Ohio District Uses Cloud Monitor and Content Filter to Keep Students Safe, Gain Visibility, and Improve Response Times

Riverdale Local Schools serves approximately 860 students and 85 staff members in Mount Blanchard, Ohio. The district provides one-to-one Chromebooks for all students and uses Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals as its primary platform for instruction and communication.

Technology Coordinator Zack Voll oversees a wide range of responsibilities, including IT operations, curriculum support, and school safety. Like many small districts, Riverdale previously relied on a patchwork of solutions to monitor online activity and filter content, but those tools left gaps in visibility, flexibility, and response.

“Before ManagedMethods, I had to wait for something to happen and have to respond to situations. Now, I can be a lot more proactive with setting up access policies that save me a ton of time and help keep our students focused and engaged online.”

—Zack Voll, Technology Coordinator, Riverdale Local Schools

“We were piecing things together, but it just wasn’t enough,” Zack says. “I needed a more efficient way to monitor activity in Google and keep our students safe, especially when staff can’t be physically present.”

Challenges

Before partnering with ManagedMethods, Zack faced significant challenges in monitoring and managing Google Workspace, particularly concerning Google Drive usage and student interactions. 

“You don’t get the ability to granularly limit Google Drive access with Google Fundamentals. It’s all or nothing, on or off. With ManagedMethods’ Cloud Monitor, I can be as granular as I need to be, so students can only share with certain OUs. It’s easy to set up the controls required to keep students safe with the tools we’re providing them.”

—Zack Voll, Technology Coordinator, Riverdale Local Schools

“Google does not give us the ability, at least at the Fundamentals level, to granularly limit and manage Google Drive access,” Zack explains. “It’s kind of all or nothing. It’s either on or off. That doesn’t work when students still need access to Google for assignments, but need to be restricted from communicating with other students or grade levels, for example.”

This limitation became critically apparent when students used Google Docs to share inappropriate content, leading to a difficult situation where school principals wanted to remove student access to Google tools, while teachers stressed that they needed access to Google Docs for assignments. 

Additionally, cybersecurity was also a concern. When a teacher’s account was compromised and started sending all contacts phishing emails, Zack didn’t have a way to remove the message from inboxes across his domain. “We had no way to act quickly or cleanly against the threat,” he says.

On top of that, managing iBoss for web filtering required constant attention, certificate management, and network tweaks that consumed valuable time and caused reliability issues.

Results

Zack was actively searching for a solution for his Google Drive problems when he received a phone call from ManagedMethods. He discovered that ManagedMethods provides solutions that are purpose-built for K-12 and could help him with his Google Drive challenges and more.

“The primary benefit of using Content Filter is 100% its user friendliness. I know that when I put a link in to be blocked or allowed, it just works as expected. It’s fast, it’s easy, and I can move on with my day.”

—Zack Voll, Technology Coordinator, Riverdale Local Schools

Upon implementing Cloud Monitor, he immediately gained better visibility and control over data security and student safety risks in Google Workspace. The platform helps Zack manage inappropriate behavior, policy violations, and potential security threats with automated detection and remediation actions.

“Cloud Monitor is the teacher’s eyes on the kid’s screen when the teacher isn’t there,” Zack says. “It’s watching when we can’t physically watch, and when you have it set up right, it’s keeping the kids safe without them even knowing it.”

He now uses granular policies to limit file sharing and email communication by grade level. “I can be as granular as I want—for example, preventing a sixth grader from emailing anything beyond fifth, sixth, and seventh grades,” he explains. “It’s ‘set it and forget it’. And it’s saving me a ton of time.”

Soon after launching Cloud Monitor, Zack added ManagedMethods’ Content Filter to replace iBoss. He was impressed by how intuitive the system is and how quickly he could configure and adjust filtering rules.

“User friendliness is 100%,” he says. “I just need to know that when I put a link in that needs to be blocked or allowed, it works as it should. And I don’t have to worry about DSL certificates or PAC ranges.”

“Working with ManagedMethods as a vendor is a much nicer, easier experience than most. I get great support when I need it. I’ve given them feedback and I’ve seen the changes occur within a few weeks. I feel valued and listened to.”

—Zack Voll, Technology Coordinator, Riverdale Local Schools

He’s also found the ManagedMethods team responsive to feedback. “There was a feature I asked about, and it was added just a couple of weeks later,” Zack says. “That kind of response really makes a difference.”

Ultimately, the biggest benefit is confidence and peace of mind.

“ManagedMethods’ products give me peace of mind knowing that I don’t have to manually check everything,” Zack says. “If something’s wrong, it’s going to tell me. Cloud Monitor and Content Filter are watching when I can’t, and they just work.”

Want to learn more about how Cloud Monitor and Content Filter can improve your school’s cybersecurity and safety? Claim your free Google Workspace and/or Microsoft 365 security and safety audit today.

The post Riverdale Local Schools Takes a Proactive Approach to Student Safety and Cybersecurity in Google Workspace appeared first on ManagedMethods Cybersecurity, Safety & Compliance for K-12.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from ManagedMethods Cybersecurity, Safety & Compliance for K-12 authored by Katie Fritchen. Read the original post at: https://managedmethods.com/blog/customer-story-k12-riverdale-local-schools-oh/