Category: Major Updates

Version 24.0 for Windows

What’s new in the version 24.0

We are happy to announce today that a major update for Net Control ² Classroom, Net Control ² SmallClass and Net Control ² Professional for Windows, the version 24.0 is already available for download.

This update introduces significant changes in the internal structure of the student module, which will provide better compatibility with user mode settings and applications. The update is more focused on improving the usability of existing tools and features, tuning of the user interface details and constructing a base for further products development.

The new version includes the following changes:

Redesigned the Student Console:

  • Docked and Windowed modes. The Docked (classic) mode shows the console as a docked to the right side of the screen window. In the Windowed mode, the console is shown as a standard window on Desktop, which can be resized, minimized, restored by clicking the taskbar icon and so on. The windowed mode is more adapted for simultaneous work of students with the Student Console and other applications, and provides faster and more flexible access to Net Control 2 Student Console’s features.
  • Student Console displays information in a smarter way, adapting content to the screen and console dimensions.
  • Student Console’s blocks are redesigned to be more compact and informative.
  • New information blocks are available in the Student Console: license information, more detailed lesson information, connection time, detailed system and network information on the About page.

The file collection subsystem has been completely redesigned, allowing students to send files to teachers. Students can send files to teachers just by dragging them onto the Files panel of the Student Console. The classic AutoSend folder is also available.

The feature supports two modes: the simpler send-and-delete mode assumes that files placed to the folder will be sent and subsequently deleted from the folder; and the more sophisticated Keep and Synchronize mode keeps all files on the student computer with providing the necessary versioning.

The student module runs now under a user account, when a user is logged in in the system. This provides better compatibility and interoperability with other user-level applications, system settings and eliminates known restrictions of the system account.

The automatic update subsystem was completely redesigned for more frequent and transparent updates.

This update address also several improvements in the sound subsystem, which is used by different tools in the software, including lesser latency of the captured audio and support of the system audio capture in the Remote Desktop / Control tool.

Version 22.1 for Windows (January 2022)

Net Control 2 Classroom, Net Control 2 SmallClass and Net Control 2 PRO for Windows are updated to the version 22.1

Version 22.1 includes:

New Remote Desktop and Broadcast Desktop engines. Significantly improved the performance of Remote Desktop (Control) sessions, usually it is in several times faster in comparison with the previous versions. Improved performance of Broadcast Desktop engine and better tolerance to network packet losses during the transmission. Users are able to change scaling and compression levels during the broadcast and control sessions, which may be useful when working with high- and ultra-high-definition resolutions.

Monitor. The new computer use monitoring tool replaces the legacy Event Monitor tool. With the new tool, Instructors receive immediate information of all applications used at the time in the classroom, individually per each user: what application is running at the moment, what document or a web link is opened in the application, usage statistics by time (how long the application is used since last switch; the total use time and the percent of use per session). You will get a notification if the application is opened from a non-standard location (e.g. from a removable storage). The tool will alert if no activity is found on the student computer within some time.

New Timers tool allows Instructors to show customizable timers on User computers: countdown or count up timers, for any defined by Instructor time; show the current time clock, execute actions when the timer elapses (e.g. notify the Instructor, play a signal, shutdown the computer and so on). Three designs and three sizes of timers are available for customization.

UI improvements: updated top toolbar icons, adapted for UHD displays; added several tooltips, other minor improvements.

Net Control 2 version 21.4 (Windows)

Net Control 2 Classroom, Professional and SmallClass Editions version 21.4 (April 2021) is released. This update is currently available for Windows platform only.

Automatic update for Net Control 2 Classroom and SmallClass will be sent to the eligible owners of the version 20 licenses within next two weeks. The software may be downloaded and updated manually right now from the downloads section of your customer area account on our website.

The main changes:

The new Speech and Camera tool, completely redesigned and rewritten from scratch, provides access to the following features:

broadcast the teacher’s voice from a microphone (or other recording device) to students;

• listen to a voice from student computers, recorded from a microphone or other recording device;

• broadcast the system audio of the teacher computer to students;

• listen to the system audio of student computers;

• display an image from a teacher’s web-camera to students; optionally, together with the teacher’s voice or the system audio;

• view an image from the student webcams, optionally, together with the system audio or a sound from the microphone;

• audio conference calls between the teacher and students so that all participants can communicate with each other.

