Today’s K-12 students rely on the Internet for a wide range of academic and extracurricular activities. Understanding students’ online habits can provide valuable insights for educators, parents, and policymakers.
Using the Kajeet Sentinel® platform, educators can gain insight into what online tools students are accessing while using Kajeet WiFi hotspots, LTE Chromebooks, and school bus WiFi. Sentinel also provides insight into the domains that students are attempting to access, but being denied from via Kajeet’s built-in content filters.
In this blog, we’ll discover how students were spending their time online during the 2023-24 school year across 1,500 of our school district partners.
What Are the Top 25 Educational Websites Students Actually Visit?
Each year, Kajeet takes a look at the top educational websites that students are utilizing most frequently to see which resources are resonating. Here is the 2023-24 list:
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District Websites
Overall, students most frequently access the websites that are owned and managed by the school district. These websites often serve as a landing pad for students’ online journeys – pointing them to school-sponsored resources, school calendars, and webpages created by their teachers. -
Clever.com
Clever.com simplifies the digital classroom experience by providing a single sign-on portal that grants students easy access to all their educational resources. This platform streamlines classroom management and enhances the learning process by consolidating tools and resources in one place. -
Grammarly.com
Grammarly.com has emerged as a highly utilized tool in K-12. It is a comprehensive writing assistant that helps students improve their grammar, clarity, and style with real-time feedback and suggestions. -
ProdigyGame.com
ProdigyGame.com uses game-based learning to make math practice engaging and fun for students. Its personalized learning paths and interactive gameplay motivate students to improve their math skills.
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Hapara.com
Hapara.com provides teachers with tools to manage digital classrooms effectively, offering features like student work management and real-time monitoring. -
TestNav.com
TestNav.com is a secure online assessment platform used to administer standardized tests. It provides a reliable and user-friendly interface that supports both in-class and remote testing environments. -
IXL.com
IXL.com offers comprehensive practice in a wide range of subjects through adaptive learning technology. With real-time feedback and personalized recommendations, it helps students master essential skills and track their progress. -
CambiumTDS.com
CambiumTDS.com, part of Cambium Assessment, delivers innovative testing solutions to support K-12 education. Its tools provide accurate data to inform instruction and help meet diverse student needs. -
Duolingo.com
Duolingo.com makes language learning fun and accessible with its gamified lessons and diverse language offerings. The platform helps students develop speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in a variety of languages. -
ReadingEggs.com
ReadingEggs.com uses interactive lessons, games, and activities to make learning to read enjoyable for young children. Its personalized approach ensures that each child progresses at their own pace, building confidence and a love for reading. -
Instructure.com
Instructure.com is home to Canvas, a powerful learning management system (LMS) used globally by educational institutions. Canvas offers comprehensive tools for course management, collaboration, and assessment, supporting both traditional and online learning environments. -
Classcraft.com
Classcraft.com blends education with role-playing game elements to create an engaging classroom experience. Students earn rewards and advance their characters by completing academic tasks and demonstrating positive behavior, fostering a collaborative learning environment. -
SpellingCity.com
SpellingCity.com, also known as VocabularySpellingCity, helps students improve their spelling and vocabulary through interactive games and activities. -
Study.com
Study.com provides a vast array of online courses and study resources, including video lessons and practice quizzes, to support students at all levels. -
Schoology.com
Schoology.com is a leading learning management system (LMS) that connects educators, students, and parents through its course management and collaboration tools. -
Quizlet.com
Quizlet.com is a versatile study tool that offers flashcards, games, and quizzes to help students learn and review material. -
GetEpic.com
GetEpic.com provides an extensive digital library of children's books, audiobooks, and educational videos. Designed for elementary students, the platform's engaging content and personalized recommendations support literacy development and a love of reading. -
Gimkit.com
Gimkit.com turns classroom quizzes into competitive and interactive games, motivating students to participate and learn. Created by a high school student, Gimkit allows teachers to customize quizzes, enhancing the learning experience through gamification. -
