WHY SHOULD I CREATE A FREE ICIVICS TEACHER ACCOUNT?

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1 WHY SHOULD I CREATE A FREE ICIVICS TEACHER ACCOUNT? A teacher account allows you to better manage classroom use of icivics resources. With a teacher account, you can establish virtual classrooms on icivics.org, issue assignments, track student progress, and manage class discussions. WHAT KIND OF TIME AND TECHNOLOGY ARE REQUIRED? All you need is a functioning computer and Internet access. Account registration is free and takes approximately 2-3 minutes. HOW TO CREATE AN ICIVICS TEACHER ACCOUNT: 1) Go to and click on the Join icivics button in the top right corner. 2) You may join using your Facebook account or your . If you join with Facebook, you won t need to remember a special icivics login and password. (Using a Facebook account will not give anyone access to your Facebook profile). 3) On the registration screen, click the circle next to Teacher. 4) Select your Public Name, which will be visible to other users on the site. Although you cannot write your own Public Name, you may click on Randomize until you find a name you like. 5) Fill out the other fields. You must complete fields with an orange asterisk (*) next to them. 6) If you would like to receive the icivics newsletter (published on a bimonthly basis), click the circle next to Subscribe at the bottom of the page. 7) Once you have completed the form, click Create new account at the bottom of the page. 8) You will immediately receive a verification from icivics. To complete the registration process, you must click the link provided in the body of the . OKAY, MY ACCOUNT IS SET UP. NOW HOW DO I LOG IN? 1) Go to and click on the Log In button in the top right corner of the page. 2) Enter your address and password and click Log me into icivics. If you registered with Facebook, click Connect with Facebook. HOW DO I SET UP A VIRTUAL CLASSROOM FOR MY STUDENTS? 1) Immediately after you log in, you will see the My icivics screen (or you can always click on My icivics in the top right corner when you are logged in). 2) Click Create a New Class in the middle of the screen.

2 3) You will notice several options for your class that will allow you to tailor the settings to your needs. The only information you must submit is marked with an orange asterisk (*). 4) Be sure to write down your Class Code. This is unique to your class. Each of your students will need the Class Code to join the class. You ll be able to see the Class Code on your My icivics page once the class is set up. 5) When you are finished with the settings for your class, click Save at the bottom of the page. HOW DO I ADD STUDENTS TO MY VIRTUAL CLASS? 1) Have your students go to and Students should enter your click on the Join icivics button in the top right corner. Class Code when setting up 2) Instruct them to select Student and enter their information their accounts as you did when you set up your account. At the bottom of the page, students should enter your Class Code. (If a student already has an icivics account, she can join the class by logging in, clicking on My icivics, and then Join a Class. ) 3) Students will need to confirm their account by clicking on a link sent to the address that they use to register the account. 4) Once your students are linked to your account, you can track their progress on the site. WHAT IF MY STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE AN ADDRESS? icivics gives teachers the option to add their students manually so that students do not have to create an account with their own address. 1) Once your class has been created, go to the Add Students tab. When redirected to the new page, you can add multiple students by clicking Add Multiple Students. 2) Enter the first and last names of your students. The system will then assign each student an icivics Username. Each student s default password will be the class password you selected when you created your class. You also have the option to reset each student s password, if you prefer him or her to have different passwords. 3) Give the students their usernames and passwords and they can now log in and play and participate in their virtual classrooms! HOW TO MANAGE YOUR CLASS: 1) Log in to icivics and click My icivics at the top right of the home screen, and you will see your classes. 2) To manage a particular class, click on the bold, brick-colored class name. In the example below, you would click on 1 st Period Civics.

3 3) From this page, you can access class discussions, give your students assignments, make announcements, and see which of your students are currently logged into icivics. Again, you can access different class components by clicking on the bold, brick-colored titles. DISCUSSIONS Allow you to post a topic and generate responses from your students. They are a great way to dive more deeply into icivics content with your class! You must enable discussions if you want to use them. You can do this either when you set up your class or afterwards by clicking on Settings. HOW DO I START A DISCUSSION? 1) From the My icivics page, click on Discussions. 2) To view all discussions, click See all to the right of Discussions. The most recent discussion topics will also be displayed under the heading. HOW DO I CREATE A NEW TOPIC? 1) Click on My icivics. 2) Click Add new to the right of Discussions. 3) Enter the relevant information in the subject and discussion fields. 4) Finish posting your discussion topic by clicking Create. ASSIGNMENTS Allow you to direct your students to any icivics game or lesson, then track their progress. HOW DO I VIEW ASSIGNMENTS? 1) Go to My icivics and click on Assignments. 2) To view all assignments given and completed, click See all to the right of Assignments. HOW DO I CREATE A NEW ASSIGNMENT? 1) Go to My icivics, and then click on Assignments. 2) Click Add new in the top right corner. 3) Name the assignment under Title (e.g. Play CourtQuest ).

4 4) Enter a keyword for the content. icivics titles will automatically be suggested based on your keywords. For example, entering court will suggest the game Court Quest as well as the web quests In the Courts and The Courts in a Nutshell. (You can also assign a specific piece of content in the Teacher Tools at the bottom of the page for a game or web quest.) 5) Assign a due date using the pop-up calendar which automatically appears when you click on the field. 6) Decide which date to make the assignment available for your students to view. Leaving this field blank will make the assignment available immediately. 7) Click Save to finish making the assignment. HOW DO I EDIT AN ASSIGNMENT? 1) From your class page, click on the specific assignment under Assignments. 2) On the assignment s page, click on Edit on the right side of the screen. 3) You may change the assignment s title, due date, available date, and instructions. 4) Click Save at the bottom of the page to update your assignment. 5) To delete the assignment, click Delete at the bottom of the screen. HOW DO I VIEW MY STUDENTS PROGRESS? 1) From your class page, click on the specific assignment under Assignments. 2) See all of your students listed at the bottom of the page. Those who have completed the assignment will have a green check mark next to their names. 3) You can also click on individual students, and then select Game Sessions to see how many games they have played and how well they have done. ANNOUNCMENTS Allow you to give students any important class information. Unlike Discussions, students cannot comment on Announcements. HOW DO I ACCESS ANNOUNCEMENTS? 1) Go to My icivics, and click on Announcements.

5 2) To view all assignments given and completed, click See all to the right of Announcements. The most recent assignments will also be displayed under the heading. HOW DO I MAKE A NEW ANNOUNCEMENT? 1) From My icivics, click on Announcements and Add new in the top right corner. 2) Enter the relevant information in the title and body fields. 3) You can schedule when an announcement is published and removed. If you leave these fields blank, the announcement will be immediately visible in your students accounts. 4) Click Send to publish your announcement to the class. You re all set! For questions about icivics.org, please contact