Smoothwall is the filter system for our school district. There are four different levels to be filtered on:
- Grades K-5
- Grades K-8
- Grades 9-12
- Staff
Here is an example of a smoothwall block.
In this case I am logged out and it gives me the option to continue with a soft block. Other times it will give you the option to log in.
You log in with the same username and password used to log in to the computer. This is not necessarily the same password used to log into chromebooks.
Many of the reasons the site will be blocked are obvious and against district policy. Others may not be so obvious.
- Adult products
- Strong language
- Alcohol, Drugs
- Gambling
- Pornography
- Dating websites
- Instant messaging
- Peer to peer sites
- Scams, security risks
- Web Proxy servers
- Weapons
- Some email
- Instant messaging
- Blogs, social networking
- Sites promoting violence and anarchy
If you feel that a site that is being blocked is being blocked in error (because it is in the wrong category or is not against district policy and of strategic use in the classroom) then you need to send the link with your reasoning to the principal. He will need to approve your request before IT will whitelist the site. If you think there is a problem with smoothwall (site was working before) then you need to send me an email with a screenshot of the error message (I need the reason it is being blocked, the URL, and whether or not you are signed in).
When you log into a desktop, they are supposed to also be automatically logged into smoothwall. When you log into a chromebook that does not happen and you automatically blocked at a K-5 filter. Under bookmarks there is a link to the smoothwall login.