CoolMathGames.com
CoolMathGames.com offers a collection of fun and educational games that focus on math and logic skills. The platform combines entertainment with learning, helping students practice problem-solving in an engaging way. -
K12.com
K12.com provides online education programs for students from kindergarten through 12th grade, offering a flexible and personalized learning experience. The platform supports both full-time online schooling and supplemental courses across all core subjects and electives. -
MiddleburyInteractive.com
MiddleburyInteractive.com offers immersive language learning programs for K-12 students, developed in partnership with Middlebury College. The platform's interactive courses and culturally rich content help students develop language proficiency and cultural understanding. -
Edmentum.com
Edmentum.com provides a suite of online learning solutions, including assessment tools and personalized learning programs, to support K-12 education. Its data-driven approach ensures targeted and effective instruction. -
Kaltura.com
Kaltura.com is a leading video platform that enables educational institutions to create, manage, and distribute video content. From lecture capture to interactive quizzes, Kaltura supports a wide range of educational uses with robust analytics and integration capabilities. -
DRCEDirect.com
DRCEDirect.com is an online assessment platform used for administering standardized tests with reliability and security. It supports various testing formats and provides educators with accurate data to measure student performance. -
CollegeBoard.org
CollegeBoard.org is the official website of the College Board, offering resources and information on standardized tests like the SAT and AP exams, as well as college planning and scholarships. It is an essential tool for students preparing for college admissions and seeking further education opportunities.
Download our 2023-24 Student Online Activity Infographic to access the rest of the list!
What Trends Are We Seeing?
Comparing these lists year over year provides us insight into what digital tools students are increasingly using. Here are some trends we’re seeing this year:
- Increased usage of AI-powered tools. AI assistants (such as Grammarly) are topping the list in 2024. As this technology becomes ubiquitous, teaching students how to use it wisely will soon be an essential part of the modern classroom.
- The ability to track student progress is vital. As school districts pursue NETP’s vision of the ‘Portrait of a Graduate,’ which includes technology proficiency, using tools that will enable student progress to be quantified, tracked, and monitored over time (such as IXL.com) will be an important part of their strategy.
- Gamified learning is gaining popularity. While play has always been a fun and helpful way to learn, the prevalence of online platforms that enable gamified learning (such as ProdigyGame.com) will only continue to grow.
How Are Students Spending Their Time Online?
Students are increasingly integrating technology into their daily routines, as evidenced by their online activity patterns.
Key Takeaways:
- A significant portion of students’ time is spent on Learning Management Systems (LMS), indicating the importance of these platforms in organizing schoolwork, accessing learning materials, and submitting assignments.
- As mentioned above, gamified learning platforms also capture much of students' online engagement, reflecting a shift towards interactive and motivational educational tools that make learning enjoyable.
- Digital platforms are playing an increasingly substantial role in evaluating and tracking students’ academic progress.
- Tools that advance cybersecurity remain an important component of district technology plans.
What Sites Are Students Attempting to Access?
Kajeet's content filters play a crucial role in maintaining a focused and secure online environment for students. Here are the top sites students attempted to visit on their school-issued devices during the 2023-24 school year, but were denied access to.
From denying students access to streaming media (such as Amazon and Roku) to social networking sites (such as TikTok and Instagram), these targeted filters are helping keep students safe and on-task.
Final Thoughts
Understanding how students spend their time online allows us to create more effective and supportive digital learning environments. This data highlights a balanced use of educational resources, showcasing the diverse ways in which students enhance their learning experiences. Additionally, the strategic content filtering by Kajeet ensures that online distractions and risks are minimized, helping students stay focused and secure.
Through leveraging these insights, we can continue to support the educational journeys of students as they navigate the online world.
Gain Insights with Kajeet
Enabling students to safely explore digital tools and resources has been Kajeet’s mission-focus since its inception in 2003. Our secure wireless solutions are tailor-made for education, connecting students at 1,500+ K-12 school districts across the nation.
