As a teacher, you can create different types of Spaces to engage your students in topics, group discussions, project-based work, self-reflection, and much more.
There are three types of spaces:
Class Space
Individual (1:1) Space
Group Space
Here's a visualization of how each type of Space works:
1. Class Spaces
Every class that you create includes its own Class Space. All students that join your class will automatically be linked to your Class Space. Students within this space can post documentation of their learning, receive feedback from their teachers, and add comments. You can customize your Class Settings to control whether students in the class and linked family members can see and engage with each other's posts.
This space is ideal for posting class-wide discussion prompts, files or media that you'd like to share with all students, and work that students want to share with the entire class (if your settings allow students to view each other's posts).
To create more types of Spaces, click Spaces at the top of your class, then Create.
From there, you can select either Individual or Group Spaces.
Example of Class Spaces:
Music Class Space - students can upload recordings of their performances and participate in peer-assessments
Grade 12 Entrepreneurship Class Space - students can add posts to the class space to showcase their company's marketing campaigns and receive feedback from their peers
Teacher Advisory - teachers can add a weekly post to the class space to prompt a class discussion and invite students to share their thoughts and ideas with the class
2. Individual Spaces
Individual Spaces are your way to allow each student to share their personal assignments, reflections, and review feedback privately.
You can create multiple Individual Spaces for each student, and configure access to each of them separately. Posts that students add here won't be visible to other students. This space is private to you and the student.
Note that you don't need to create a separate individual space for each student! If you select all students when creating an individual space, that will automatically create a 1:1 private space for each student.
This means you can create separate spaces for your students to share their work in different units or subject areas. You can also make one space for students to engage with their teachers, and another shared with their families.
Example of Individual Spaces:
21st Century Competencies Space - students can upload work and evidence to demonstrate the development of 21st century competencies
Visual Arts Space - students can upload personal artifacts related to visual arts to demonstrate their skill set and interest in this field
Capstone Project Space - students can outline their project timeline and upload media files to document their learning process as their Capstone Project comes to life. They can use their individual space to present their finished product.
Homework Space - students can post their complete homework assignments to this individual space and receive feedback from their teacher
3. Group Spaces
What if you want specific students to work together on group projects, and watch online as they develop? That's where Group Spaces come in. Posts that students add in these spaces will be visible to other students in their group, but not visible to all students in the class you created.
When creating Group Spaces, you have the option to automatically assign students at random to groups of a particular size, or you can manually select which students are added to each group.
Example of Group Spaces:
Science Lab Group - students can collaborate on their lab report and upload media files to document their experiential learning as a group
Music Group - students who play the same instruments record and peer-evaluate their performances to refine their craft
Literacy Circles - teachers can assign students in their English class to a literacy circle group space where they reflect on weekly readings, discuss literary themes, and collaborate on group assignments
Volunteering Project - students can work together in the group space to design a fundraising project for a cause that aligns with their personal values
Updating Space Settings
After you select a space type, you'll be prompted to select the students to be included.
Remember, when creating Individual Spaces, you can select multiple students at once, but the posts added in those Spaces won't be visible to other students.
All students within each Group Space will be able to see each other's posts, but not those from students in other Group Spaces.
Once you've created the space, you can customize the title, header color, and include a description for students to guide them on how it should be used. You can then configure who will be able to see and interact with each Space.
Until you've set the space as Visible or Active, students and families won't see it in their accounts. When it has been set as Active, students will then see it as one of the options to select when creating a post, allowing them to decide which Class, Individual, or Group Space to add it to.
All posts and comments from any Spaces tied to your class will appear in the main Feed. To access only the posts from a particular Space, you can click on the name of that space within any post in the Feed, or open the Spaces section and select that space.
Still have questions, or any feedback to share? Open a chat in the bottom left corner of your screen!