Hi all,
I thought I'd share how I'm setting up FM for my 2 kids who do online homeschooling.
I find there is a learning curve to using FM with kids - you have to set up a few plans, let them run, see how they behave and how the kids are helped or hindered by them. You also have to monitor their use of the computer and see where they are getting distracted and then add plans accordingly. It is an open discussion - the kids know it is for their benefit to have the FM working, and giving them their allowed time without the temptation to go over. It isn't so much a control as guidance. We discuss what they need out of their time on the computer and come to agree on what is reasonable, and make plans accordingly. I also make sure they know that if there is need of a pause, altering of a plan etc, that it is an ongoing conversation that they are welcome to contribute to.
First kid - 11y/o who needs a lot of guide rails when it comes to computer use. Parent is fully in charge of FM and dashboard is PW protected:
Skype limit plan - lets him check his skype for 15 min, limited launch to 5x/day. Notifications are blocked (via skype settings) so there is not messages popping up when he gets a text.
Internet browsing plan - time limit internet browser to 30 min/day, 7 days/week - unlimited launches. white listed sites needed for school.
Videogame time limit - 3 hours/week - all allowed video games (apps and webites) are included on this plan.
Second kid - 13 y/o - much more independant, has learned to use FM dashboard and is making up many plans for himself independently, as he sees areas where he has gotten distracted. He has over 10 plans running - I'm not sure of all of them - they are for sites that I didn't even know existed before he told me they were distracting him. I think it is good training for him to be an independent manager of his own time and user of tools like FM to enhance productivity.
Skype limit plan (as above)
Gmail plan - Gmail is only allowed at certain specified times of the school day, so that he isn't checking it all the time.
block internet browser use during online class time - to prevent him drifting off on other tabs when he should be attending online classes.
I'd love to hear how other parents are using FM with kids.
First off, I wanted to say I have been interacting with support and they are really great!
I see that most times you are having problems with a particular plan, support needs you to send screenshots of each of the pages of the plan so they can see what is going on. A good feature would be some sort of button within a plan that allows user to export the details of particular plan into a downloadable file, that you can just send to support when you make your ticket, so they can see right away what is going on with the plan.
At the moment you have to create ticket, and then they ask for the screenshots, and you have to stop/open plans, take individual shots, attach them to emails, etc... so it is less efficient. If the users were prompted when creating the ticket to upload a file of the plan data that they had exported right at the beginning, support could be streamlined.
Keep up the good work - this is a great program for our needs of parental control.
JL
Right now, you can only set a launch limit for a certain number of times per day. But there are some websites/apps that you would want to set a launch limit to, say, once every 2 weeks.
For me, I'd like to stop ordering food online, but would like to allow it once every 2 weeks or so, but there is no way to this besides the time limit, but that is bypassable by not having the window open.
Anyways, I think that'd be a cool addition. Loving the software so far, it's near perfect.
Hello - I have FM working on 2 laptops - they are of very similar age and capacity/speed.
I find that FM works at an expected 'response speed' on one, but on the other, it seems to lag in responsiveness.
Lagging examples:
when I begin to type the password in the field, I can type 6 characters before I see any of the dots appear.
when I scroll the plans with the mouse, the movement of the plan list is delayed after I scroll the mouse wheel.
when I am trying to drag the schedule slider in making a plan, it delays in responding to my mouse click
On this machine I don't experience this type of lag in any other application.
Any thoughts on what is making FM work slowly in this case?
Thanks
Shortcut/Hotkey for an 5 minute break.
When u've found a way to be unproductive and distracted it'd be cool do just press a shortcut and - baamm! - ur computer is blocked for 5' and u're forced to take a break and rethink ur situation!
I would like there to be an option for the automatic breaks to occur after a session of a certain length.
So, for example, you can be logged into your computer for 1 hour and then there is a 5min break. Then if you log off the timer resets and starts again.
This would be useful for me to remind me to take a break from the computer to avoid eye strain and keep me moving a bit and is actually why I bought the program.
I had assumed this was how they worked originally as it is how they work on all similar programs I've used but it appears they just work counting down from when they are set in the program this means that if you leave the automatic breaks on I often log on and immediately find I'm locked out of my computer for 5 mins which is irritating!
I am wondering if anyone has experience utilizing FM to limit the use of Skype.
My kids use skype's chat feature for messaging their friends all throughout the homeschool day.
I am wanting to limit the amount of time they spend on it to certain points of the day.
Skype has an ability to notify when new messages come up and I'm wondering if FM can stop this (as it is one of the most distracting issues)
Also - if the kids try to launch the Skype screen which is running in the background while a FM plan is blocking it - will it flash the screen momentarily (thereby letting them see their messages)? Is there a way have FM shut down the program completely?
Thanks!
Hello -
When using FM for a parental control function, you are almost always setting up plans to using passwords - for start and stop, and for pausing.
When setting up the plan - there are several places you are prompted to enter a password - as if the interface anticipates you might use a different password for each setting. This is tedious. It is unlikely for those using FM for parental control to want to have different passwords across all the plans. A feature idea: allow users to set a 'master password' in the main settings - and then just toggle 'guard with password' on or off for each plan, instead of having to type in a new password (and match) each time you make a plan.
What do you think?
Thanks
JL
