How AI Classroom Management Software Tackles Digital Distractions in Real-Time

This article expands on a podcast feature by Monica Burns.

To read the transcript, click here.

If you’ve been a teacher this last decade, you know just how your typical classroom management software works. But lately, it seems they’re just not strong enough. While you’re manually adding each site into a blocklist, the internet replaces it with thousands of new sites created every day, which tech-savvy students can find faster than you. You can’t keep up, and teachers in the US feel they’re in a losing game.

That’s why AI-powered classroom management software is shifting the tide in how teachers handle student distractions, which autonomously blocks distracting content for you in real-time. In this article, we’ll shed some light on why teachers are making the switch to AI, the role of AI student monitoring software, and what it could mean for you.

175 Websites are created every minute. Is your classroom management software keeping up?

Digital Distractions in 2025: A Challenge for Student Monitoring Software

A study of nearly 300 students found that during school, the average student spends about 1.5 hours on their smartphone. Meanwhile, over 65% of students admit to being distracted in the classroom. Distractions for students have gotten to the point where they are affecting their performance, too. Students who were distracted scored 15 points lower than those who reported not being distracted.

The worst part is, teachers are struggling to keep up. Traditional classroom management software requires teachers to manually censor every student in the class, from closing tabs to blocking websites. But with over 175 websites being created every minute, there’s just no match. On top of that, teachers still must complete lesson plans and answer questions. It’s no wonder they’re overwhelmed.

The growing concern over digital distractions in classrooms has left many teachers wondering: How can I, as a teacher, utilize laptops in the class without manually censoring digital distractions every second?

Deledao ActiveScan’s real-time classroom monitoring selectively blocks distracting content on major sites like Google images and YouTube.

How Real-Time Classroom Monitoring with AI Changes the Game

Preventative Classroom Distraction Management Software

Real-Time AI-powered classroom management tools have been marking a new way for teachers and IT admins to manage a classroom. Unlike typical web filters, AI-based filters don’t rely on a blocklist or teachers to monitor them 24/7. Instead, they automatically detect distracting content and block it before it becomes a problem.

Take YouTube, a site with a mix of both educational and distracting content. Real-Time AI like Deledao’s ActiveScan blocks distracting images and even videos down to each frame. That way, students still have access to YouTube and Google, without being exposed to inappropriate content. With videogames, ActiveInstruct analyzes keyboard input and mouse movements to detect game-playing, before blocking the site in real time. No longer do teachers and admins need to play whack-a-mole. AI plays the role of eliminating the chance of finding new games.

In essence, these Real-Time AI management tools take the role of protecting students from distracting content, while you can focus on teaching. Its implications are profound.

Deledao ActiveInstruct’s student monitoring software that shows AI Insights for each Student’s History Timelines. This indicates Student Attention Dropoff points.

Empowering Students with Real-Time Classroom Monitoring

AI-powered web filters don’t just block content, but also provide instruction by showing engagement trends. Deledao’s ActiveInstruct, for one, synthesizes visited sites and student metrics into real-time Insights of how each student is doing in the classroom. This significantly enhances the teacher’s ability to foster customized learning for each student.

It’s these insights that help teachers promote digital self-regulation in students. What does that mean? Traditional forms of web blockers required teachers to monitor every action students take online, which promoted an authoritative relationship between teachers and students. But thanks to AI, teachers can guide students towards understanding what sorts of behaviors are and aren’t expected. Students who show more self-control unlock more freedoms as time goes on, showing that the teacher trusts them.

And this works. Dave Barclay, a former social studies teacher, knows firsthand how distractions derail a lesson. But with Deledao’s real-time AI, his teachers could focus on teaching instead of IT work. Barclay found that it gave teachers real agency over the class, allowing them to build meaningful, uninterrupted learning experiences for students. In the end, he saw more engaged classrooms with fewer behavior issues.

For Barclay, it's about giving teachers the flexibility and students the trust they deserve. His students became more mindful knowing engagement was being monitored in a supportive—not punitive—way. Data insights from Real-Time AI were the catalyst for new teaching strategies.

Future-Proofing the Class with Classroom Management Software

In 2025, Traditional web filters can't keep up with today’s internet. That’s why classroom distraction management software powered by real-time AI gives teachers the tools to stay ahead of distractions without sacrificing instructional time. It also tackles digital distractions before they become a problem and even helps students learn digital self-regulation.

Whether you’re an IT admin or a teacher, consider switching to a real-time AI web filtering software like Deledao’s ActiveInstruct for your classroom.