• video conference calls between the teacher and students;

• ability to record the received sound from student computers with saving to a file;

• divide participants of a conference call into conference groups (up to 4 groups) for individual work;

• dynamically change the capture and output settings, the volume and recording levels.

The update includes also multiple minor user interface improvements and bug fixes.

Net Control 2 for macOS

Net Control 2 Classroom and PRO for macOS are already available for download. This upgrade is released as a part of the version 20 line and introduces support of macOS Catalina (OS X 10.15). The minimum supported OS now is OS X Mountain Lion (10.8).

The teacher module for Apple macOS is available as a DMG package, and provides access to the same features as Net Control 2 for Windows with several exceptions (Speech Manager and voice & audio features in other tools, web browser, file manager and Windows-platform specific features).

The student module for OS X is available as a .PKG installation package. It supports the following features:

  • Student computer screenshots in thumbnails on the teacher computer
  • Student computer information (OS version, computer name)
  • “Control” (Remote Desktop). Control the student computer from the teacher computer, using the keyboard and mouse. The following features are not supported: screen annotations, computer lock up during the remote session, Ctrl+Alt+Del simulation, “Move an active window to the top-left screen corner”.
  • Broadcast Desktop tool
  • Broadcast Student’s screen
  • Screenshot View
  • Internet restrictions. Safari and Google Chrome browsers are supported only.
  • Program restrictions.
  • Sound muting.
  • Program Manager: terminate programs, run programs, documents, URLs etc. from Desktop or /Applications folder; run programs/URLs from a command line.
  • Shutdown manager: shutdown, reboot, logoff, hibernate and sleep the computer (should be allowed by the OS settings).
  • Send/Collect Files – file operations are currently available only on Net Control 2 Common Files folder, on OS X systems it is mapped to /Users/UserLogin/Documents/Net Control 2 folder (where /Users/UserLogin is a home folder of a currently logged in user).
  • Lock – locks the student computer temporarily. “Keep the locked state after reboot” option is not supported.
  • Quick Run
  • Messages – full screen or windowed messages; setting up the system sound volume remotely. Text-to-speech using built-in Apple’s TTS engine.
  • Chats and Help requests. The chat subsystem is compatible with the version 20 clients only.
  • Student registration.
  • Whiteboard.
  • Rewards.
  • Grades.
  • Journal-related features.
  • Quizzes.
  • Polls.
  • Desktop Records Player. Without audio features.
  • Changing the student module settings remotely from the teacher module.
  • Connecting a teacher computer from the student computer by IP address or a DNS name (if allowed by the student module settings).
  • Students can initiate connections by a Teacher Session ID code.
  • The student computer may be found and added to the teacher console, using Scan button of the teacher console, if Connection Password is set up in the student module settings.
  • Raise Hand tool.
  • Quick Statuses

In macOS Catalina, several permissions (such as the screen capture permission, access to Documents folder, access to accessibility features) should be enabled in macOS settings. Usually the operating system prompts for such permissions during the first start of the student module.

If you already have the version 20 license of Net Control 2 Classroom or PRO, the new macOS packages should appear automatically in Downloads section of your customer area on our website.

Net Control 2 version 20 is already available!

We are pleased to announce that the new Net Control 2 version 20 classroom management software is already available for download and installation!

The list of improvements and new features was published on this blog slightly earlier, and is available for review here.

This major update is currently available only for Windows versions of Net Control 2 Classroom, SmallClass, and PRO editions. Net Control 2 Mobile Clients version 12 are compatible and can be used together with the version 20. An update for OS X (including OS X 10.15 Catalina) will be available soon (planned for the end of May).

Users of previous versions of Net Control 2 products that would like to upgrade the software to the version 20, if their license is eligible for the free upgrade, should contact us for a new, upgraded registration key. The registration name and key of previous versions will not work with the version 20. Please contact our support team, in your request please specify your registration name and key of the latest license. The new key will be sent within two work days.

