Installing and configuring the NetSupport School Student for Google Chrome

NetSupport School delivers the tools you need to help maximise the effectiveness of computer-led teaching in a Google Chrome environment.

The NetSupport School Student for Chrome extension can be installed on each student machine running Google Chrome OS. From the teacher's machine, you can then connect to each Chromebook system, enabling you to monitor the screens and interact with each student quickly and efficiently.

Planning an installation

For a teacher to be able to monitor and interact with their students using Google Chromebooks, the NetSupport Connectivity Server must be installed on a Windows Server.

Note: A NetSupport School Tutor for Chrome app is available to use on your Google Chrome devices.

Configure NetSupport School Tutor to connect to Google Chrome Students

  1. Select {File}{Configuration} from the Tutor Console drop-down menu.

  2. Select Network Settings.

  3. Click Configure.

  4. Enter the Gateway address, port number and security key. This must be the same as set in the NetSupport Connectivity Server.

  5. Click OK.

  6. You can now browse for Google Chrome Students.

Installing and configuring the NetSupport School Student for Google Chrome extension

If your organisation uses Google Apps for Domains, you can centrally manage the NetSupport School settings within the Google Admin Console. For full instructions, refer to technical document: Centrally configuring and deploying the NetSupport School Student extension for Google Chrome.

Note: Starting in June 2024, Chrome extensions are changing behaviour following Google’s migration from Manifest V2 to V3. We are working on updates to our Student extensions to meet the new requirements. In the meantime, to ensure the changes don’t impact the behaviour of your installed extensions, we recommend extending the use of Manifest V2 in the Google Admin Console using the steps outlined in the following technical article: NetSupport ChromeOS extensions and Manifest V3.

  1. Download the NetSupport School Student for Google Chrome extension from the Google Chrome store.

  2. Enter the URL chrome://settings/extensions to access the 'Extensions' configuration page.

  3. Locate the NetSupport School Student for Google Chrome extension and click Options.

  4. Enter the Gateway address and port number of the Name and Connectivity Server.

  5. If connecting to Students using Room modeClosed Allows you to connect to Students in a specified room., decide what room the Student is going to be assigned to.

  6. Optionally, enter a name that identifies this Student.

  7. Once you have entered the required student configuration options, it is recommended that you protect the settings by entering a password.

  8. Click Save to store the configuration.

  9. Rather than having to manually configure each Chromebook, multiple installations using the stored options can be centrally managed in the Google Admin Console. Click Export As File to create a configuration file containing the settings. Before the file is generated, you have the option to allow changes to the Client name and MAC address fields on the Options page. By default, the generated file will disable these two settings.

  10. Click Generate File. By default, the file will be named Config.json. This file can then be uploaded in the Google Admin Console in order to centrally apply the NetSupport School Student configuration to the required devices. If you require any assistance with this, our Support team will be happy to help.

A connection status indicator is displayed at the Student, showing the current connection state between the Student device and Tutor machine. The indicator colours are:

Red = no connection.

Yellow = attempting a connection.

Orange = connected to the NetSupport School Name & Connectivity Server.

Green = connected to NetSupport School Tutor/current class.

Note: To ensure you retain full visibility of your students' internet use, it is recommended that you 'disallow' Incognito Mode in the Chrome OS User Settings via Google Apps for Education.

Features supported on Google Chrome:

  • View a real-time thumbnail of each student machine in a single view.

  • Zoom in to view a larger thumbnail of any selected student Chromebook.

  • Ask students to register at the start of each lesson.

  • Lock the student's mouse and keyboard when instructing.

  • Send an instant survey or request for feedback to each student and display results in real time.

  • The teacher can open a discussion session that all or selected students can join, enter their comments and share with the rest of the class.

  • Send an attention-grabbing message or instruction to each student machine.

  • Block all internet access.

  • Optimised performance for Chromebooks running on battery mode.

  • Monitor web activity on student Chromebooks.

  • Extra security with password-protected 'Options' setting on student Chromebooks.