Teachers who are visually impaired can use a screen reader on their computers and mobile devices to use Classroom. This article focuses on computer screen readers, although mobile screen readers are also supported.
This article has sections on recommended browsers for screen readers, navigating around Classroom, completing common teacher tasks in Classroom and related resources.
To jump to a specific teacher task below, select an option:
- Create a class
- Invite students or co-teachers to a class
- Create an assignment
- Crate a question
- Create a quiz assignment
- Add an attachment to a post
- Communicate with students or co-teachers
- Open student work
- Mark and return an assignment
Recommended browsers and screen readers
Depending on your device, we recommend the following screen readers and browsers:
- ChromeVox on ChromeOS devices
- NVDA or JAWS with Firefox or Chrome Browser on Windows devices
- VoiceOver with Chrome Browser on Mac devices
Navigate around Classroom
When you open Classroom, you’re on the Classroom homepage, also known as the Classes page. The Classes page has 3 main areas:
- Main navigation area – Find your classes, calendar, notification settings and archived classes. You can also open the main navigation area from within a class to return to the Classes page.
- Banner – Find general settings and controls, including the Google bar for switching to other apps and user accounts.
- A list of your classes – Find all the classes that you teach or are invited to teach. Each class has a class card with buttons and links on it.
Within each class, you have 4 main areas:
- The Stream page – Post announcements to your class and access your class settings.
- The Classwork page – Create and post questions, assignments and quiz assignments. You can also post materials, such as a class syllabus. You can organise your posts under topics that you create.
- The People page – Invite students or co-teachers to join your class, and email students, guardians or co-teachers.
- The Marks page – You can enter, review and return student marks from the Marks page. If you mark a student’s work in another area of Classroom, such as the Classroom marking tool, the mark automatically updates to the Marks page.
Complete educator tasks in Classroom with a screen reader
Create a class
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Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign in.
Sign in with your Google Account. For example, [email protected] or [email protected]. Learn more.
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Make sure that you sign in with the account that you use for school. If you’re already signed in and need to switch accounts, on the Classes page, in the banner, navigate to the Google Account button and press Enter. Then select or add your account.
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In the banner on your Classes page, navigate to the Create or Join a class button and press Enter.
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Select the Create class menu item and press Enter.
A window called Create class opens so that you can enter your class details. -
Enter a class name (required), section, subject and room. Then navigate to the Create button and press Enter. You are now in your new class, on the Stream page tab.
For more information, go to Create a class.
Invite students or co-teachers to a class
You can invite students or co-teachers to join your class in 2 ways: with an invite or with the class code. If you send an invite, people get an email and the class shows on their Classes page. If you share the class code, people sign in to Classroom and enter the code to join your class.
To jump to the instructions below, select an option:
To invite students or co-teachers with an invite:
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Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign in.
Sign in with your Google Account. For example, [email protected] or [email protected]. Learn more.
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Make sure that you sign in with the account that you use for school.
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On the Classes page, navigate to your class and, when you hear the class name, press Enter.
You are now in the class on the Stream page tab. -
Navigate to the People page tab and press Enter.
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On the People page, navigate to the Invite teachers button or the Invite students button and press Enter. Based on your choice, an Invite teachers or Invite students window opens.
Tip: Make sure that you invite only students from the Invite students button and only teachers from the Invite teachers button. -
Enter the names or email addresses of the people who you want to invite.
Tip: As you enter a name or email address, a list of suggested people appears in search results. You can select people from the list. -
When you finish adding people to the invite, navigate to the Invite button and press Enter.
The people who you invited receive an email with your invite.
To invite students or co-teachers with the class code:
You can share the class code in different ways. For example, you can share it in an email or use a projector to display it.
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Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign in.
Sign in with your Google Account. For example, [email protected] or [email protected]. Learn more.
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Make sure that you sign in with the account that you use for school.
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On the Classes page, navigate to your class and, when you hear the class name, press Enter.
You are now in the class, on the Stream page tab. -
(Optional) To display the class code with a projector, navigate to the Display button and press Enter. The enlarged code shows in a window. To make the code even larger, in the window, navigate to the Full screen button and press Enter.
