This article covers using Themes, Categories, Signatures, and Time Periods to create content filtering Policies. You can combine your basic filtering policies with Time Periods to create more advanced filtering policies.
We use Themes, Categories, and Signatures to capture current and future online content by groups or patterns. Themes have different Categories, which contain relevant Signatures and websites. We continuously update our classifications to keep up with new content on the internet.
Themes
Themes are groups of related Categories. When you apply content filtering to a Theme, all the categories in the Theme will be affected by the filtering policy, including websites added to the categories in the future.
Categories
Websites and applications are sorted into Categories to further break down web content. You can use categories to fine-tune your filtering policies to fit your school’s requirements. When you apply filtering to a category, all signatures and websites in that category will be affected.
Signatures
A Signature is a pattern for identifying a website, type of web content, or online application. Not all sites and applications have a Signature, as they are usually only created for very popular sites and applications, often using multiple domains and subdomains.
Time Periods
Time Periods are a type of Linewize Filter Object used to group custom information for use in filtering. Use the Time Periods to define special times of day or days of the week.
Example
Add Time Periods for class time and lunch time with one policy to block access to a site during class time and add another policy to allow access to the site during lunchtime.
Filtering at the beginner level involves using categories to allow websites and applications for all your users. This filtering type is useful if you want to allow access to all users at all times of the day.
- In Linewize Filter, select Filtering > Content Filtering.
- Select + Create Policy.
| Policy Criteria | Example Selection |
|---|---|
| Name | Allow - Minecraft Education - All Students |
| Type | Minecraft Education (Signature) |
| Criteria | Time Periods - School Hours (in this example) |
| Action | Allow |
| Locked | Select Locked if you:
|
| Ordering |
Save the Policy |
Note
Locked policies always appear at the top of the list. Locked policies can be reordered among other locked policies but not moved below policies that aren’t locked.
Filtering at an intermediate level involves using Categories to allow websites and applications, plus adding a Time Period to restrict its operation to specific hours for all users. This filtering type is useful if you want to allow access to all users during a specific time of the day.
Add a Time Period
Note
If the Time Period already exists, note the name of the Object and create the filtering policy.
- Go to Configuration > Objects > Time Periods.
- Select Add Time Period.
- Enter a name, like "School Hours", and select Add.
- Select one or multiple school Days checkboxes. Select Save.
Create a filtering policy for a Time Period
- Go to Filtering > Content Filtering.
- Select + Create Policy.
| Policy Criteria | Example Selection |
|---|---|
| Name | Allow - Minecraft Education - All Students (School Hours) |
| Type | Minecraft Education (Signature) |
| Criteria | Time Periods - School Hours (in this example) |
| Action | Allow |
| Locked | Select Locked if you:
|
| Ordering |
Save the Policy Enable the toggle in the Content Filtering list Move this policy above any other Block policies for this Theme or Category |
Another intermediate-level filtering involves using two filtering policies to allow specific signatures and block access to all other content in this Theme. The Allow policy must be listed before the Block policy.
Example
You must create two policies if you want to allow Minecraft Education while blocking all other games in the Gaming theme. The order of the policies would be:
- Allow Minecraft Education
- Block Gaming
Hold and move the policy above any policy that blocks Gaming or Video Games in the Content Filtering list.
Filtering at an advanced level involves blocking a Theme and then using multiple Time Periods to limit its operation to set periods throughout the day for all your users. This filtering type is useful if you want to allow all users access during specific times, such as recess, lunch, or outside school hours.
Configure Time Periods
If Time Periods for class times, recess and lunch times, and outside school hours already exist, skip to the next steps.
- Select Configuration > Objects > Time Periods.
- Select Add Time Period.
- Enter a name, such as "Before School" and select Add.
- Select one or multiple school Days checkboxes.
- Select Save.
- Repeat steps 2 - 6 for other Time Periods, such as Morning Class, Lunch, Afternoon Class, and After School.
Create a Policy
- In Linewize Filter, select Filtering > Content Filtering
- Select + Create Policy.
| Policy Criteria | Example Selection |
|---|---|
| Name | Allow - Minecraft Education - All (Before School) |
| Type | Minecraft Education (Signature) |
| Criteria | Time Periods - Before School (in this example) |
| Action | Allow |
| Locked | Select Locked if you:
|
| Ordering |
Save the Policy |
- Repeat these steps if you would like to allow access during other free-time, like “Lunch Time” or “Before School”.
Filtering at an expert level involves policies to allow a Category of websites and applications for a specific User or Group.
Example
You want to allow the older grades access to YouTube during school hours but limit the younger grades to only access YouTube when the teacher unblocks it.
Warning
If a policy contains different Users and a Group, only the activity that matches both criteria will be filtered by a policy. Criteria work as AND (not OR) operators. The policy will only apply to the Users that are also in the Group.
Allowing a specific user
You may want to allow a teacher access to a website or content that you do not want students accessing.
Example
You have a teacher helping students prepare for mock trials on a potentially controversial topic of outlawing all vape products and paraphernalia. The teacher wants to research and provide your Filtering Administrator with a list of students' names and confirmation the content is appropriate for this Group.
| Policy Criteria | Example Selection |
|---|---|
| Name | Allow - 2023 Mock Trials - V Cole |
| Type | Alcohol and Tobacco (Category) |
| Criteria | User - VCole |
| Action | Allow |
| Locked | No, because the Block - Substance Abuse - Students policy is not locked. |
| Ordering |
Save the Policy |
Allowing a specific group
You may want to allow a group of students access to websites with opinions and political arguments that are in a blocked category.
Example
You have a group of students preparing for mock trials around the outlawing of vape products and paraphernalia. Their teacher has asked to allow a small group of students to be allowed to access content about Tobacco topics.
In this example, the school has a Block - Substance Abuse - Students filtering policy. Tobacco-related content is under the Alcohol and Tobacco category, and you only want to unblock this part for a small group of students.
-
Go to Configuration > Users and Groups > Groups.
-
Add a new Group named "Mock Trials".
-
Go to Filtering > Content Filtering.
- Select + Create Policy.
| Policy Criteria | Example Selection |
|---|---|
| Name | Allow - 2023 Mock Trials - Year 10 Group |
| Type | Alcohol and Tobacco (Category) |
| Criteria |
Group - Mock Trials (only the current students must be in this group) |
| Action | Allow |
| Locked | No, because the Block - Substance Abuse - Students policy is not locked and you want other teachers to be able to block the topic in Classwize. |
| Ordering |
Save the Policy |
Tip
Add the date or other easy-to-identify marker for temporary policies. You can turn off or delete the policies after they are no longer needed.
Contact IT Support for assistance with complex filtering scenarios. We can help you identify the Themes, Subcategories, or Signatures matching the content you need to filter. Please see our guide for a full list of Themes and Categories.