Our customers who are not eligible for the free upgrade, but purchased the license not earlier than 5 years ago, are still eligible for up to 50% upgrade discounts. More information about upgrade is available here.

Enjoy your use! We are always waiting for your feedback and impressions, which you can send us through the support panel.

Net Control 2 version 20. What’s New.

The specified features concern Windows version of the software only. Availability of features may depend on the software edition.

The new release includes improvements of core features (like file transfer speed), support of high resolution displays (including 4k displays), new features for 1:1 environment support, redesigned user interface, new chat tool, redesigned file manager, new bad language restrictions, support of kiosk applications and many other improvements.

General

Improved User Interface. New color scheme.

Support of high resolution monitors including 4K displays and screen scales above 125%.

Direct connections of Net Control 2 Classroom edition are reintroduced with a new, more safe realization. Both direct and inverse connections are available at the same time without enabling the compatibility mode. The new direct connections model is not compatible with older versions. If you use this model, please read documentation before upgrading.

Classroom Edition: a new self registration engine for 1:1 environment. Students can send requests to all teachers in the network, teachers then can select students they need to connect. Students can connect a teacher by selecting him in the list. Enhanced features include protection of incoming connections with a PIN, automatic acceptance of connections when a PIN code is provided, prompts to select a teacher on logon or on each disconnection from a teacher.

The file transfer subsystem is completely redesigned. Now the file transfer speed is 50-100% faster on large files and is up to 25x faster for small files.

User Interface improvements

Group icons may be customized with a custom text description, background color or image.

Redesigned, simplified the teacher options window.

Smooth scaling of thumbnails in the computers list.

Maximum thumbnail size is increased to 1020px (width)

More precise thumbnail position in the free layout view after scaling. Fixes the issue with the incorrect thumbnails order after scaling the layout to a very low scale value and switching back to normal.

The file transfer progress is displayed in the status bar only, file copying is performed entirely in background. Allows performing other tasks during the file transfer.

A default action of Broadcast Desktop or Control button on the top toolbar depends on the last used mode: control/view/control in separate windows.

The popup connection information window: significantly higher (almost realtime) update rate for the displayed user screen.

Remote Desktop tool

Significantly faster mouse response on the controlled computer.

Entirely redesigned Remote Desktop Viewer.

Several controlled computers may be displayed either all-in-one window (with ability to switch between them), or each controlled computer is displayed in its own window.

Joining/excluding controlled clients when multiple computers are controlled in one window. Now it is possible to exclude a computer from the controlled computers set to a separate window, or join a computer in a separate window to the common session.

Three stretch modes: normal (1:1), stretched proportional; stretched unproportional.

Fast zooming the displayed screen in the viewer.

Broadcast Desktop

Instructor can switch the broadcast desktop viewer on user computers between the full screen and windowed mode in a click, using a button on the Broadcast Desktop toolbar.

During a broadcast session, Instructor can enable the controlling mode on the user computers, so users can interact with the Instructor computer directly from the broadcast session. This applies also to user broadcast desktop sessions when a student is sharing his/her screen to others.

Program Management

Applications may be run in a special Kiosk mode. In this mode, students cannot switch to other applications, only the selected application is available.

Restrictions

Bad Language restrictions. The new tool allows preparing a list of “forbidden” words. When a user types some text that includes such words in any application on his computer, the teacher will be immediately notified about the event.

New redesigned restrictions window.

Internet restrictions: improved Internet restrictions profile editor.

Internet restrictions: ability to import a list of websites from an external file. New “Verify” tool provides an easy way to validate the profile before sending or saving.

Redesigned, improved program restrictions manager.

Chat

Absolutely new chat tool.

Enhanced text formatting capabilities include custom alignment, font styles, colors; for the whole entered text or a fragment.

Ability to insert graphic images from a file or paste them from Clipboard.

Support of emoticons.

Ability to insert to the chat a screenshot of entire Instructor screen’s or cut its part.

Ability to make and send small drawings instead of entering a text.

