Approve or decline student unblock requests in Hāpara Highlights Follow

Summary

When the Hāpara + Gaggle Web Filter integration is enabled, students can request access to a blocked website from their teacher. Teachers review the request in Hāpara Highlights and choose to approve or decline it.

Approved access is temporary and lasts for 24 hours. After approval, it may take a few minutes before the student can reload and access the website.

Who this is for

Teachers and administrators

Before you start

Student unblock requests are only available when all of the following are true:

1. The student is signed in to their school Chromebook or Chrome browser on a Windows or Mac device.
2. The Gaggle Web Filter extension and Hāpara Highlights extension are installed and pinned in Chrome.
3. The Hāpara + Gaggle Web Filter integration has been enabled for your school or district.
4. The student is in a class that has been synced through the Hāpara Admin Console, synced from Google Classroom or manually added in Teacher Dashboard.

If teachers or students do not see unblock request options, ask your Hāpara administrator or Implementation contact to confirm that the integration is enabled.

Student steps: Request access to a blocked website

1. Open the blocked website.
2. On the blocked page, click Request access.
3. Select the teacher who should review the request.
4. Enter a short reason for needing the website.

Example: I need this article for my science research project.

5. Click Send request.

The request will be sent to the selected teacher in Hāpara Highlights.

Teacher steps: Approve or decline a student unblock request

1. Open Hāpara Highlights.
2. Go to the class where the student is enrolled.
3. Look for the yellow Student request indicator at the top of the Highlights view.
4. Click the Student request indicator.
5. Review the request details.

You should see:

• Student name

• Requested website or URL

• Student’s reason for access

6. Choose one of the following options:

Approve: Choose this if the website is needed for learning.

7. If approving the request, choose the access level:

Requested URL: Allows only the specific page the student requested.

Entire website: Allows pages across the full website domain.

Decline: Choose this if the website should remain blocked.

7. Confirm your decision.

What happens after the approval or denial

If the request is approved, the student should wait a few minutes, then reload the website.

Approved access lasts for 24 hours.

If the request is declined, the student will not receive access to the website.

A confirmation message will appear after the teacher approves or declines the request.

Tips for teachers

Choose Requested URL when the student only needs one page or resource.

Choose Entire website only when the full site is appropriate and needed for learning.

Review the student’s reason before approving the request.

Follow your school or district’s web filtering policies when making approval decisions.

If many students repeatedly request the same site, ask your administrator to review whether the site should be handled through a broader web filter policy.

Troubleshooting

I do not see the Student request indicator

Check that:

1. You are viewing the correct class in Highlights.
2. The student selected you as their teacher.
3. The student is enrolled in a synced or manually added class.
4. The Hāpara + Gaggle Web Filter integration is enabled for your school.
5. The Gaggle and Highlights extensions are installed and pinned.

The student still cannot access the website after I approved it

Ask the student to:

1. Wait a few minutes.
2. Reload the blocked website.
3. Confirm they are signed in with their school Google account.
4. Try again in Chrome on a supported device.

If the site is still blocked, contact your school’s Hāpara administrator or technology team.