Computers – they have been called a necessary evil.  But, what would we do without them?  Our family is computer poor.  Two years ago we had four laptops and three desktops.  We sold one desktop and gave away another bringing us to only five computers.  We are a family of five therefore logically we needed five computers, right?  However, due to our dinosaur desktop finally giving out this year and one very misfortunate computer crash, we are now down to only three computers. 

Our three computers are used every day.  We use them for the children’s schoolwork, for studies, research, writing, communication, and much more.  Therefore, they are rather necessary.  Unfortunately, they can be tools for evil as well.  The door of temptation has been opened many times with the click of a mouse.  Marriages have been dissolved due to chat rooms and networking sites.  Children have become innocent victims and men and women have been enslaved to sin via the internet.  As a Christian family, we have done our best to protect each other from the dangers of computers.  We use internet filters and parental controls.  One cannot be too safe.  So when I was given the opportunity to review Lanschool v7.4 from Lanschool Technologies LLC, I was very curious about the benefits it would bring.

 Lanschool is classroom management software with many features.  It was easy to install and in a matter of minutes I was able to view my children’s computers from my laptop.   With the software I am able to see what they are currently doing, view their history, and limit their web use via my computer.  Lanschool software allows me to even start or shut down their computer.  All of these are wonderful safety features.  But it offers so much more.  Because we use the computers for schoolwork there were several benefits with the software.  When the children had trouble with their computer I was able to take control of their monitor, keyboard, and mouse through my computer.  I could also grab their attention by blanking their screen and showing a message like, “Come here now.”  (This was useful when, in another room, I saw a calculator pulled up during a math lesson.)  Often times I have had the children stand around me while I showed them a program or an educational website, with Lanschool I am able to pull my screen up on their screen.  This allowed everyone to look at their own computer.  And these are just a few of the features that the software offers.

For families with multiple computers this software is very useful.  And for families who want to protect their children from harm, limit temptation, and remove distractions – this software can be extremely valuable. 

Lanschool  Home is available for $99.  It provides the same features as Lanschool.  The only difference is that you can only monitor three computers.  If you are a teacher or administrator (sorry, unfortunately it does not apply to home educators) you can sign up at their website for a free copy of Landschool Home.   To get a free 30 day trial or to find out more about Lanschool you can visit their website for a guided tour.  To see what others are saying about the product click here.

Disclaimer:  As a member of The Old Schoolhouse 2010-2011 Crew, I received Lanschool v7.4 software free of charge in exchange for an honest product review.   I do not receive any other form of compensation for the reviews posted on this blog.