Ability to attach any file that becomes available for all participants of the chat. In this way you can easily share your work with students or get files from them.

Ability to scale the chat content (text size).

The chat window may be displayed within the main teacher console window or displayed as a separate window.

File Manager

File Manager was redesigned from scratch. More stable and easy to use.

File operations are more predictable due to they are always apply to the currently selected computers (in previous versions File Manager had its own list).

Standard classic NC-style file management: files are displayed in side-by-side panels, in resizable columns, may be selected and managed with standard keyboard shortcuts (like Insert, F2..F10)

Messages

Messages tool. Messages can include special macros in the text to display some computer specific information, like a computer name, connection name, user name, random numbers, split a class to pairs, triples etc.

Polls

Improved user interface for the tool.

Instructor can customize polls using built-in scenarios. Currently included scenarios allow determining users that give the fastest correct replies on a poll.

Whiteboard

Realtime update for the pen tool. Faster response on user computers for other tools.

Other

Help requests: for received help requests, Instructor can initiate a remote desktop session in a click, directly from the help request dialog.

A special button on group icons in the groups list makes possible to wake up student computers of the group in a click.

New numbering of versions. The software versions represent now a year and month of the release, as year.month, e.g. 20.3 is a version released in March 2020.

Redesigned Quick Run editor.

Redesigned Student Registration window in the teacher console.

Student Module

Redesigned Student Console. Provides better usability, supports high resolution monitors (4K) and scales above 125%.

Adaptive User Interface depends on the enabled features and current state of the student module (e.g. connected/unconnected).

Ability to repeat the last message sent from a teacher computer.

Redesigned Connect Instructor tool that reflects new connection features.

Student settings are adjusted to reflect new 1:1 features

Net Control 2 Classroom: The Student Module for Mac OS X

We are pleased to present today a new product in the line of the classroom management software solutions Net Control 2 Classroom, a user module for the Apple Mac OS X platform.

The new product greatly expands capabilities of Net Control 2 Mobile Client used on this platform previously, and, being specially designed for OS X, it provides a significantly more effective way for teaching, monitoring and co-working in classrooms equipped with Apple’s Mac computers, which use OS X operating system.

The Mac OS X user module is compatible with OS X versions 10.9 – 10.13 (Mavericks – High Sierra), and can be used on any hardware that is compatible with these operating systems.

Currently, the student module is available only in English, localization of the user interface into other languages ​​is planned in the near future. The Student Module for OS X can work with the teacher modules running on OS X or Windows.

The list of supported features includes Broadcast Desktop tool (both sharing the student’s screen with others and displaying the shared teacher screen), Control/Remote Desktop tool, Internet and program restrictions, messages, polls, quizzes, rewards and grades, the Whiteboard, playback of Desktop Recorder records and other features. The full list of the supported features and other information, related to the new product you can find in the Student Module for OS X User Guide: https://www.netcontrol2.com/getfile.php?id=GUIDE212ST-MAC

The Student Module for Mac OS X is already available for all registered users of Net Control 2 Classroom version 12 in the Downloads section of your Customer Area account.

Registration keys for version 12 are published in Customer Panel

All registered users of previous versions that are eligible for free upgrades to Net Control ² version 12, can access their new, updated license keys in Customer Panel right now.

“My Licenses” section contains your new license key, and “Downloads” section provides access to installation packages.

You do not need to contact us for free upgrade to version 12 additionally, your downloads and license information is already available in Customer Panel.

If you are not registered in Customer Panel yet, but have your registration name and key, you can register here. The process is automatic and you can access your updated registered user information in less than a minute.

If you are sure that you are eligible for the free upgrade, but your updated information is not present in Customer Panel, please contact us additionally for manual review.

 

 

 

What’s new in version 12 of Net Control ² classroom management software.

This “What’s new” document includes a detailed list of new features and improvements in Net Control ² Classroom Management Software version 12. Please also see the following article for additional information regarding this release.

