The student tile typically shows the student’s active browser tab. On Chromebooks, you may see a message instead of a student’s screen explaining why the screen is unavailable. This new message replaces previous messages, “No screenshot to display” or “Waiting for student activity”.
Important
These messages describe a technical capture limitation, not student behaviour. A missing screen does not necessarily mean a student is inactive or off-task.
Why a student’s screen may not appear
Chromebooks and the Chrome browser enforce strict security and privacy rules that may prevent extensions from capturing screens in certain situations.
For example, screens may not be available when a student is:
- Using a Chromebook system app.
- Viewing a local file.
- Opening Chrome settings or an internal page.
- Using browser tools or overlays.
Common messages in the student tile
These are examples of messages you may see, along with their descriptions.
| Student Tile Icon | Message | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Screenshot capture issue | Classwize attempted to capture a screen but was blocked or encountered a temporary issue. | |
| No browser open | No active Chrome browser window is available for capture. | |
| No screenshot available | The student has not opened or used the tab since the current class session started. | |
| Apps | Chrome OS doesn’t allow browser extensions to capture screens of some system apps. Examples include:
| |
| Viewing file | The student is viewing a local or protected file, such as:
| |
| New or blank tabs | These tabs contain little or no visible page content to capture. Examples include:
| |
| Chrome settings | Chrome blocks screens of internal browser pages, such as settings or extension management pages. | |
| Diagnostics/Developer tools | Chrome diagnostics and developer tools can’t be captured. | |
| Browsing tools | Temporary browser tools or overlays may prevent screen capture. |