Vision Classroom Management Software allows educators to manage and control student computer activity from a single computer. This software also allows educators to supervise student progress, monitor or prevent web browsing, share any computer and remotely control student computers.

The Good:

Teaching with Vision

• Dashboard: Vision's new dashboard provides teachers with a complete thumbnail view of every student computer in the classroom while offering intuitive and flexible controls from a clean, uncluttered window that is easy to customize.
• Screen Sharing: Vision's Demo feature allows the teacher to share his or her desktop with an individual student, a group, or the entire class. Students can easily follow the demonstration regardless of where they are sitting in the classroom. The advanced screen sharing technology built into Vision provides real time viewing of the teacher's computer and eliminates annoying gaps in the presentation that can plague other screen sharing applications.
• Floating Toolbar: Access Vision features from a simple floating toolbar on the teacher's computer that slides out of the way when not in use. This allows one-click access to Vision's most important functions and is customizable to fit each teacher's individual needs.
• Virtual Teacher: Share a student's computer desktop with the rest of the class. Students can demonstrate or present from their computers to the entire class and the teacher. The teacher designates which student is presenting and when the 'Virtual Teacher' starts and stops presenting.
• Remote Control with Drag and Drop: Teachers can drag and drop files from their computers and place a copy anywhere on the student's computer while using the Remote Control feature.
• File Distribution and Collection: Distribute files, tests, forms, or assignments to student computers and collect files from the student computers automatically.
• Broadcast Multimedia Files: Broadcast MPEG, AVI, QuickTime, or Flash movies and animations to student computers during a Demo session.
• On-Screen Annotation: Highlighting and many other tools are provided by the optional Pointer, a Vision6-integrated software tool that is accessible from the Vision Floating Toolbar.
• Audio: Vision's audio feature allows the addition of sound to computer-based teaching. The teacher can communicate directly to one or more students during a demo session using a microphone or have a two-way conversation during a remote control session. Demos incorporating multimedia files can transmit audio to students.

Supervision

• Keep an eye on student computer activity by observing an individual student screen or all student screens from the teacher's computer. Mentor student progress to help individuals and improve classroom time on task. Vision's supervision feature shows teachers a real-time snapshot of all the computers in their classroom.
• Monitor Web Browsing: Watch over web browsing in the classroom to enforce your school's acceptable use policy and help students stay safe on the web by encouraging responsible behavior.
• Chat and Student Questions: Create chat sessions between teachers and students or student groups to facilitate class discussions or allow students to ask the teacher a private question during quiet class time.
• Instant Surveys: Receive feedback from students and gauge their comprehension by sending out multiple choice and True/False questions. Questions are answered anonymously and results automatically appear in a pie chart

Managing The Classroom With Vision

• Blank Screen: Blank student screens during class to focus student attention to the front of the room or control access to classroom computers. The blanked screen can be replaced with a text message, bitmap image, or a web page.
• Remote Control: Take control of a student's computer in order to provide one-on-one mentoring or to troubleshoot a problem.
• Control Web-Surfing: The optional Surf-Lock plug-in gives you the power to switch web access off or on, like flipping a switch. It is accessible from the Floating Toolbar.
• Power Off: Turn off all of the computers in your classroom from the instructor's computer.
• Power On: Vision6 is compatible with Wake on LAN (WoL) industry-standard technology to start up computers remotely. Computers that comply with the WoL standard can be powered on from the teacher’s computer. With Vision6 an entire classroom can be powered on at the beginning of class and then powered off at the end of the day.
• Start Applications and Web Pages: Start applications remotely on all student computers or send out the same web page to every student in class to ensure that all students are in the same place at the same time.
• Lock the Keyboard and Mouse: Lock student keyboards and mice during class to prevent web surfing, instant messaging and online chatting during presentations and lessons

The Bad:

• In order to use features such as Pointer App-Control and Surf-Lock you must buy additional plug-ins
• Expensive Site Licenses. $4299 for a Site License (one K-12 school <1000 students) and $4999 for a Large Site License (one K-12 school, unlimited students)

The Missing:

• No mac or linux support in Vision 6
• No shape Recognition
• No layers
• No session recording
• No private or personal whiteboard