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(Optional) To share the class code in an email, on the Stream page, navigate to the Class settings button and press Enter. In Class settings, complete the following steps:
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Navigate to the Class enrolment code menu item and press Enter.
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Select Copy from the menu item list.
The code copies to your clipboard. You can close the Class settings page. -
Paste the code into an email for your students or co-teachers.
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For more information, go to Invite your students to a class or Add a co-teacher to a class.
Create an assignment
Assignments that you create post to the Classwork page. You can also show or hide classwork posts on the Stream page. When you create an assignment, you can post it immediately or schedule it to post later.
You can add files and attachments to an assignment. When you attach a file to an assignment, you can set student permissions on the attachment to Students can view file, Students can edit file or Make a copy for each student. If you select Make a copy for each student, every student gets an individual copy of the file to work on.
Step 1 of 3: Create your assignment
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Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign in.
Sign in with your Google Account. For example, [email protected] or [email protected]. Learn more.
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Make sure that you sign in with the account that you use for school.
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On the Classes page, navigate to your class and, when you hear the class name, press Enter.
You are now in the class, on the Stream page tab. -
Navigate to the Classwork page tab and press Enter.
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On the Classwork page, navigate to the Create button and press Enter.
A list opens of the Create menu items. -
On the list of Create menu items, select Assignment.
A window opens so that you can enter the assignment details. -
In the Title text box, enter an assignment title (required).
Note: After you enter a title, the assignment saves as a draft on your Classwork page. Students can’t see your drafts. -
To add assignment details, continue to Step 2: Add assignment details.
Step 2 of 3: Add assignment details
After you've entered an assignment title, you can add other details to your assignment.
To jump to the instructions below, select an option: add instructions, add attachments, post to multiple classes, post to specific students, add a mark category, change the point value, enter a due date, add a topic, add a rubric, turn on originality reports.
- (Optional) To add instructions for your students, in the assignment details window, after the Title text box, navigate to the Instructions text box and enter any instructions.
- (Optional) To add or create attachments, jump to Add an attachment to a post, below.
- (Optional) To post the assignment in more than one class, in the assignment details window, navigate to the Post in menu item and press Enter. A list of your classes opens. To post to a class, tick its box in the list.
Note: If you post the assignment to multiple classes, you have to post to all students in those classes. - (Optional) To post the assignment to specific students in your class, in the assignment details window, navigate to the For all students menu item and press Enter. A list of students in the class opens. By default, all students are selected to get the post. To deselect a student so that they don’t get the post, in the list, untick the box next to their name.
- (Optional) To add a mark category, in the assignment details window, navigate to the Mark category menu. By default, No category is selected. Select a mark category from the list and press Enter.
Note: To create mark categories, you have to set up marking. For instructions, go to Set up marking. - (Optional) To change the point value, in the assignment details window, navigate until you hear Maximum point value. By default, the value is set to 100. Enter a new value or select Unmarked and press Enter.
Note: When you return Unmarked work, students get a tick mark rather than points. - (Optional) To enter a due date, in the assignment details window, navigate to the No due date menu item and press Enter. A window opens called Due date and time.
- In the Due date and time window, enter a due date, or to select a date from a calendar, navigate to the No due date button and press Enter.
- To enter a due time, in the Due date and time window, navigate to the Add due time button and press Enter. Enter a time with a.m. or p.m. and press Enter.
- (Optional) To add the post to a topic, in the assignment details window, navigate to the Topic menu. By default, No topic is selected. On the menu, select a topic or select Create topic and enter a new topic name.
Tip: Topics help organise classwork for you and your students. For example, you can group posts by learning objective, unit or week. Posts show under their topic, and you can filter by topic. - (Optional) To add a rubric, in the assignment details window, navigate to the Attach rubric menu item and press Enter. You can choose from the following menu options: Create rubric, Reuse rubric or Import from Sheets.
For detailed rubric instructions, go to Create or reuse a rubric for an assignment. - (Optional) To turn on originality reports for the assignment, in the assignment details window, navigate to the Originality reports tickbox and press Enter to tick the box. A window opens to confirm that you want to turn on originality reports for the assignment. In the window, navigate to the Continue button and press Enter. For more information about originality reports, go to Turn on originality reports for an assignment.
