Genesis Desktop
For your school's IT person

Set up Genesis Desktop at your school

Follow the steps for your Chromebooks, your Windows PCs, or both. Each step says what to click and how to tell it worked.

About 15 minutes for the first computer A minute or two for each one after it Everything you type has a Copy button
Step 1

Sign in to Genesis Teacher

At teacher.genesisdesktop.ca, choose the administrator sign-in. Add your teachers, import your students and print their login cards.

Step 2

Set up the computers

Turn each Chromebook or Windows PC into a Genesis computer that starts at the student sign-in.

Step 3

Hand out the cards

Students sign in on any school computer with their username and 4-digit passcode. Their work follows them.

And, for the computers you're setting up

  • Chromebooks: an administrator sign-in for your school's Google Admin console, and Chromebooks your school already manages. If you manage them today, you're set.
  • Windows PCs: an administrator account on each PC to install Genesis. Group Policy helps for a whole lab, but you don't need it.
Chromebooks

Set it up once in Google Admin

Each Chromebook becomes a Genesis kiosk. It starts straight into Genesis, full screen, and students can't leave it. You make every setting once, for a whole group of Chromebooks, and they all follow.

Google Admin consoleYour School Code
1

Put the Chromebooks in their own group

Make an organizational unit just for the Chromebooks that will run Genesis, for example Genesis Carts, and move them into it. Every setting on this page goes on that group, so nothing else at your school changes.

New Chromebooks? Enroll them first. At the sign-in screen press Ctrl + Alt + E and sign in with your school's admin or enrollment account. Do it before anyone signs in; if someone already has, reset the Chromebook with Esc + Refresh + Power first.

Done when your Chromebooks are listed in the new group in Google Admin.
2

Add Genesis as the kiosk app

Whereadmin.google.com›Devices›Chrome›Apps & extensions›Kiosks

  1. On the left, select your Genesis group.
  2. Point to Add (the + button) and choose Add by URL.
  3. Enter the Genesis address, then press Save:
    Address
    https://app.genesisdesktop.ca
  4. Under Auto-launch app, choose Genesis Desktop, then press Save.
Done when Genesis Desktop is in the Kiosks list and chosen as the auto-launch app.
3

Turn on websites

This adds the Genesis Companion, which gives students the Browser: the websites their teacher approved open full screen, and nothing else can open. There's nothing to download. Chrome installs it and keeps it up to date.

WhereKiosks›your Genesis group›click the Genesis Desktop row

  1. Set Allow new windows to open (full screen) to On. Some consoles call it “Allow a Unique Fullscreen Window on Each Screen”.
  2. Leave Set Keyboard Top Row as FN Keys Off, so the Back key keeps working.
  3. Under Extensions, choose Add extension › Add from a custom URL and paste these two:
    Extension ID
    fmpmfbbggfjlhfkahkigkjecnhnajlcf
    URL
    https://download.genesisdesktop.ca/companion/updates.xml
  4. Press Save at the top right.

The Companion keeps no browsing history and sends nothing anywhere. Between students it clears website logins, so nobody lands in someone else's account.

Done when the Genesis Companion is listed under the Genesis Desktop row's extensions.
4

Link the Chromebooks to your school

Put your School Code in Google Admin once, and each Chromebook links itself when it starts. Nobody types anything at the devices, and your Master PIN never goes on one.

WhereKiosks›Genesis Desktop›Genesis Companion

  1. Find Policy for extensions.
  2. Paste this, with your own School Code in place of YOURCODE, then press Save:
    Policy
    { "schoolCode": { "Value": "YOURCODE" } }

Rather do it at each Chromebook? Skip this step. Each one shows School Kiosk Setup the first time it starts (pictured in the Windows steps). Type the School Code and Master PIN and press Set Up School Kiosk.

Done when a restarted Chromebook goes straight to the student sign-in.
5

Lock it down

A kiosk is only as locked as the settings behind it. Set these on your Genesis group before students use the Chromebooks.

WhereDevices›Chrome›Settings›Device settings

Guest modeDisable guest modeRemoves “Browse as Guest”, the one way out of Genesis. Some Google Workspace accounts have it on by default, so set it yourself.
Sign-in restrictionStaff accounts onlyChoose Restrict sign-in to a list of users and list only staff. A student who reaches the sign-in screen can't get past it.
Developer modeBlockedUsually already blocked on school Chromebooks. Check it.
User dataDo not eraseGenesis keeps its school link and its offline copy on the Chromebook. Erasing them at every restart makes each one download Genesis again every morning.
Wi-Fi (Devices › Networks › Wi-Fi)Add your networkAdd your school Wi-Fi to the same group with device-wide access, so the Chromebooks are online before anyone signs in.
Done when all five are saved on your Genesis group.
6

Check one Chromebook

  1. Restart it. It should open Genesis at the student sign-in, full screen. The Browser tile appears once a student signs in.
  2. Try to get out. Restart it again and press Ctrl + Alt + S while Genesis starts. You should reach a sign-in screen with no “Browse as Guest” and no account a student can use. Restart to go back to Genesis.
  3. Look for it in Genesis Teacher. After the first student signs in, the Chromebook appears under System › Computers, by its Google Admin name, with the Companion on it.
Done when all three check out. That's it: every Chromebook you move into the group sets itself up the same way.
Windows PCs

A student account that opens Genesis

Each PC gets one Windows account for students. Signing in to it opens Genesis full screen with the escape keys blocked, and when the session ends, Windows goes back to the sign-in screen. Staff accounts on the same PC keep their normal desktop.

An administrator account on the PCYour School Code and Master PIN
1

Install Genesis Desktop

Download GenesisSetup.exe from download.genesisdesktop.ca. That link always gives you the newest signed version. Run it as an administrator.

