What are Classwize Rules?
Classwize Rules lets you apply exceptions to your school’s internet filtering policies by allowing blocked sites or blocking allowed sites for students in your class. You can apply rules to your entire class or to a single student until the class ends or if you turn it off.
Important Concepts: Locking, Blocking and Allowing
Locked
Locked resources, such as categories, sites, signatures, URLs or apps are hard-blocked or allowed by your school's Linewize Filter and can’t be unblocked by rules or a Bypass Code. Classwize will warn you when a rule conflicts with a Locked rule. If you think a site you want to block or allow is Locked, contact your school’s IT support team.
Blocked
A Blocked resource can’t be accessed during your class even if your school's filter normally allows it. Students in your class shouldn't be able to access this site.
Allowed
An Allowed resource can be accessed during your class even if your school normally blocks it.
Note
Allow rules are not available in block rules only mode.
How Rules work with signatures, categories, webpages and desktop applications
Rules for Signatures
Rules for Signatures will apply to both the web and, on Windows devices, desktop versions. For example, adding a Blocked Rule for the Spotify signature will block both the Spotify desktop app for Windows and the Spotify Web Player.
See How Classwize Rules Work for more information about Themes and Signatures.
Rules for webpages
Rules for a webpage or URLs apply only at the domain level. For example:
- Blocking youtube.com will block all YouTube videos.
- You can’t block or allow individual full URLs, such as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg7upL8GL7Y
Rules for desktop applications (Windows only)
You can add Block Rules for some Windows applications that don’t have a web component, such as Paint, Solitaire, Notepad, Adobe Reader, VLC Media Player or Firefox. See the list of compatible Windows applications on this page.
Understanding the Rules panel
The Rules panel shows you all the filtering rules you’ve set for your class so far, and who they apply to.
- The name of the category, site, or application the rule controls.
- Who the rule applies to. Rules can apply either to the whole class (all users) or to a single student.
- Whether the rule is blocking or allowing access for the student. Select between Blocked and Allowed.
- Edit or delete the rule.
Image 1: The Classwize Rules panel.
You can block or allow resources, such as:
- Signatures (for example, Spotify)
- Categories (for example, Social Media)
- Websites (for example, www.facebook.com)
- URLs (for example, https://www.youtube.com)
- Windows desktop applications (for example, Camera, Paint, Notepad, Firefox for Windows)