  • Two view types: basic and advanced. The Basic view provides simplified User Interface with the lesser interface elements in the main window, hides several operations that are intended for experienced users (command prompt, policies, file management). The view type may be selected at startup or changed later in the teacher module settings.
  • Unconnected computers are visible in all editions. The teacher module remembers inverse connections and displays them in the teacher console even when they are unconnected. This behaviour may be changed in the teacher module settings.
  • Teachers can rename inverse connections.
  • Standard Edition supports only inverse connections. Users of previous versions, for compatibility with the existing settings and environment, may request a special version of Standard Edition with the support of direct connections.
  • New search interface. Standard Edition can search the network for inverse connections, using quick search methods (multicast) and individual import of computers from text lists, network neighborhood, Active Directory and so on.
  • Search by Lesson ID. Student Registration tool supports special “Lesson ID” parameter. When a student has entered some Lesson ID parameter in the Student Registration window, a teacher can search the network for this ID, found student computers will be added to the workspace.
  • Temporary connections: found student connections may be marked as “permanent” or “temporary”. For permanent connections, the teacher module will be assigned to the student in its settings permanently, temporary connections will remain active until restart of the computer or the user log off.
  • Connection by Teacher Session ID. Students can connect a teacher computer themselves by providing the teacher module session ID (may be found in the teacher console, on About tab). As another way of connecting teachers in 1-to-1 or BYOD scenarios.
  • Student console on student computers may be shown remotely from the teacher console using the connection’s context menu command.
  • Lesson resources. A teacher can create lesson resources, as a text description, a set of files that will be sent to students, a set of local resources (links to programs, local files and documents, Internet websites). When created, lesson resources will be copied, displayed and available for all students that are connected to the teacher. Teacher can save and re-use the lesson resources at any time.
  • Three new animated backgrounds for quizzes, messages and polls.
  • Text messages may be shown in a windowed mode.
  • Timed text messages: the messages may be automatically closed after some specified time.
  • Locked messages: student cannot close the message until the specified time elapses, or a teacher closes the message window remotely.
  • Students can restore (show again) a last message sent by a teacher.
  • In addition to .JPEG images, “Messages” and “Question” tools support sending custom images in .BMP, .PNG and .GIF formats.
  • Poll (quick question): teacher can set up a think time to make a delay between displaying a question and ability to answer it.
  • Poll (quick question). The “Require answer” option makes impossible for students to close the poll window without choosing some answer.
  • Poll (quick queston): timed polls, the question will be displayed only within the specified time.
  • Poll (quick question): student responses are arranged by answer time. The corresponding places in the competition are displayed as signs over thumbnails in the connection list. A special new button in the teacher console is intended for resetting the signs.
  • Poll (quick question): after a poll, in a few clicks, a teacher can send messages to all students who answered correctly or incorrectly.
  • Quiz: extended statistics. A teacher can monitor student replies in Quiz Monitor window, in popup messages or in detailed view in the table.  The statistics include given and correct answers for each student.
  • A short sound signal will be played when a student raises hand on his/her computer.
  • Speech Manager: allows displaying video from the teacher’s webcamera on student computers.
  • Remote Desktop and Broadcast Desktop support custom, application-defined, non-system cursors, like brushes, pens in graphics software.
  • Broadcast Desktop: improved broadcast toolbar.
  • Student registration supports special “restricted” mode, when enabled, students cannot bypass the registration.
  • Lesson timer: the teacher can set up a lesson timer that is always visible in the teacher console.
  • Dragging and dropping a .JPEG/.PNG file on the teacher module window from an external program, sends and displays this file on selected student computers.
  • The battery status of a student computer is displayed in a popup connection status window, the low level battery notification is displayed as a popup sign over student connection.
  • When a help request notification received from a student, a popup sign appears over the student connection.
  • New help request interface in the teacher module: on a help request, a teacher can either begin a remote control session or chat with the requesting student.
  • New Avatar view instead of “icons view” in previous versions. Student connections may be represented by a custom image (a photo for example) or an avatar. The teacher module includes built-in the avatar editor, where you can create customized avatars for students.
  • Quick commands panel is displayed at right side of each selected connection for quick applying the most important commands.
  • Connection status window includes connection time.
  • Professional Edition: teacher settings and profiles may be stored on Connection Server computer.