The new, wrap-around ecosystem approach from Family Zone Education Solutions enables cyber safety anywhere, any time, on any device. This means kids stay safe online whether at school, on the move or at home, explains Tim Levy. 

Keeping students safe and focused whilst delivering digital learning and modern exploratory pedagogy has been and continues to be a significant and costly challenge for schools. 

Add to this the rapid take-up of mobile devices and evolution of technology used by students to obscure their activities, and VPNs, proxies, hidden calculator apps, encrypted messages, camo modes, self-destruct and hotspotting are the new normal in schools. Then, let’s not forget, there’s also the challenge handed to unprepared parents when school-mandated devices are taken home. 

These dynamics are the heart of the cyber safety challenge facing schools today. They need a solution that provides effective technology to enforce acceptable use policies. They need tools to support student wellbeing and digital citizenship programmes, and, importantly, which support parents but don’t require the school to absorb parental responsibility.

That solution is Family Zone and Linewize

Constantly scanning usage

Family Zone has built the world’s first cyber safety ecosystem incorporating technology that works on any device and on any network, with education and wellbeing built-in. It’s achieved enormous growth in Australia, Asia and USA since its launch in mid-2016 and, last year, merged with NZ edutech innovator Linewize to embed its world-beating technology into the platform. This game-changing, merged platform is now available in New Zealand.

Mobile Zone is a suite of applications and extensions that can be installed on any device students use at school regardless of the internet connection. This technology works in harmony with Linewize in the school network to ensure school policy is always enforced during school time. After school, it’s up to parents, as Family Zone seamlessly transitions responsibility, choice and control over to them.

The platform includes world-leading VPN and malfeasance detection technology, constantly scanning usage and devices to detect violations and hazards, and providing schools with effective control. Included are comprehensive student wellbeing tools, including reporting on usage, internet searches, videos viewed, risky apps installed and risky behaviours undertaken.

Duty to keep students safe

A school’s core responsibility is educational outcomes. It has a fundamental duty to keep students safe. Today, both of these objectives are challenged by the advent of mobility. It’s the challenges of the use of personal devices at school and the use of learning devices at home. Addressing these challenges requires a holistic approach, one that engages the parent community but doesn’t consume school resources. This is Family Zone Education Solutions, driven by a vision in which parents, children and education are embedded into an effective approach to digital citizenship  

Tim Levy is Managing Director of Family Zone and is a keynote speaker at INTERFACEXpo 2018.

To help schools understand cyber safety issues on their network, Linewize is offering a free audit for a limited time. For more information call on 09 888 9285 or email info@linewize.com.