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Due to upcoming changes to Google, Hāpara will no longer be able to provide the student Gmail viewer in Teacher Dashboard after Dec. 31, 2023.
The current functionality that allows teachers to view student emails will no longer be available. This feature was created a decade ago when schools relied on email to send assignments and feedback to students. When students couldn’t find an email, teachers used the Gmail viewer to retrieve it or check to see if the learner received the emailed assignment. Some schools also employed the Gmail viewer to check for cyberbullying via email, but web filters have improved to the extent that this is no longer efficient.
Digital communication has evolved dramatically and Hāpara has added various features that allow teachers to provide feedback and share assignments with learners. Teachers can create and share links and assignments directly from Hāpara, and provide formative feedback in the moment by accessing assignments in Student Tiles.
For more information on how to use these features check out these articles:
- Student Tiles in Teacher Dashboard
- Student Tiles in Highlights
- Sharing links with students
- Sharing files with students
- Sharing Google Classroom assignments
If a student is using Gmail during your instructional time, you’ll still be able to monitor that activity in Hāpara Highlights. And, web filters like this one can identify cyberbullying or emotional distress and alert appropriate school staff. You can also set up a guided browsing session that filters out Gmail so students cannot access it during class time.
Finally, the Gmail viewer functionality no longer meets the requirements of the Hāpara ethical monitoring policy. This policy emphasizes transparency and student privacy. Since viewing student Gmail outside of instructional hours is not necessary, it would go against the spirit of this policy.
If you’re curious about how to use the updated features in the Hāpara Instructional Suite, consider taking one of our Learning Bytes courses. They take an hour or less to complete and provide you with all of the information you need to get the most out of Hāpara.
Thank you for using Hāpara to power awesome learning.
Explore how schools use a web filter and screen monitoring to keep students safe and teach digital citizenship.
