Waiting for Student Activity

Classwize will try to connect to your students’ devices while the class is in session. When Classwize doesn't get a response from the students' device, their student tiles will display “Waiting for student activity”.

Some of the reasons why you’re seeing “Waiting for student activity” may include:

• You haven’t started your class.
• You’ve just started the class and Classwize is still connecting to your student’s device.
• The student:
  • Is unavailable, offline, or having issues connecting to the school network or internet
  • Has left their computer on idle for at least 90 seconds
  • Is using a browser that blocks third-party cookies
  • Is on macOS and hasn’t allowed Classwize to monitor their screen
  • Is using a device that doesn’t have the Connect app.
  • Is attempting to circumvent the school’s filtering by logging into their personal Google account, using Guest or Incognito mode, or hotspotting on a mobile network.

If you’re concerned that a student’s tile isn’t showing any activity, here are some solutions you can try:

Cause: The student is unavailable, offline, or has connectivity issues

Check if the student has logged off or has disconnected

The most common cause for the “Waiting for student activity” status, especially in remote learning environments, is that the student has logged out of their computer or has been disconnected from the internet. Contact the student to ask them to re-login.

Check the student’s connectivity

Check if they are having trouble connecting to the internet, or hot-spotting to bypass Classwize and your school's internet filter. If the student can reconnect to the internet, ask the student to refresh their browser or re-login to their device using their school account.

Cause: Linewize Connect has stopped working or is not syncing

Check if Linewize Connect is installed but is not running in the background

Connect must be installed on the student’s device for you to see screenshots on their student tiles. Contact your school’s IT Administrator for help reinstalling Connect on your student’s device and ensure your student is logged in using their school account.

Connect on Windows

If Connect is running in the background, the Connect icon will appear on the student’s Windows taskbar. To check Connect’s status, open the Connect app by selecting its icon on the Windows taskbar.

The app will show the student's name:

Connect on macOS

There are a few ways to check if Connect has been installed on a macOS device:

• Use Launchpad to check if Connect is installed on the student’s Mac.
• On the macOS dock, select Finder > Applications, then scroll down until you see Connect.

To check if Connect is running in the background:

1. Open the Activity Monitor by going to Finder > Applications > Utilities.
2. Select Activity Monitor then look for Connect under Process Name.

If you can’t find Connect on the student’s device or if Connect is not running in the background, ask your student to login again to their device using their school account. If the student brought their own macOS device, there may be a few profiles created on the device; ensure they are logged in to their school profile.

Connect Chrome extension

Check if the Connect Chrome extension shows the student is active.

1. On the Chrome toolbar, select the Extensions icon (puzzle), then Connect for Chrome - Education.

2. The extension will show (a) the student’s name, (b) the current active class, and (c) filtering and connection status.

If the student is not active on the Connect Chrome extension or if you can’t find the Connect extension:

1. Ask the student to log in to their school profile in Chrome. See Sign in & sync in Chrome for instructions.
2. Open Chrome Settings and on the You and Google screen select Sync and Google Services > Manage what you sync.
3. Under Sync data, enable Extensions.
4. Allow a few seconds for the change to take effect, then ask the student to open a site in a new tab. Connect should detect this new connection and the student’s tile should show a screenshot.

Cause: The student has opened a blank browser tab or window and left it idle

Classwize detects if the student has opened a new blank browser tab and left it on idle for at least 90 seconds. When this happens, the student tile will stop showing screenshots of the student’s browser tab and switch to “Waiting for student activity”. Wait for the student to restart browsing.

Cause: The student’s browser is blocking third-party cookies

Students using Connect for Chrome on their personal devices can turn on a browser setting that blocks third-party cookies. Ensure they allow third-party cookies:

1. On the Chrome's address bar, enter chrome://settings.
2. On the left menu, select Privacy and security > Third-party cookies.
3. Under Default behavior, select Allow third-party cookies and toggle OFF Send a ‘Do Not Track’ request with your browsing traffic.

4. Ask the student to refresh their browser or active tab. Allow for a few seconds for the student tile to show a screenshot of their device.