- To finish and post your assignment, continue to Step 3: Post or schedule your assignment.
Step 3 of 3: Post or schedule your assignment
Students can view an assignment after you post it. Students can’t view a scheduled assignment until it posts.
- Choose an option:
- To post the assignment immediately, in the assignment details window, navigate to the Assign button and press Enter. The assignment posts, and you return to the Classwork page.
Note: After an assignment posts, you can’t change it later to a scheduled post. - To schedule the assignment to post later, navigate to the Save options menu item and press Enter. A menu opens with 3 options: Assign, Schedule and Save draft. Select Schedule. A Schedule assignment window opens. In the window, navigate to Schedule date and enter a date. Then navigate to Schedule time and enter a time. To finish, in the window, navigate to the Schedule button and press Enter. The assignment will post as scheduled. You return to the Classwork page.
- To post the assignment immediately, in the assignment details window, navigate to the Assign button and press Enter. The assignment posts, and you return to the Classwork page.
Note: Before a scheduled assignment posts, you can edit the scheduled date. On the Classwork page, on the assignment, select the Edit button. In the assignment details, navigate to Scheduled for and change the date, or for more options, select the Remove scheduled date button.
For more information, go to Create an assignment.
Create a question
To check understanding or facilitate class discussion, you can ask your class a question. You can create a short-answer question or a multiple choice question. By default, the question type is set to Short answer. For instructions on how to mark a question, go to Mark and return question answers.
Step 1 of 4: Create the question
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Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign in.
Sign in with your Google Account. For example, [email protected] or [email protected]. Learn more.
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Make sure that you sign in with the account that you use for school.
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On the Classes page, navigate to the class name and press Enter.
You are now in the class, on the Stream page tab. -
Navigate to the Classwork page tab and press Enter.
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On the Classwork page, navigate to the Create button and press Enter.
A menu opens with the types of classwork posts that you can create. -
On the Create button menu, select Question.
You are now in the question details window, in the Question text box. -
In the Question text box, enter the question.
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Choose an option:
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To set up a multiple choice question, go to Step 2: Set up a multiple choice question.
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To add question details, continue to Step 3: Add question details.
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Step 2 of 4: (Optional) Set up a multiple choice question
- To create a multiple-choice question, navigate to the Question type menu and select Multiple choice. Two blank options appear under the Instructions text box.
- Navigate to Option 1 and enter an option.
- Navigate to Add option and enter the next option. To add more options, repeat this step.
- (Optional) To remove an option, navigate to its Remove option button and press Enter.
Tip: The Remove option button comes after the option. - (Optional) After students select an answer, you can let them see a summary of how the class answered. By default, students can see the class summary. To turn off the class summary, untick the box for Students can see class summary.
- To add question details, such as instructions or a due date, continue to Step 3: Add question details.
Step 3 of 4: Add question details
You can add other details to your question. To jump to the instructions below, select an option: add instructions, add attachments, post to multiple classes, post to specific students, add a mark category, change the point value, add a due date, add a topic, set student permissions.
- (Optional) To add instructions for the question, navigate to the Instructions text box and enter any instructions.
- (Optional) To add attachments, in the question details, navigate to the Add or Create menu items and select a file type. For more instructions, jump to Add an attachment to a post, below.
- (Optional) To post the question to multiple classes, navigate to the Post in menu item and press Enter. A checklist of all your classes opens. By default, only the current class is ticked. To post to other classes, tick their boxes on the list.
Note: If you post to multiple classes, you have to post to all students in those classes. - (Optional) To post the question to specific students, navigate to the For all students menu item and press Enter. A checklist of students in the class opens. By default, the All students option is ticked. Untick the All students box, and then tick the boxes for the students who you want to post to.
- (Optional) To add a mark category, navigate to the Mark category menu item and select a category. By default, No category is selected.
Note: To create mark categories, you have to set up marking. For instructions, go to Set up marking. - (Optional) To change the point value, navigate to the Point value text box. By default, the value is set to 100. Enter another value, or select Unmarked.
