Patent ID: 8624731

Claim:
An information handling system (IHS) comprising: a plurality of student IHS's, each student IHS including: a student IHS chassis; a processor housed in the student IHS chassis; a memory module communicatively coupled to the processor; a display device that is housed in the student IHS chassis and that is viewable from a first side of the student IHS chassis that faces a first direction; and a status alert display device that is located on a second side of the student IHS chassis that faces a second direction that is opposite the first direction such that the status alert display device is viewable by a teacher user that is located on the second side of the student IHS chassis, but not viewable by a student user that is located on the first side of the student IHS chassis and simultaneously viewing the display device; wherein the memory module include instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to place the student IHS into one of a testing mode and a working mode, activate the status alert display device in the testing mode according to first activation details, and activate the status alert display device in the working mode in response to detecting the operation of at least one unauthorized application program and according to second activation details; a teacher IHS communicatively coupled to each of the plurality of student IHS's over a network and including: a student IHS control application that is configured to send instructions to set each of the plurality of student IHSs in either of the testing mode and the working mode; wherein the student IHS control application is configured to receive testing mode details that restrict communication and file operations on each of the plurality of student IHSs and define the first activation details of the status alert display device on each of the plurality of student IHSs when in the testing mode; and wherein the student IHS control application is configured to receive working mode details that define the at least one unauthorized application program and the second activation details of the status alert display device on each of the plurality of student IHSs when in the working mode.