Use Class Tools

This page is for teachers. If you are an administrator, go to Set up Class Tools.

During Class Tools sessions, you can share learning resources with students as well as use live translatable captions on ChromeOS devices to keep your students focused and engaged.

Requirements

Class Tools is available only on ChromeOS devices with ChromeOS version 137 or later that are enrolled in your school’s Google Workspace account. Teachers and students who use their own personal unmanaged ChromeOS devices can’t use Class Tools.
Screen sharing and annotation are available only on ChromeOS devices with ChromeOS version 144 or later.
[Preferred, but not required] In Google Classroom, you have created a class that contains the students that you plan to use Class Tools with. For tips and tutorials on using Google Classroom, visit the Classroom Help Center. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

Start a Class Tools session

Step 1: Launch Class Tools

Sign in to your ChromeOS device with your teacher account.
Launch Class Tools, either from the ChromeOS device shelf or app launcher. The Class Tools app automatically opens in teacher mode and displays the Start new session page on your screen. If this is your first time using Class Tools, you’ll be presented with a feature tour.

Step 2: Connect to students

Each Class Tools session can host a maximum of 50 students at one time.

Google Classroom

To connect with students through Google Classroom, you must be using Google Classroom and have classes already set up. Otherwise, follow the instructions to invite students using a unique join code.

On the Start new session page, click Students.
At the top right of the Students page, click Add students.
From the list of classes that are available to you, find and click the class that you want.
A list of students that are part of the class roster displays.
- To include all students in the class roster, leave the Select all box checked.
- To include only some of the students, uncheck the Select all box and select the individual students that you want to connect to.
  Note: It’s important that you deselect students that are not present for the in-class session. Otherwise, you might interfere with their current activity on their device. For example, they might be absent due to illness or working with another teacher instead.
Click Add X students, where X is the number of students you want to add.
To add students from other class rosters, repeat steps 2 to 5.
Next to Students, click to go back to the Start new session page.

Join code

If you don’t use Google Classroom or have students present that are not part of a class roster, they can still join a Class Tools session. You can invite them by sharing a unique join code that is generated once the session has started.

After you start the session, you’ll see the Join code on the Session in progress page. You can share the code using copy and paste, or open it up into its own window in large font.
On their ChromeOS devices, students launch Class Tools and enter the unique join code that you shared with them.

Step 3: Choose learning resources that you want to share with students

On the Start new session page, click Resources.
At the top right of the Resources page, click Add resources.
Choose an option:
- Classroom assignments—Available only if students have been added via Google Classroom. Select resources that already exist in Google Classroom for the class. When you’ve selected all of the classroom assignments that you want to share, click Add X assignments, where X is the number of assignments you want to add.
- Open tabs— To include all the open Chrome tabs in a specific window on your ChromeOS device, check the Chrome Window box. Otherwise, to include only some of your open tabs, ensure that the Chrome Window box is unchecked and choose the individual open tabs that you want. When you’ve selected all of the open tabs that you want to share, click, Add X tabs, where X is the number of tabs you want to add.
- Links - Enter the URLs that you want to share during the session. You can add a list of URLs using copy and paste. Click Add another link to add additional URLs. When you’ve added all of the URLs that you want to share, click, Add X links, where X is the number of URLs you want to add.
  Note: Be sure to supply correct URLs—Enter the fully qualified domain name. For example, enter www.google.com, not google.com.
Configure navigation restrictions:
1. For the resource that you want to configure, on the right, click Settings .
2. Choose an option:
  - Restricted to this page—This is the most restrictive. Students can view only the specified page. To allow students to access external links on a page, check the Can open external links box. This limits them to just 1 click away from the original page.
    Note: When sharing a Google Form with students, avoid choosing Restricted to this page, as it prevents them from accessing the form response page.
  - Restricted to this site (classroom.google.com)—This is the default setting. Students can visit all pages hosted on the specified website. To allow students to access external links on a site, check the Can open external links box. This limits them to just 1 click away from the original site.
  - Restricted to Google websites—Block access to all other URLs except those within the Google Workspace domain. Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and so on are allowed while restricting access to other websites.
  - No restrictions—This is the least restrictive. Students can access all URLs that your school allows.
    Note: Class Tools retains the teacher’s previous selection.
Next to Resources, click to go back to the Start new session page.

Step 4: Configure captions and translations

The teacher's ChromeOS device microphone captures audio. Then, the transcript can be seen on teacher or student devices, or both.