- (Optional) To set a due date, navigate to the No due date menu item and press Enter. A Due date and time window opens.
- In the window, select the Add due date button and then select a date on the calendar that opens. The date is added and the calendar closes.
- To add a due time, in the window, select the Due time button. Enter a time with a.m. or p.m. and press Enter. The due date and time are set. You can close the Due date and time window.
- (Optional) To add the question to a topic, navigate to the Topic menu. By default, No topic is selected. In the Topic menu, choose an option:
- Select a topic from the menu.
- Select Create topic, and enter a new topic name in the text box that opens.
Tip: Topics help organise classwork for you and your students. For example, you can group posts by learning objective, unit or week. Posts show under their topic, and you can filter by topic.
- (Optional) Set student permissions (for short-answer questions only):
- To let students reply to their classmate’s answers, navigate to Students can reply to each other and make sure that the box is ticked.
Note: By default, the box is ticked. - To let students edit their answers, navigate to Students can edit answer and tick the box.
Note: By default, the box is unticked.
- To let students reply to their classmate’s answers, navigate to Students can reply to each other and make sure that the box is ticked.
Step 4 of 4: Post or schedule the question
You can post the question immediately or schedule it to post later.
- Choose an option:
- To post the question immediately, in the question details, navigate to the Ask button and press Enter.
The question posts, and you’re returned to the Classwork page. - To schedule the question to post later, navigate to the Save options menu item and press Enter. A menu opens with 3 options: Ask, Save draft and Schedule. Select Schedule. A Schedule question window opens. In the window, navigate to the Schedule date text box and enter a date. Then navigate to the Schedule time text box and enter a time. To finish, in the window, navigate to the Schedule button and press Enter.
The question will post as scheduled. You’re returned to the Classwork page.
- To post the question immediately, in the question details, navigate to the Ask button and press Enter.
For more information, go to Create a question.
Create a quiz assignment
When you create a quiz assignment, Classroom creates a blank quiz using a Google Form and attaches it to the assignment. You can then edit the quiz and add questions.
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Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign in.
Sign in with your Google Account. For example, [email protected] or [email protected]. Learn more.
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Make sure that you sign in with the account that you use for school.
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On the Classes page, navigate to the class name and press Enter.
You are now in the class, on the Stream page tab. -
Navigate to the Classwork page tab and press Enter.
You are now on the Classwork page. -
On the Classwork page, navigate to the Create button and press Enter.
A menu opens with the types of classwork posts that you can create. -
On the Create button menu, select the Quiz assignment menu item and press Enter.
You are now in the quiz assignment details window. A blank Google Forms quiz automatically attaches to your quiz assignment. -
In the quiz assignment details, enter a title and other details, such as instructions or a topic. For more information, jump to Add assignment details or Add an attachment to a post.
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(Optional) To prevent students from opening other browser tabs during the quiz, navigate to Locked mode on Chromebooks and tick the box.
Note: This option is available for schools that use managed Chromebooks. Learn more. -
To begin creating the Forms quiz, in the quiz assignment details, navigate to the Google Forms quiz attachment and press Enter. A blank Forms quiz opens in a new browser tab.
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Navigate to the browser tab for your Forms quiz and then:
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In the Forms quiz, navigate to Form title and enter a title for the quiz.
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Fill in the rest of the quiz.
Your updates to the Forms quiz automatically save to the quiz attachment in your quiz assignment.
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To assign or schedule your quiz, navigate back to the browser tab for your Classroom quiz assignment and choose an option:
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To assign your quiz immediately, in the quiz assignment details, navigate to the Assign button and press Enter.
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To schedule your quiz to post later, in the quiz assignment details, navigate to the Save options button and press Enter. Then select Schedule and set a date and time.
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For more information, go to Create a quiz assignment or Create and mark quizzes with Google Forms.
Add an attachment to a post
To distribute resources or materials to your students, you can add attachments such as worksheets, videos or web links to the posts that you create.
With classwork posts, such as assignments or questions, you can also create a new file that attaches automatically. On the attachment, you can set student access to Students can view file, Students can edit file or Make a copy for each student.