Kajeet developed the patented, award-winning Sentinel platform to help schools and districts manage and audit student web activity on school-issued devices. Contact us to learn more about how Sentinel’s features can enhance your digital equity program, including data and device management, a private cellular network, and robust security and threat protection.
Want to see data from when we originally published this post? We thought you might -- so we've kept it right here!
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No matter how advanced, innovative, and curriculum-based online educational tools are, they are only effective if students actually use them.
How do educators gain insights into what websites students are actually visiting?
Student Web Activity
The Kajeet Sentinel® platform was developed to meet this pressing need. Sentinel empowers education administrators with detailed, real-time metrics on student activity on the web. The robust filtering capabilities enabled by Kajeet allow administrators to grant students access to educational sites and to block them from accessing sites that are not school-related.
Educators may log into Sentinel at any time to track student online activity on their school-issued Kajeet devices – including both sites they successfully visit, as well as sites they attempt to visit but are blocked from. This data allows them to make informed decisions about what online tools are proving effective for their students, and which may need further evaluation.
Check out this blog to learn more about how the Kajeet Sentinel platform makes educators’ lives easier.
Below, you will find the top 20 educational websites that were visited via Kajeet devices in 2021.
1. Google.com
Google is the largest search engine in the world, and the Google Suite has become widely used in the education space. The cloud-based collaboration and productivity tools are secure and easy to use.
2. YouTube.com
YouTube is a free sharing website owned by Google. While videos on the platform range from entertainment to tutorials to travel videos, a recent Pew research study found that 51% of YouTube users utilize the platform for educational purposes. Popular YouTube channels like National Geographic Kids, Finding Stuff Out, PBS Kids, Simple History, and Khan Academy have become mainstays for educators, especially amidst hybrid and virtual learning.
3. Getepic.com
Get Epic is the top-visited educational site so far this year. Get Epic is one of the leading digital libraries, including access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, and more for students 12 and under.
4. Teacherdashboard.com
The Hapara Teacher Dashboard tool enables teachers to view and facilitate real-time browser activity of learners. Teacher Dashboard integrates with the G Suite, so that teachers are able to access all student files and Drives on a single interface.
5. Instructure.com
Instructure is the publisher of Canvas, a web-based learning management system, and Canvas Network, a massive open online course platform.
6. Clever.com
Clever is a secure pipeline between school district data and the learning applications that teachers and students use. Users may log onto Clever and immediately access all apps that are made available by the district.
7. Schoology.com
Schoology is a virtual learning environment and social networking service for K-12 schools and higher education institutions. Schoology allows students to create, manage, and share academic content with their teachers and peers. Schoology is a Learning Management System (LMS) by PowerSchool.
8. Prodigygame.com
Prodigy Games is an adaptive, subscription-based learning platform to help students visualize and engage with math.
9. Seesaw.me
Seesaw is a digital app-based platform that allows students, teachers, and guardians to complete and share classroom work over a variety of media types (videos, photos, drawings, text, links, and PDFs, to name a few!).
10. Pbskids.org
Operated by the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), PBSKids.org offers K-12 students a variety of curriculum-based games and videos – many of which feature beloved PBS Kids show characters!
The 11th – 20th most visited educational sites are listed below:
11. Myon.com
12. Hapara.com
13. Classlink.com
14. ixl.com
15. Nearpod.com
16. Kidsa-z.com
17. Powerschool.com
18. Desmos.com
19. Quizizz.com
20. Brainpop.com
Do you currently use any of these tools? Which do you and your students love? Tweet us @Kajeet and let us know!
Gain Insights with Kajeet
Kajeet developed the patented Sentinel® platform to help schools and districts manage and audit student web activity on school-issued devices. Contact us to learn more about Sentinel’s features, including data and device management, a private cellular network, and robust security and threat protection.