On the Start new session page, click Captions.
In the Captions pop-up window that opens, configure captions and translations:
- Show captions on my screen—Useful if you’re connected to a flat-panel display screen and are presenting to the class.
  Note: Allow students to use captions and Allow students to translate are not available until after the session starts. For details, go to Configure captions and translations.
Click X to close the Captions pop-up window and return to the Start new session page.

Step 5: Wirelessly screen share to a classroom display

As a teacher, you can use a ChromeOS kiosk device to wirelessly share your own or a student's screen to a classroom display for the entire class to see. In this configuration, the ChromeOS kiosk device acts as a remote receiver that connects your ChromeOS device to a front-of-class display, such as a projector, TV, or smartboard. This allows you to use your ChromeOS device to perform live annotations, including highlighting and drawing, which are immediately visible to the whole class on the front-of-class display.

Turn on the ChromeOS kiosk device in your classroom. Take note of the Display ID that appears on the classroom display when the Class tools display app launches.
Note: If your admin has configured the Class tools display app to automatically launch, the ChromeOS kiosk device bypasses the sign-in screen and opens the app in fullscreen. Otherwise, you’ll need to manually launch the Class tools display app from the Apps button at the bottom-left corner of the sign-in screen.
On your ChromeOS device, within the Class Tools app, on the Start new session page, click Share screen.
(Optional) If the remote display that you want to share to is not listed, you need to add it:
1. Click Add device.
2. Enter the ChromeOS kiosk device’s Display ID and enter the Display name that you want to use.
3. Click Add.
Select the remote display that you want your screen to be shared to.

Screen sharing on the classroom display begins as soon as the teacher selects the display they want to share their screen to. Sharing a student's screen is unavailable until the teachers have connected to students.

Step 6: Start session

On the Start new session page, click Next.
Configure session details:
1. Set session length—Enter the session duration, in minutes. Maximum session duration is 120 minutes, or 2 hours.
2. Choose student view—Manage app usage on students' devices during the Class Tools session. Choose an option:
  - Explore—Students can use Class Tools and other apps.
  - Focus—Students can only use Class Tools.
    Note: You have the flexibility to switch between student views during the session.
Click Start session.
As soon as you click Start session, Class Tools automatically opens on students’ ChromeOS devices and they can access the resources that you shared with them.

Configure in-session settings

After the session starts, Class Tools switches to the Session in progress page, providing controls for managing the session in real time, including:

Join code—Can be copied or expanded into its own window
Controls for updating students, resources, and captions
Controls for locking student devices
Options for screen sharing and annotation
Time left, including controls to add time and end session

Open all | Close all

Configure captions and translations

On the Session in progress page, click Captions and choose an option:

Show captions on my screen—Useful if you’re connected to a flat-panel display screen and are presenting to the class.
Allow students to use captions—On their devices, students can turn on or off Show captions of my teacher’s voice.
Allow students to translate—In the transcript box, students can select the language of their choice. Class Tools remembers the chosen language from the student’s previous session.

Configure navigation restrictions

For the resources that you share in a session, you can configure student access to resources, as needed. Navigation settings that you configure for a particular resource are automatically saved for future sessions.

On the Session in progress page, click Resources.
In the list of resources, find the one that you want to restrict.
On the right, click Settings .
Choose an option:
- Restricted to this page—This is the most restrictive. Students can view only the specified page. To allow students to access external links on a page, check the Can open external links box. This limits them to just 1 click away from the original page.
  Note: When sharing a Google Form with students, avoid choosing Restricted to this page, as it prevents them from accessing the form response page.
- Restricted to this site (classroom.google.com)—This is the default setting. Students can visit all pages hosted on the specified website. To allow students to access external links on a site, check the Can open external links box. This limits them to just 1 click away from the original site.
- Restricted to Google websites—Block access to all other URLs except those within the Google Workspace domain. Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and so on are allowed while restricting access to other websites.
- No restrictions—This is the least restrictive. Students can access all URLs that your school allows.
  Note: Class Tools retains the teacher’s previous selection.

Update students or resources

You can add students to a session while it is in progress. This can be useful for situations where a student might join late, or if you need to temporarily add a student from another class for a specific activity. On the Session in progress page, click Students and follow the steps to connect to students. Similarly, you can remove students from a session, if needed.

You can add learning resources to a session while it’s in progress. On the Session in progress page, click Resources and follow the steps to share resources with students. Similarly, you can remove resources from a session, if needed.

Lock student devices

If you need your students' attention during a session and want to temporarily prevent them from interacting with their ChromeOS devices, you can temporarily lock their devices. Captions and translations remain visible to students, even when their device is locked.

On the Session in progress page, under Student view, click Lock and select the length of time you want to lock devices for. Students’ screens immediately lock—There is no lock countdown.