To jump to the instructions below, select an option: Add an attachment or create an attachment.
To add an attachment
Note: You can use this option for announcements or classwork posts.
- In the details of the post that you’re creating, navigate to the Add button and press Enter. A menu opens with attachment options. To jump to the instructions below, select an option: Attach a file from Google Drive, Attach a link, Attach a file from your device or Attach a YouTube video.
- (Optional) To attach a file from Google Drive, on the Add menu, select Google Drive. A window opens called Insert files using Google Drive. In the window, a tab menu item for Recent files is selected.
- Select or search for the file in Drive.
Note: If you select a suggested search result, the file attaches and the window closes. - In the Insert files using Google Drive window, navigate to the Add button press Enter. The file attaches to your post.
- Select or search for the file in Drive.
- (Optional) To attach a link, on the Add menu, select Link. An Add link window opens.
- In the Link text box, enter your link.
- Navigate to the Add link button and press Enter. The link attaches to your post.
- (Optional) To attach a file from your device, on the Add menu, select File. A window opens called Insert files using Google Drive. In the window, a tab menu item for Upload is selected. You can:
- (Optional) Drag files into the window.
- (Optional) Navigate to the Select files from your device button and press Enter.
- When you've finished adding files, in the Insert files using Google Drive window, navigate to the Upload button and press Enter. The file attaches to your post.
- (Optional) To add a YouTube video, on the Add menu, select YouTube. An Insert video window opens with tabs to search for a video or enter a URL for a video.
- Select your video or enter a video URL.
- In the Insert video window, navigate to the Add button and press Enter. The video attaches to your post.
To create and attach a new file
Note: You can use this option for classwork posts. For announcements, jump to Add an attachment, above.
- In the details of the classwork post that you're creating, navigate to the Create button and press Enter. A menu opens with options to create Docs, Slides, Sheets, Drawings and Forms.
- Select one of the options.
A blank file attaches to your post, and you’re taken to a new browser tab to create your content. - In the new browser tab, add your content.
Any changes that you make to the file automatically save to the attachment in your classwork post. - Navigate back to the browser tab for your classwork post and finish creating the post.
For more information on attaching files, go to Create an assignment.
Communicate with students or co-teachers
You can post an announcement for your class, send a private comment to a student about their work and email students or co-teachers.
To jump to instructions below, select an option:
- Post an announcement to your class
- Send a private comment to a student
- Email students or co-teachers
Post an announcement to your class
When you post an announcement, you can post it to all students in multiple classes or to specific students in one class.
Step 1 of 3: Create the announcement
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Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign in.
Sign in with your Google Account. For example, [email protected] or [email protected]. Learn more.
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Make sure that you sign in with the account that you use for school.
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On the Classes page, navigate to the class name and press Enter.
You are now in the class, on the Stream page tab. - Navigate to the Share something with your class button and press Enter.
A window opens to enter announcement details. - In the window, navigate to the Share something with your class text box and enter your announcement.
Step 2 of 3: (Optional) Add other announcement details
To jump to the instructions below, select an option: Add an attachment, Post to multiple classes, Post to specific students.
- (Optional) To add an attachment to your announcement, navigate to the Add menu item and press Enter.
A list opens with the following attachment options: Google Drive, Link, File or YouTube. For more information, jump to Add an attachment, above. - (Optional) To post the announcement to all students in multiple classes, in the announcement details window, navigate to the Post in menu and press Enter. A list of your classes opens. For each class that you want to post to, tick the box in the list.
Note: If you post to multiple classes, you have to post to all students in those classes. - (Optional) To post the announcement to specific students in the class, in the announcement details window, navigate to the For all students menu and press Enter. A checklist of your students opens. By default, all students are selected to receive the announcement. To omit a student from the announcement, untick their box.
Step 3 of 3: Post or schedule the announcement
- Choose an option:
- To post the announcement immediately, in the announcement details window, navigate to the Post button and press Enter. Your announcement posts.
