{"id":13028,"date":"2024-04-14T00:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-14T00:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gatlabs.com\/education\/?p=13028"},"modified":"2026-03-23T15:06:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:06:38","slug":"20-useful-tips-for-supporting-student-mental-health-in-google-classroom-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gatlabs.com\/education\/blog\/20-useful-tips-for-supporting-student-mental-health-in-google-classroom-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Practical Tips for Supporting Student Mental Health in Google Classroom and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n\r\n

This post offers 20 practical tips on how to care for student mental health in the virtual classroom.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

With these ideas, you will create a safe learning space where each student feels supported and heard. You will also quickly detect online and offline risks to their well-being and be able to give them a hand in time.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Without further ado, let\u2019s kick this off.<\/span>
<\/b><\/p>\r\n

\"20<\/b><\/p>\r\n

How to Support Student Mental Health in the Virtual Classroom?<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

1. Detect disturbing online behavior with real-time alerts.<\/b><\/h3>\r\n

Do you know what\u2019s the best in new technologies in the classroom?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

They not only support your learning process but also can truly improve the well-being for students.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Using electronic devices in the school domain, you can monitor live students\u2019 online activity. Of course, if you did this manually, there wouldn’t be enough time to do anything else than check their accounts.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

You need an automated, real-time solution integrated with Google Workspace for Education, such as <\/span>GAT Shield<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This monitors and detects worrying online behavior on the student device and automatically notifies the admin or teacher so they can react quickly. The tool detects customized keywords in Chrome browsers, chats, and emails. It helps recognize students\u2019 illegal product searches, depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and other well-being risks instantly.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\r\n

2. Block harmful and distracting URLs to keep students engaged in the class.<\/b><\/h3>\r\n

Blended and remote learning offers innovative and flexible solutions for the classroom but also has a weakness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Internet is an open door to unlimited content unrelated to education. Social media, online chats, and free games are just some of the online distractions that pull students away from the class.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There are plenty of websites you don\u2019t want your students to visit\u2014at least not during class.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n
  1. First, consider what websites should be blocked on students\u2019 devices. Note: teachers may use YouTube during class, so you may not want to restrict access to the entire website but to specific URLs.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
  2. With <\/span>Site Access Control<\/span><\/a>, a GAT Shield feature, you can blacklist particular URLs, create different rules for each blocked website, and view all the users who tried to open the URLs.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    \"Create<\/p>\r\n

    3. Restrict inappropriate online content for students.<\/b><\/h3>\r\n

    You know perfectly what kind of content should be restricted from students.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The Internet gives them access to any kind of inappropriate and explicit material, which can seriously affect student mental health.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Student parents expect your school to be a safe space for their children. While there are many device-wide parental control tools, you need a school-scale solution to block inappropriate content.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      \r\n
    1. Turn on Google SafeSearch for all school devices. It\u2019s the first step to restrict explicit content for students. Note that it works only for Google searches.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
    2. Add another layer of protection across wi-fi by turning on the web filtering feature in your school router\u2019s settings.<\/span><\/li>\r\n
    3. Employ a<\/span> third-party app <\/span><\/a>to monitor and block online content. You can customize detailed web filtering for student and teacher devices.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

      4. Avoid violence escalation with bad language and hate speech tracking.\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\r\n

      Bullying in school isn\u2019t, unfortunately, a new problem. <\/span>Cyberbullying<\/span><\/a> is just another face of the same problem occurring online.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Don\u2019t let bullies feel innocent. Support their victims with early detection of bad language in Google Classroom and beyond.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Now, it\u2019s even easier to detect this problem than before. Reckless cyber perpetrators leave their digital footprint while bullying offline could happen behind closed doors, and nobody would find out about the incident.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Although bullies can get creative, be smarter by using a <\/span>robust monitoring tool<\/span><\/a> to detect hateful language and vulgar vocabulary in the Chrome browser, chats, emails, and Docs. Let the tool detect red flags of bullying, get notified by email, take screenshots, and react when it\u2019s not too late.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      If the user types an inappropriate word, a notification from GAT Shield will appear in their browsing window.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      \"If
      If the user types an inappropriate word, a notification from GAT Shield will appear in their browsing window.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

      5. Keep students focused on the class with screen monitoring.<\/b><\/h3>\r\n

      Student distractions in the virtual classroom are a great challenge. Let\u2019s reinforce your efforts to keep them focused on learning instead of entertaining.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Real-time screen monitoring can help refocus them on the subject, lengthen their attention spans, and reduce their anxiety about being left behind by other classmates.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      All you need is a powerful tool to monitor each student\u2019s screen.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      It enables teachers to manage students\u2019 screens in real-time, inspect and close their tabs, and review their browsing history.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Classroom control and management are crucial to keeping students free from online distractions so they can make the most of the class. If your school uses Google Classroom, <\/span>Teacher Assist<\/span><\/a> is the most effective solution for you.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      6. Organize cybersecurity training for students and teachers.<\/b><\/h3>\r\n

      What cybersecurity has to do with student mental health, you could ask.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      While schools become increasingly common targets for cyber attacks, student personal data is in real danger. In case it\u2019s disclosed or shared with unauthorized people, it can also affect the student\u2019s private life and well-being. School data breaches can cause family or student harassment and cyberbullying, among other things.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      To prevent them, teach students why they should protect their personal data online and how to achieve that. High cybersecurity awareness in school will reduce the risk of phishing, data leakage, inappropriate relationships, and other cyber threats.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Learn more about how to involve teachers and students in cybersecurity protection on<\/span> our blog<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

      Role of Teachers and Students in School Cyber Incident Response Plan<\/a><\/blockquote>