 hours.

  • From the Admin Console: Navigate to Devices > Chrome > Settings > Users and browser settings. Scroll to the Navigation section, then Maximum session length. Enter the number of minutes for the session length in the available field and Save.
    MaximumSessionLenght.png

By enabling these settings, you can ensure that login data is more accurate, particularly for Chromebook users.

Enhancing Engagement with Google Workspace

Using tools like Gopher for Users and configuring settings to ensure accurate data, you can effectively track and enhance student engagement in a distance learning environment. Whether you're using Looker Studio dashboards or granular data in Google Sheets, these strategies will help you stay informed about student participation and take proactive steps to support those falling behind.

To utilize these tools, request a quote or add the Gopher for Users Add-On in Google Sheets. Even during the trial period, you can access basic functionality, including bulk changes and filtering options, to gain insights into your students' engagement levels. Looker Studio reports are not included in the trial version of the tool.

Document Version Date Description of Change
1.0 3/12/2023 Redirected link away from AIT site to CDWG
1.1 5/28/2024 Removed author block
1.2 8/23/2024 Rewrote, reverify

 

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