Organizing Classrooms
Classrooms are organizational containers within your tenant that group games, participants, and content based on your program structure.
Overview
Classrooms provide hierarchical organization:
Tenant → Your organization's account
Classroom → Group of related games and participants
Game → Individual module instances
Each classroom operates independently with its own participants, games, and settings.
Creating Classrooms
Basic Creation
Navigate to tenant dashboard
Click "Add Classroom" button
Provide required information:
Classroom name (descriptive identifier)
Description (optional context)
Click "Create"
Classroom Information
Name Requirements:
Unique within your tenant
Clear and descriptive
Identifies purpose or audience
Can be updated later
Description:
Optional explanatory text
Visible to classroom members
Useful for instructions or context
Supports basic formatting
Customizing Classrooms
Visual Customization
Access "Class Details" tab to personalize appearance:
Thumbnail Image
Displays in classroom listings
Recommended size: 400x300 pixels
Supported formats: PNG, JPG
Helps with quick visual identification
Banner Image
Header image for classroom page
Recommended size: 1200x300 pixels
Supported formats: PNG, JPG
Creates professional appearance
Color Theme
Select primary color scheme
Affects classroom interface elements
Helps differentiate multiple classrooms
Participants see themed interface
Organizational Metadata
Tags and Categories
Add custom tags for filtering
Organize by: department, skill level, term, program type
Searchable in tenant dashboard
Useful for large tenant management
External IDs
Link to LMS course IDs
Connect to student information systems
Enable integration tracking
Useful for cross-platform management
Classroom Organization Strategies
By Time Period
Organize by academic terms or quarters:
Advantages:
Clear temporal separation
Easy archival at end of term
Historical tracking over time
Clean slate each period
Use for: Educational institutions, seasonal programs
By Audience
Organize by participant groups:
Advantages:
Appropriate content difficulty
Targeted participant experience
Clear progression path
Skill-based organization
Use for: Multi-level programs, training curricula
By Department/Unit
Organize by organizational structure:
Advantages:
Aligned with org chart
Department-specific content
Separate management responsibility
Isolated analytics
Use for: Corporate training, large organizations
By Program Type
Organize by event format or purpose:
Advantages:
Different management needs
Varied scheduling patterns
Distinct participant expectations
Flexible program types
Use for: Mixed-format programs, diverse offerings
Hybrid Approach
Combine organizational strategies:
Advantages:
Multiple organizing dimensions
Specific to exact cohort
Detailed tracking and analytics
Scalable structure
Use for: Large, complex programs
Managing Multiple Classrooms
Classroom Permissions
Tenant Manager Access:
View and manage all classrooms
Create new classrooms
Delete or archive classrooms
Assign classroom managers
Classroom Manager Access:
Manage assigned classroom(s) only
Cannot access other classrooms
Create games within classroom
Manage classroom participants
See User Roles for detailed permissions.
Bulk Operations
Copying Classrooms:
Duplicate classroom structure
Copy games without participant data
Useful for recurring terms
Preserves settings and configurations
Archiving Classrooms:
Mark classroom as inactive
Preserves all data and analytics
Removes from active classroom list
Can be reactivated if needed
Deleting Classrooms:
Permanent removal from tenant
Participant data preserved in exports
Cannot be undone
Export data before deleting
Classroom Settings
Access Control
Join Link and Password:
Classroom join links provide a self-service enrollment mechanism that balances accessibility with access control. When you generate a classroom join link, the system creates a unique URL specific to your classroom along with an associated password. These two credentials work together - participants need both the link and the password to successfully enroll.
The join link approach scales efficiently for large enrollments. Rather than manually adding dozens or hundreds of participants individually, you distribute the link and password once through your preferred communication channel (email, learning management system announcement, printed handout, etc.). Participants use these credentials to enroll themselves at their convenience, reducing your administrative burden while giving them flexible enrollment timing.
Password protection prevents completely open enrollment that could occur with just a link. Without the password requirement, anyone who discovered or guessed the link URL could join your classroom. The password acts as a gatekeeper - only people who received both credentials from you can complete enrollment. This matters especially when links might be forwarded, shared in group chats, or otherwise distributed beyond your original intended audience.
Regeneration capabilities provide security management tools when credentials become compromised or too widely distributed. If you discover the join link has been shared publicly, posted to social media, or distributed to unintended recipients, regenerating creates a new link-password combination and immediately invalidates the old credentials. Anyone who had the previous link can no longer use it to join. After regeneration, you distribute the new credentials only to legitimate participants, restoring controlled access.
Consider regenerating join links periodically even without known compromises - perhaps between enrollment periods for recurring programs, or after major cohort transitions. This practice, similar to regular password rotation in security hygiene, limits the window during which any leaked credentials remain valid.