  1. One PC: double-click it and follow the installer. Windows names the publisher as 2545288 Alberta Ltd, the registered company behind Genesis.
  2. A whole lab: install it silently with SCCM, Intune, PDQ, a startup script or a USB stick:
    Command
    GenesisSetup.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART
Done when Genesis is installed in C:\Program Files\Genesis Desktop\.
2

Make a student account

Create one Windows account for students on each PC, for example Genesis. Make it locally or through Active Directory.

Make it a Standard user

Never an administrator. Genesis needs no special rights to lock the account down.

A password is optional

Without one, students just pick the account and go.

Done when the account shows on the Windows sign-in screen.
3

Make that account open Genesis

Two settings, on the student account only: one starts Genesis at sign-in, and one switches it on. Pick whichever way suits you.

A few PCs: paste one block

Sign in to the student account, open Windows PowerShell from the Start menu (no administrator needed), paste this and press Enter. Then sign out.

PowerShell
$exe = 'C:\Program Files\Genesis Desktop\GenesisGuardian.exe'
$cmd = '"' + $exe + '" --autostart --signout'
$run = 'HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run'
New-ItemProperty $run -Name GenesisDesktop -Value $cmd -Type String -Force
$dir = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\GenesisDesktop"
New-Item $dir -ItemType Directory -Force | Out-Null
Set-Content "$dir\autostart.cfg" '1' -NoNewline

A whole lab: Group Policy

In a GPO linked to the PCs, go to User Configuration › Preferences › Windows Settings and add these two items. On each item's Common tab, use Item-level targeting so it applies to the student account only.

Registry itemHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Value nameGenesisDesktop (type REG_SZ)
Value dataThe line below, exactly
Files itemA file containing just 1, copied to %LOCALAPPDATA%\GenesisDesktop\autostart.cfg
Value data
"C:\Program Files\Genesis Desktop\GenesisGuardian.exe" --autostart --signout
Copy the command line exactly. --autostart must come before --signout. The other way round, Genesis doesn't open and the student is left with the keys blocked.
Done when signing in to the student account opens Genesis instead of the desktop.
4

Set the PC up for your school

  1. Sign in to the student account. Genesis opens and asks Who is this computer for?
  2. Click the small link at the bottom: School IT: set up this device as a school kiosk.
  3. Type your School Code and Master PIN and press Set Up School Kiosk.
  4. The student sign-in appears. Do this once on each PC; it stays set up.

What you'll see. Chromebooks set up by hand show it too.

Done when the student sign-in appears.
5

Check one PC before the rest

  1. Sign in to the student account. Genesis fills the screen. Alt + Tab, the Windows key and Win + L do nothing.
  2. Leave the way students do. Choose Log Out of Windows in the Genesis power menu. You're back at the Windows sign-in screen, not a desktop.
  3. Look for it in Genesis Teacher. After the first student signs in, the PC appears under System › Computers with its name and Genesis version.
Done when all three check out. Now roll it out to the rest of your PCs the same way.
Once you're set up

What everyone does day to day

Nothing to maintain on the computers. Here's what students, teachers and staff need to know.

Students

Sign in with the School Code, their username and their 4-digit passcode, all on their login card. School computers remember the School Code after the first sign-in. Their work follows them to any computer.

Teachers

Run their classes from teacher.genesisdesktop.ca: choose the websites students may open, and see every student computer on one screen. Administrators add teachers and print login cards there too.

Staff who need the computer

  • Windows: press Ctrl + Alt + Del, choose Sign out, and sign in to your own account. Exit Genesis in the power menu also works, with the Master PIN.
  • Chromebook: restart it and press Ctrl + Alt + S while Genesis starts, then sign in with your staff account.

Updates and Wi-Fi drops

  • Updates are automatic. Chromebooks always open the newest Genesis. Windows PCs update themselves while Genesis is closed.
  • Offline is fine. Books, music and read-aloud keep working once they've been opened. Sign-ins and saving need the internet and catch up when it's back.
If something's off

Quick fixes

The snags schools hit most, and what to do about each.

ChromebookStarts at the normal sign-in screen, not GenesisIt isn't in the Genesis group, or auto-launch isn't set (step 2). Fix it, then restart.
Chromebook“School Kiosk Setup” came backIts saved link was cleared, usually by the “erase user data” setting (step 5) or a reset. With your School Code in Google Admin (step 4) it links itself again; otherwise type the School Code and Master PIN.
ChromebookNo Browser tile, or “No Companion” in Genesis TeacherThe Genesis Companion isn't on it. Check the extension ID and URL (step 3), save, and restart.
Chromebook“Browse as Guest” shows on the sign-in screenGuest mode is still on. Disable it (step 5) and test again.
WindowsThe student account opens a normal desktopOne of the two settings in step 3 didn't reach that account. Run the PowerShell block again while signed in to it, then sign out and back in.
WindowsAlt + Tab or the Windows key still workRun "C:\Program Files\Genesis Desktop\GenesisGuardian.exe" --selftest followed by the switches from that PC's own setting. It should say LOCKDOWN PROFILE : SCHOOL. If it does, add C:\Program Files\Genesis Desktop\ as an exclusion in your antivirus.
Windows“Who is this computer for?” came backThe PC's school setup was cleared. Repeat step 4.
BothA computer isn't in Genesis Teacher's listComputers report in when a student signs in, not at install. Have a student sign in, then press Refresh.
BothA student's passcode doesn't workPasscodes are exactly 4 digits. An administrator can see and change each student's passcode in Genesis Teacher.

We're glad to help

Stuck on a step, or want us there for the first day? Reply to your welcome email or reach us directly. A real person answers, and we're happy to walk your IT person through it by phone or in person.

1 (403) 607-9616 [email protected]