The GoGuardian App on iPad

The GoGuardian App on iPadOS supports GoGuardian Teacher’s classroom management and reporting tools, with key differences from Chromebook and Windows deployments. Feature differences on iPadOS are due to limitations of Apple’s operating system and cannot be changed.

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Allow Notifications Before Getting Started

Features of The GoGuardian App, including Teacher commands, rely on push notifications to reach student devices. Confirm that notifications are enabled on each student’s iPad before the first session. On each student’s iPad:

1. Go to Settings, then select Notifications.
2. Select Screen Sharing.
3. Turn on Allow Notifications.

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Understand Screen Sharing on iPad

On Chromebook deployments, GoGuardian Teacher views student screens automatically when a session starts. On iPadOS, students must grant permission at the start of each session. When a class session begins, students receive a push notification asking permission for the teacher to view their screen. The teacher’s dashboard shows the student’s tile with a “waiting screen permission” message until the student accepts the Start Broadcast prompt. A three-second countdown follows before the broadcast begins. Once the broadcast starts, students can tap the Home button or tap outside the broadcast prompt to leave the screen. A red recording icon appears in the top-right corner of the student’s device. Tapping it stops the broadcast. If a student stops the broadcast, the teacher can use the Request screen permission button to resend the permission prompt. iPad deployments provide a full-screen view of the student’s device, including all open apps — not just the browser. This is the same behavior as Windows deployments, and broader than Chrome deployments, which capture only the browser window.

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Review Modified Teacher Commands

The following commands work differently on iPadOS than on Chromebook or Windows devices. Open Tab On Chromebook and Windows, the Open Tab command opens a website automatically on the student’s device. On iPadOS, it sends a push notification that reads “Your teacher wants you to open a website.” The website opens when the student taps the notification. Close Tab On iPadOS, closing a student’s tab redirects the browser to a “Your teacher closed this website” page instead of fully closing the tab. The student can reopen the page by navigating back or tapping Reload. Closed-tab pages are not displayed in the Student Activity view. Device Lock Apple does not allow third-party apps to lock iPadOS devices. When a teacher uses the Device Lock command on an iPad, it disables web browsing rather than locking the device. Students receive a push notification that their internet has been disabled, along with any message the teacher includes. Attempting to open a website displays a “Browsing Disabled” page. Students can still use their device freely and access apps that do not require internet access while the lock is active. Teacher Chat On iPadOS, The GoGuardian App includes a dedicated Chat tab where students can read messages from and send replies to their teacher. If a teacher sends a message while the app is closed, the student receives a push notification. Tapping the notification opens the Chat tab.

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Check Unsupported Features on iPad

The following GoGuardian Teacher features are not supported on iPadOS:

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Know Additional iPad Limitations

Notifications during screen broadcast While a screen broadcast is active, iPadOS suppresses push notifications from all other apps on the student’s device. Apps that rely on notifications may not behave as expected during this time. Students should open and load any notification-dependent apps before starting the screen broadcast. Only one app at a time can record screen activity on iPadOS. If students use another screen-sharing app, the GoGuardian broadcast must be stopped first. Background apps On iPadOS, apps including web browsers do not run in the background. If a student minimizes a browser, GoGuardian loses its connection to that browser. Open websites will not appear in the Student Activity view until the browser is brought back to the foreground. Student Activity view The Student Activity tab displays open websites and tabs in the browser only. Teachers can see students using other apps on their iPad during a screen broadcast, but Student Activity does not list third-party or local apps. The Close Tab command cannot close non-browser apps.

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Resources