- To schedule the announcement to post later, in the announcement details window, navigate to the Save options menu and press Enter. A list opens with options to Post, Schedule or Save draft. Select Schedule and press Enter. A Schedule announcement window opens. In the Schedule announcement window, navigate to Schedule date and enter a date, and then navigate Schedule time and enter a time. To finish, in the window, navigate to the Schedule button and press Enter. Your announcement will post as scheduled.
For more information, go to Post announcements to your students.
Send a private comment to a student
You can send a student a private comment about their work. After you've posted the comment, the student gets a notification and can view the comment.
Note: You can’t edit or delete private comments to students.
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Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign in.
Sign in with your Google Account. For example, [email protected] or [email protected]. Learn more.
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Make sure that you sign in with the account that you use for school.
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On the Classes page, navigate to the class name and press Enter.
You are now in the class, on the Stream page tab. -
Navigate to the Classwork page tab and press Enter.
You are now on the Classwork page. -
Navigate to the assignment or question and open it. For assignments, you are taken to the Student work page. For questions, you are taken to the Student answers page.
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Navigate to the All students table. When you reach the link for the student’s name that you want to communicate with, press Enter. A text box called Add a private comment opens in a main area.
Tips:-
If a student left you a private comment for the assignment or question, you hear it with the link for their name in the table.
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After you select a student’s name in the table, a main area opens with their work, the private comment option and another link with their name that leads to their Student profile page.
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In the Add private comment text box, enter your private comment to the student and select the Post button.
Email students or co-teachers
If your school allows, you can send an email to students or co-teachers from the People page. If you don’t have the email option on the People page, your school hasn’t turned on email for Classroom.
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Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign in.
Sign in with your Google Account. For example, [email protected] or [email protected]. Learn more.
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Make sure that you sign in with the account that you use for school.
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On the Classes page, navigate to the class name and press Enter.
You are now in the class, on the Stream page tab. -
Navigate to the People page tab and press Enter.
You are now on the People page. Students and co-teachers are listed. -
Navigate to the Options for menu for the teacher or student who you want to email, and select the Email menu item.
A new browser tab opens for your email message with the recipient’s email address added. -
In the browser tab for your email message, follow these steps:
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In the Subject text box, enter a subject for your email.
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In the Message body text box, enter your message.
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- To send or schedule your message, choose an option:
- To send the email immediately, navigate to the Send button and press Enter.
The message sends and the email browser tab closes. - To schedule when the email sends, navigate to the More send options menu and select the Schedule send menu item. A window opens called Schedule send with options to select a suggested time or Pick date and time. If you select Pick date and time, another window opens where you can pick a date and time. To finish, in the window, select the Schedule send button.
The message sends as scheduled and the email browser tab closes.
- To send the email immediately, navigate to the Send button and press Enter.
Note: You can’t get emails in Classroom. To read your emails, in the Classroom banner, select the Google Apps button and then select Gmail.
For more information, go to Email your students or Email students with the same work status.
Open student work
After you've posted classwork, you can open the assignment or question to check work status or begin marking. When you open an assignment, you're taken to the Student work page. When you open a question, you're taken to the Student answers page.
Both pages group students by work status as follows:
- Assigned – For work that you assigned
- Handed in – For work that students have handed in
- Marked – For marked work that you returned
- Returned – For unmarked work that you returned
Note: This option only shows if you set the point value to Unmarked.
You can open a student's work in multiple ways. To jump to instructions below, select an option:
- Open student work from the Stream page
- Open student work from the Classwork page
- Open student work from the Marks page
Open student work from the Stream page
To check the work that you have to review, you can open the To-do page which organises classwork as Reviewed or To review. From the To-do page, you can open the student work that you want to review.
- In a class, select the Stream page tab and then navigate to the View all work button and press Enter.
You are taken to your To-do page. The To-do page lists classwork as Reviewed or To review to help organise teacher tasks. - On the To-do page, navigate to an assignment or question and press Enter.
If the item is an assignment, you’re taken to the Student work page. If the item is a question, you’re taken to the Student answers page. You hear the assignment or question. - (Optional) For instructions on how to enter marks on the Student work page, jump to Mark on the Student work page, below.