Cause: The student is on macOS and hasn’t allowed Classwize to monitor their screen

Check if the student is using a Mac device (e.g. MacBook, iMac). If Classwize is connecting to their device for the first time, a prompt should appear on their screen asking them to share their screen with Classwize. They must approve the request.

Cause: The class hasn’t started yet

You can manually start an unscheduled class or wait for the session to start automatically if it’s a scheduled class.

If you are running a scheduled class that has already started, try reloading your browser. Wait for a few seconds until their screens appear on the student tiles if you’re viewing Classwize in Screen view. You may also ask the student to reset their connection to Classwize by reloading their browser.

Cause: The student is using a device without Linewize Connect

Check if the student is using a device without Connect for Windows or macOS

Classwize provides limited support for personal devices (if the school allows the use of BYODs) and you can’t see the screens of students that don’t have the Connect app. If Connect is repeatedly uninstalled from the student’s device, contact your school’s IT Administrator for assistance.

To check if Connect is installed on the student’s device:

• For Windows: See all your apps in Windows. If Connect is running in the background, the Connect icon will appear on the Windows taskbar.
• For macOS: Use Launchpad to view and open apps on Mac. Alternatively, on the macOS dock, select Finder > Applications to view the list of applications installed on the device.
  If Connect is not installed, ask your school’s IT Administrator to install it on the student’s device.

If Connect is not installed, ask your school’s IT Administrator to install it on the student’s device.

Check if Connect for Windows or macOS is installed on the student’s device

1. Ensure the student is logged in to the device using their school account. Linewize Connect will automatically run in the background once the student is logged on.
2. Open 127.0.0.1:5770 on the device’s default browser and see if the active class is displayed on the page.
3. In Classwize, try to restart the class and wait for a few seconds for your class to appear on the page.

Check if the the student uses the Connect Chrome extension

Sometimes students say ‘no’ to synchronization when logging in to their school’s Google profile for the first time. This will stop Chrome from synchronizing data and settings between the Chrome browsers on their learning devices.

To check if the Connect extension has been installed to sync the student’s data:

1. On the Chrome toolbar, select the student’s profile icon then select Turn on sync.

2. On the Turn on sync dialog, select Yes, I’m in.
3. On the Manage what you sync page, select Sync everything.

To check if the Connect extension is syncing:

1. Select the jigsaw icon on the top-right, then select the Connect for Chrome - Education extension.
2. Connect should display the student's name, their active class, and their filtering status.

Although the Linewize Deployments Team deploys the Connect extension to schools, it has to be manually installed in some cases. Ask your school’s IT Administrator to ensure the Connect extension is pushed out to all students, that they cannot remove extensions, and that your missing student is in the correct group.

Cause: The student is attempting to circumvent your school’s filtering

Check if the student is hot-spotting or accessing the internet via a mobile phone

Follow these simple steps to make sure students are connecting to the correct network:

• Windows
• macOS
• Chromebook

If this is a recurring issue, speak to your school’s IT support for help with preventing hot-spotting.

Check if the student is using Chrome in Incognito mode

If the student is in Incognito mode, the Incognito icon will appear on the top right corner of the Chrome browser window and the browser itself will be in dark mode or dark theme. Ask the student to close their incognito window and sign in to their school account in Chrome.

You can turn ON Connect in incognito mode:

1. On the Chrome browser, open chrome://extensions. The Connect for Chrome - Education tile will appear.
2. Select Details.
3. Toggle ON Allow in incognito.

Check if My School Manager is showing a different student account

Students can check whose account is currently logged in by going to my.linewize.net. If the account logged in belongs to another student, they can go to login.linewize.net to log out that student, and then log in to their school account.

If my.linewize.net. shows that the account belongs to the current student, they can try logging in again.
You can also contact your school’s IT Administrator to check whose account is logged on the device. IT Administrators can log out the incorrect account from the device.

Wait for the device to detect the new user

Sometimes shared devices can be slow to pick up that a new user has logged in. However, the student’s connection will appear on Classwize after a few minutes.

If all else fails

If you have checked all the above settings but the issue has remained unresolved, contact your school’s IT support staff for help.