Watertown High leads nation in testing phone-limiting app

"The release said that the app uses VPN technology to temporarily "brick" or restrict smartphone usage by redirecting the phone's web traffic through a restricted, encrypted server. It will also prevent students from texting and accessing "distracting" apps. A "DoorTag" will be located at the entrance of each classroom, on which students will tap their phones. The device will log the student's attendance and restrict selected phone applications. Students will still be able to make and receive phone calls and use approved apps, such as Google Classroom."

""It's hard to compete with phones for attention," Principal Joel Giacobozzi said in a statement. "Doorman allows us to pause a student's phone use without the battle of physically taking or locking away their phone." "It checks a lot of boxes of what we need in terms of balancing responsible phone use and trusting our students," Giacobozzi said. "We hope this will be the solution we've been looking for.""

"Teachers can access a dashboard that monitors whether students "tap in" or attempt to circumvent the app or the school's cellphone policy. The app will go into effect during the second week of school, and the pilot will run through December. The app's use comes as the Legislature debates a statewide "bell-to-bell" cellphone ban. At the beginning of August, the Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation to implement the ban, which is now in the House's hands for consideration."

Watertown High School will pilot the Doorman app, becoming the first public high school in the country to test classroom phone-limiting technology. The app uses VPN technology to temporarily brick phones by redirecting web traffic through a restricted, encrypted server and blocking texting and distracting apps. A DoorTag at each classroom entrance requires students to tap their phones, logs attendance, and restricts selected applications while allowing calls and approved apps like Google Classroom. The app syncs with the school schedule to restore full functions after class. Teachers can monitor tap-ins and attempts to circumvent the system. The pilot runs through December as the state debates a bell-to-bell cellphone ban.

Read at Boston.com