If you’re ready to let students resume working on their devices before the set time is reached, click Lock again.

View student screens

During a session, you can view students’ screens from your own device, allowing you to keep an eye on individual students’ progress throughout the session. Keeping privacy in mind, students are notified before you view their screens.

On the Session in progress page, click Students.
Find the student that you want to view.
Under the student’s name, you’ll see which live tab is currently open on their device.
- The Focus student view is turned on—You can see the live tab that’s currently open on the student’s device.
- The Explore student view is turned on—You can see what students are looking at, even if they’re viewing a page outside of Class Tools and resources that you shared.
Click View screen image.
A window opens showing the student's screen, Students are notified before their screen is viewed.
To stop viewing, click View screen image again.

Note: If you can't view a student's screen, restart your device and try again.

Screen share and annotate

To ensure all students in your classroom can follow the lesson in real-time, you can mirror your Chrome OS device screen to a classroom display. Connecting your device wirelessly to the Class tools display app on a ChromeOS kiosk allows you to screen share and annotate shared content directly. The entire class can view live highlights or drawings on the front-of-class display as you emphasize important information.

Turn on the ChromeOS kiosk device in your classroom. Take note of the Display ID that appears on the classroom display when the Class tools display app launches.
Note: If your admin has configured the Class tools display app to automatically launch, the ChromeOS kiosk device bypasses the sign-in screen and opens the app in fullscreen, showing the Display ID. Otherwise, you’ll need to sign in to the ChromeOS kiosk device and launch the Class tools display app.
On your ChromeOS device, within the Class Tools app, on the Session in progress page, click Share screen.
(Optional) If the remote display that you want to share to is not listed, you need to add it:
1. Click + Add device.
2. Enter the ChromeOS kiosk device’s Display ID and enter the Display name that you want to use.
3. Click Add.
Select the remote display that you want your screen to be shared to.

Points to note

The Class Tools session automatically starts sharing your screen to the classroom display. To share a particular student’s screen to the entire class, follow the steps to View student screens.

You can control the volume using the controls on the front-of-class display.

The annotation tool Toggle marker appears at the bottom of your ChromeOS device screen, letting you use a pen to draw on or highlight information directly on the shared content, regardless of whether you’re sharing your own or a student’s screen. Right-click the Toggle marker to change pen color. Annotations are lost as soon as you click on the toggle marker again or stop sharing your screen.

When sharing a particular student’s screen, rather than just mirroring how it appears on your own device, you can show their screen in full-screen mode on the classroom display. At the top, click Share screen. However, you can no longer annotate that student's screen.

Close app and restart device

To exit the Class tools display app and restart the ChromeOS kiosk device, you have two options:

Select the time in the bottom-right cornerclick Power Sign out.
Use the keyboard shortcut Alt + R + Vol Up.

If the ChromeOS kiosk device is configured to automatically launch the Class tools display app, you can switch to the device sign-in screen by pressing Alt + Ctrl + S while the app is loading. Alternatively, when the ChromeOS kiosk device restarts and the Class tools display app automatically launches and displays the code, click Exit to switch to the device sign-in screen.

Manually end the session

Sessions automatically end when the session duration that you initially set expires. If you want to end a session sooner, on the Session in progress page, click End session. The session immediately finishes on student devices and they can return to using their device, as usual.

The student experience

Starting a session

When you start a session, Class Tools automatically opens in student mode on student devices. They can see session details, including session name, teacher name, and time remaining. Students can also view and navigate the resources that you shared with them.

Limited use of device during session

If you selected Focus student view, Class Tools is in full screen mode and students can’t view content outside of Class Tools. For example, students can’t see or use their ChromeOS device shelf, app launcher, settings, and so on. Students can navigate the resources you shared as well as view captions and translations, but nothing else.
Note: Using Class Tools in teacher mode, you can change the student view setting at any time during the session.

Captions and translations

If you allow students to use captions, they can turn on and off captions themselves, as needed. Similarly, if you allow students to translate captions, they can choose their preferred language in the transcript box.

Customize and move the Captions box around the screen

The transcript box is flexible for students—They can resize it, move it around the screen, and customize its appearance by changing the font size and color, as well as adjusting the background color. For information about how to customize captions on ChromeOS devices, go to Use captions on your Chromebook.

Viewing student screens

A 3-second countdown appears on a student's device when you choose to view their screen, notifying them of the incoming share. The student's full screen is shared directly to your device, and they are unable to pause or end the screen share. You can end the screen share by selecting View screen image once more. Additionally, all active screen shares automatically stop as soon as the Class Tools session ends.

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