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Class Writing Groups (Organize Work, Students or Projects)

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Write About Team
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CLASS GROUPS OVERVIEW

Class Groups are pages that organize specific students and content in a private community. 

  • Differentiate writing topics and mentor writing
  • Help students find Ideas and Posts for their class work
  • Bring together multiple classrooms for a private collaboration

 

FAQ: What's the difference between a "Class" and a "Group"

  • CLASS- Is a privacy layer for content. Every student registered under your account has access to you (and to each) other through that privacy layer. When they publish a Post to the "Class" layer, they will also have the option to share it to any Groups they are a part of.  

 

  • GROUP-Is a community space and organization filter. You can have an entire class in a Group or a subset of students. Students from multiple classes and teachers can be in a Class group together for a private collaboration. 

Suggested for teachers with 1 class: Set up a Class Group for all your students. Later, you can create more "small groups" to differentiate by project, writing level, etc.

Suggested for teachers with multiple classes: Set up a Class Group for each class.

 

 

 

 

CLASS GROUP(s) TO ORGANIZE STUDENT WRITING

From the POSTS area under the Class privacy layer, Class Groups make it easy to find Drafts and Posts from a certain class period, project or other subset of students. The 'View by Author' filter will allow you to narrow writing down to a specific student in that Group. Students can also use this to find and read each others' Posts. 

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CREATE GROUPS FOR YOUR CLASS(ES)

 You can create your Group(s) either before you get student accounts set up -OR- after they are registered. 

  • Suggested for teachers with 1 class: Wait until student accounts have been set up so that you can add them directly into the group during the group creation process.
  • Suggested for teachers with multiple classes: Set up a Group for each of your classes and let students add themselves to the Group using the group password after searching it by name. You can also add them manually during the creation process if you prefer.

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Selecting "Organize my students/class(es) will create a Closed Group. Closed Groups display for you and your students in the "My Class Groups" area.

  • Follow the Create Group steps to create a group identity that will be meaningful for your students
    • Suggested: Customize the avatar with a picture of your Class!

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GET STUDENTS IN TO YOUR CLASS GROUPS

Students can be added directly by the teacher or can join a group themselves. 

  • Add students directly during the Create Group process OR at any time from the ADD STUDENTS area.

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Teachers can also add Students directly to ANY Group they have created or joined from the Group page.

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  • Let students join the group themselves by creating a simple Join Password during the Create Group process or at any time from the Group Settings

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  • Students can then search the group name, click join, and enter the password to add themselves.

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CLASS GROUP IDEAS

  • Provide curated Idea choices or specific assignment topics for students in the Group Ideas area.

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CLASS GROUP POSTS

  • Share writing from the class/project OR share mentor writing from outside your class to share with students so they can read and comment

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PUBLISHING TO CLASS GROUPS

  • Students and teacher can Publish and Share their Posts directly to Groups they are a member of. 
  • Teachers should model and instruct students how how to purposefully share writing to a desired audience based on the class or project.
  • If Moderation is turned on for the student in order to Publish Publicly, the post will be held for approval before it is shared to the Group.

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SHARING TO CLASS GROUPS

  • All IDEAS and POSTS across Write About can be Shared to Groups by Students and Teachers to help build the community
  • Teachers should model and instruct students how how to purposefully share content that the Class or Project can benefit from.

Share Ideas to Groups by hovering or tapping on an Idea preview:

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Or, share Ideas or Posts to Groups using the Share to Group button on an Idea or Post page:

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Find the Share To Group button in the Footer (bottom) of a Post page:

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FEATURE IDEAS IN GROUPS

  • Using the "Featured Ideas" tool will let you keep specific Ideas on the first page so students see them immediately on the Group page. For example, FEATURED Ideas might be 'assigned' and the remaining Ideas (no limit to how many can be added) might be choices for further writing.

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FEATURE POSTS IN GROUPS

  • Using the "Featured Posts" tool allows teachers to display mentor writing for their students at the top of the Group Posts feed. This could be a Post written by you, a student, or even a student from the Write About community in general.

 

  • Teachers also use Featured Posts to celebrate specific pieces of writing and specific student authors. TIP: 'Feature' different student Posts each week to help those students build confidence, gain more comments and use them as a peer mentor!

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Have fun building your classroom writing communities!

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