For many schools, universities, and libraries there is a serious need to deploy computers that offers a limited feature set—such as a computer lab designed for young children, an information kiosk in a library, or an administrative machine that needs to be simplified. Limiting a computer’s functions is an important part of protecting a computer’s purpose. Having fully-functional computers placed in environments where only limited-functionality is required carries the possibility of computers being used by students in a distractive or inappropriate way.
Unfortunately, until now the only way to limit a computer’s features has been through complex and time-consuming Group Policies. Since not all educational institutions have a Group Policy ‘expert’ available, computers are often deployed in a fully-featured state.
Protect A Computer’s Purpose
WINSelect ensures that computers are being used by students for their determined purpose by enabling administrators to easily tailor the operating system and application functionality to include only the required features. Using WINSelect makes it possible to create limited-access or ‘simple’ machines that are perfectly suited for classrooms with young children, kiosks in libraries, or administrative machines for staff. Users benefit from a simplified interface, and IT personnel are ensured that computers are free from application and web browsing activities that distract from a system’s role.
Influence Student Activities
WINSelect brings a level of enforcement that often does not exist in unmonitored environments—such as the ability to restrict student access to applications, websites, system settings, and application functionality. Popular applications such as Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, and Mozilla Firefox can all be customized to influence student interaction. IT administrators can even limit session lengths to ensure a ‘no loitering’ policy on computers, and restrict student access to storage devices and printers. |