Open student work from the Classwork page
The Classwork page lists classwork under topics that you create. For teachers, each classwork item has an options menu and a count of student work status. Items on the Classwork page are collapsed until you expand them or filter by topic.
Tip: When you filter by topic, select a title to open student work.
- In a class, select the Classwork page tab and then navigate to an assignment or question and press Enter to expand it.
- Select the number next to 'Turned in' or 'Assigned' Enter. The Student work page displays.
- A number can only be clicked when it's greater than zero.
Learn how to mark on the Student work page.
Open student work from the Marks page
The Marks page, also known as your student record, consists of a table to enter and return marks. The top row lists and links to classwork items, and the left column lists students and links to their profile pages. After a student submits work, you can open their submission from the Marks page.
- In a class, select the Marks page tab.
You hear the class name followed by student record. - Navigate to a link for an assignment or question and press Enter.
If the item is an assignment, you are taken to the Student work page. If the item is a question, you are taken to the Student answers page. - (Optional) For instructions on how to enter marks on the Student work page, jump to Mark on the Student work page, below.
Mark and return an assignment
How you mark depends on the requirements that you set for the assignment.
For example, if a student hands in a file with their assignment, you can mark the file in the Classroom marking tool. When you enter a mark in the marking tool, the mark updates on your other Classroom pages, such as the Marks page and the Student work page. This way, you only have to enter a mark once.
When you enter a mark, it saves as a draft, until you return it to the student. After you return the mark, the student can view it and any feedback you left on their work. You can return marks to one or more students at a time.
You can enter and return marks from multiple pages in Classroom. To jump to instructions below, select an option:
- Mark on the marks page – a table of all work in the class
- Mark on the Student work page – a page with students organised by work status
- Mark in the Classroom marking tool – a tool to give feedback on a student’s work
For instructions to mark questions, go to the article Mark and return question answers.
Enter and return a mark on the Marks page
The Marks page consists of a table. In the top row, you have links to classwork items. In the leftmost column, you have student names that link to the student’s profile. The cell where you enter a student’s mark is an action menu. When you navigate to an action menu cell, you hear the student’s work status, such as Assigned or Missing, or a previously entered mark. In each action menu cell, you have options to open the student’s work or return the mark.
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Go to classroom.google.com and click Sign in.
Sign in with your Google Account. For example, [email protected] or [email protected]. Learn more.
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Make sure that you sign in with the account that you use for school.
- On your Classes page, on a class card, navigate to the Open student record link for the class and press Enter.
You are now in the class, on the Marks page.
Tip: Within a class, you can get to the Marks page by selecting the Marks page tab. Students don’t have the Marks page in their version of Classroom. - In a student’s row, navigate to the action menu cell for the assignment and then choose an option:
- To open the student’s submission, in the student’s action menu cell, select the View submission link item. You are taken to the student’s work in the marking tool, in a new browser tab.
- To enter a mark, when you hear the students name and then Action menu, enter a mark in the cell. The mark saves as a draft until you return it.
- To return one student’s mark, select the student’s action menu item Return.
The student’s work is returned and they can view their mark. - To return marks to all students for the assignment, navigate to an assignment’s Header action menu and select the Return all menu item.
Tip: You can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate and update your student record:
Action | Mac shortcut | PC/Chrome shortcut |
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Save draft and move to the More menu, or move to next cell from the More menu. | Tab | Tab |
Save draft and move to previous column, same row | Shift + Tab | Shift + Tab |
Save draft and move to next row, same column | Return | Enter |
Save draft and move to previous row, same column | Shift + Return | Shift + Enter |
(View Mode) Move between cells (showing selected cell) | Arrow keys | Arrow keys |
(Edit Mode) Move between characters in a selected cell | Arrow keys | Arrow keys |
Return to view mode | Esc | Esc |
Open menu options in a cell | ⌘ + Shift + \ | Ctrl + Shift + \ |
Return assignment | ⌘ + Option + r | Ctrl + Alt + r |
View submission | ⌘ + Option + v | Ctrl + Alt + v |
For more Marks page instructions, go to View and update your student record.
