DyKnow is a classroom management software solution that helps you monitor devices, reduce distractions, and keep learners on task. This software enables educators to see how learners are spending time on their devices in class. It can restrict the learners’ access; i.e., it can manage what a learner can and cannot access during a course through a customizable blocking plan.

Website: https://www.dyknow.com/

What Users Love About the App

“I really enjoy the fact that I can monitor students on their devices by using the classroom analytics feature; it allows me to view the history of student activity on a specific day. This tool also allows me to go back and see which students were off task and which were actually paying attention.”

“DyKnow gave me back control of my classroom. The ability to control what students can and cannot access is invaluable to keep them on task. I am able to set up pre-made lists of blocks to quickly access them for my classes.”

“I love that it provides data at the end of the day to analyze which websites grabbed the attention of my students. I then think about how I can develop my lessons to include them.”

“The ability to monitor internet usage is huge in keeping from being distracted by social media and streaming sites. We are a homeschool teaching group that uses the program so we don’t have the convenience of blocking some sites.”

“I like the ease of use and adaptation to any curriculum, as well as the simplicity to monitor the progress of the assignments of my students. It allows you to prioritize the content of work and its follow-up from any place.”

What Users Dislike About the App

“I wish I could take control of my students’ computers and close tabs rather than just block access. I would also like to control programs outside the browser, that is the main feature I would like.”

“Students will try their hardest to work around Dyknow monitoring. In environments where students have Dyknow installed on their computers, reliability can be spotty. This cuts into class time while trying to diagnose certain problems.”

“The biggest problem I have found with this software is the fact that students can easily bypass the software by downloading extensions within the browser that will allow them to play games but will not show up on my monitoring screen. I also often receive errors from the software saying that it can’t be loaded at that time.”

“It works great for helping teachers to monitor student behavior on Chromebooks. There are two main flaws I have noticed. 1) If a student downloads a Chrome extension (many games are available this way), it does not show up on the monitoring screen, but rather says “Out of Browser.” Teachers are unable to block these activities. 2) Teachers cannot take over individual student screens. The ability to take over an individual student’s screen and click on the correct link (or links) for them would allow for redirection or assistance without hassle. This would also help alleviate the above issue, as it would allow teachers to manually “x out” gaming apps. Other than these two issues, I enjoy using Dyknow and truly believe that it holds students accountable for their actions on the Chromebook.”