Enter and return a mark on the Student work page
On the Student work page, students are listed in rows grouped by work status. For each student, you have a tickbox column, a student name column and a mark column. There’s also a main area where you can filter by work status or review a selected student’s work. When you select a student’s name, only their work shows in the main area.
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In a class, open an assignment. You're taken to the Student work page.
For more instructions to open student work, jump to Open student work, above. -
On the Student work page, choose an option.
- (Optional) To review a student’s work, under Handed in, navigate to a student’s name and press Enter. The student’s work shows next to the table, in the main area. If the student attached a file, navigate to their attachment and press Enter. The file opens in the Classroom marking tool, in a new browser tab. For marking tool instructions, jump to Enter and return a mark from the marking tool, below.
- (Optional) To enter a mark for a student, navigate to the student’s mark column and then enter a mark, and press Enter.
Tip: In a student’s row, you hear the tickbox column, the student’s name column and then the mark column, which is an action menu. The action menu has a cell to enter points, and you can select other menu items. - (Optional) To return marks, choose an option:
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To return marks to individual students, tick the boxes next to their names and then navigate to the Return button and press Enter. Marks are returned to the selected students.
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To return marks to all students, tick the All students tickbox. Then navigate to the Return button and press Enter. A window might open to confirm mark return. Marks are returned to all students.
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For more instructions, go to Mark and return an assignment.
Enter and return a mark from the Classroom marking tool
When a student hands in a file with an assignment, you can review and mark their work in the Classroom marking tool.
The marking tool has 3 main areas:
- A banner area with buttons to return student work and move to the next student.
- A main area for the student’s work where you can suggest edits or make comments.
- A side panel where you can enter a mark, open an originality report and access your comment bank. You control side panel options by selecting the Marking tab item or the Comment bank tab item on the side panel. By default, the Marking tab item is selected.
As you mark, you can return work to individual students or you return work to multiple students later. When you return work, students can view their marks.
- In a class, select the attachment that a student handed in with their work. The file opens in the marking tool, in a new browser tab.
For more instructions to open student work, jump to Open student work, above. - To enter a mark in the marking tool, in the side panel, navigate to Mark edit and enter a mark in the text box. The mark saves as a draft.
- To return work, choose an option:
- To return work to one student, in the marking tool banner, navigate to the Return button and press Enter. A window opens to confirm return. In the window, navigate to the Return button and press Enter.
- To return work to multiple students, in the marking tool banner, navigate to the Return options button and press Enter to open a menu. On the menu, select Return multiple submissions. A window opens called Return multiple submissions. In the window, tick the boxes for the students who you want to return work to. Then navigate to the Return button and press Enter.
The work is returned and students can check their mark.
Tip: In the marking tool, you can also use these options:
- To run an originality report on the student’s work, in the side panel, navigate to Check originality and press Enter. When the report is ready, Check originality changes to number of flagged passages. To open the report, select number of flagged passages.
For more instructions, go to View an originality report. - To mark with a rubric, in the side panel, navigate to a rubric criterion and enter a score. For more instructions, go to Mark with a rubric.
- To add a comment from your comment bank, select the Comment bank tab item on the side panel. Then search for or copy the comment that you want to use. For more instructions, go to Give feedback on assignments.
- To move to the next student’s work, in the marking tool banner, navigate to the Select the previous student button or the Select the next student button and press Enter. Another student’s work loads in the marking tool.
For more marking tool instructions, go to Give feedback on assignments.
Related resources
Chrome extensions
Check out the following recommended Chrome extensions from our partners:
- Snap&Read – A text reader (TTS) that simplifies vocabulary, translates text, reads inaccessible text (OCR) and captures and cites sources.
- Co:Writer – A dictation tool with word prediction that is grammar smart and inventive spelling aware.
- EquatIO – A tool for creating maths expressions by typing, writing or speaking.
- Read&Write for Google Chrome – A personalised support tool to make documents, web pages and common file types in Google Drive (including: Google Docs, PDF & ePub) more accessible.
Videos and articles
- YouTube playlist of accessibility tips for Google Workspace
- Distance learning accessibility guide for guardians
- Start a video meeting for education
- How attachments are shared in Classroom
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