Visibility:
Classroom visibility settings control whether your classroom appears in public directories or catalogs that KC7 may operate. These settings interact with your access control choices to create different enrollment models.
Public visibility means your classroom is listed in searchable public catalogs where anyone browsing available KC7 content can discover it. This setting is appropriate for open educational resources, public training programs, or community learning initiatives where you want to maximize discovery and enrollment. However, public listing doesn't mean anyone can join without credentials - you still control actual enrollment through join link passwords or manual assignment. Public visibility just makes the classroom discoverable; access still requires proper credentials.
Unlisted visibility means your classroom doesn't appear in public catalogs but remains accessible to anyone who has the direct join link. This strikes a balance between privacy and convenience. Your classroom isn't searchable or browsable by the general public, but you can share access widely through link distribution without manually managing individual enrollments. Unlisted works well for internal organizational training where you want to prevent external discovery while still allowing easy enrollment for your authorized population.
Private visibility combines catalog hiding with strict enrollment controls. Not only does the classroom not appear in public listings, but enrollment requires explicit manual action from you - either individual username assignment or selective join link distribution. Private classrooms are appropriate for confidential training, restricted access programs, or scenarios where you need complete visibility into exactly who gains access.
Enrollment Period:
Enrollment period settings establish temporal boundaries around when participants can join your classroom. By configuring start and end dates for enrollment, you create enrollment windows that automatically open and close without requiring manual intervention.
This capability matters most for fixed-cohort programs where you want everyone to begin together and don't want late enrollments disrupting established group dynamics. For example, in a semester-long course, you might open enrollment one month before the term begins and close it on the first day of class. Participants have a one-month window to enroll, but after the closing date, the classroom becomes locked to new members even if they have valid credentials.
Automatic closure after the enrollment deadline reduces administrative burden compared to manually managing enrollment status. You don't need to remember to disable join links or manually reject late enrollment attempts - the system enforces the deadline automatically. This ensures consistency and prevents the "just one more person" exception requests that can undermine cohort integrity.
Enrollment periods can also create urgency that encourages timely enrollment. When participants know enrollment closes on a specific date, they're more likely to complete the registration process promptly rather than procrastinating indefinitely. This helps you get accurate headcounts earlier in your planning process.
Default Settings
Game Defaults:
Auto-assign setting for new games
Default game visibility
Standard scoring configuration
Inherited by games created in classroom
Participant Defaults:
Default role for new members
Automatic welcome email
Initial permissions
Best Practices
Naming Conventions
Clear and Consistent:
✅ "2024 Fall - Intro to Cybersecurity"
✅ "Corporate Training - Q1 2025"
❌ "My Class"
❌ "Test 123"
Include Key Information:
Time period (if applicable)
Audience or skill level
Subject or program name
Distinguishing identifier
Classroom Size
The number of participants in your classroom fundamentally affects how you manage it, what support structures you need, and what participant experience you can realistically deliver. Understanding these scale effects helps you design appropriate management approaches and set realistic expectations.
Small Classrooms (1-30 participants):
At this scale, you can maintain personal relationships with each participant and provide highly individualized support. You can reasonably remember each person's name, track their individual progress without analytics dashboards, and notice when someone hasn't been active recently based on personal awareness rather than automated alerts.
Direct communication remains feasible - you can send individual emails, have one-on-one conversations, or hold synchronous office hours where everyone can attend. Questions asked by one participant can be addressed individually without overwhelming group communication channels. This intimacy creates strong engagement and allows you to tailor content and support to specific individuals' needs and learning styles.
Single instructor management is sustainable at this scale. One person can handle enrollment, answer questions, monitor progress, grade work (if applicable), and provide all necessary communication without becoming overwhelmed. The time investment per participant is significant, but the total time remains manageable because the participant count is limited.
Real-time monitoring becomes practical. During synchronous events or competitions, you can watch the scoreboard and notice immediately when participants struggle, excel, or disengage. You can intervene in real-time with targeted support or encouragement. This responsiveness creates a highly supportive learning environment but requires your active presence during participant activity periods.
The main constraint at this scale is limited peer learning opportunities. With only a few participants, you lose some of the collaborative energy and diverse perspective benefits that larger groups provide. However, for specialized training, individual skill development, or scenarios requiring high touch support, small classrooms excel.
Medium Classrooms (30-100 participants):
As your classroom size moves into this range, management complexity increases substantially. You can no longer maintain detailed awareness of each individual through personal interaction alone - you need to leverage analytics, structured communication, and potentially delegation to maintain program quality.
Consider adding an assistant or co-manager at this scale. A single instructor can still run the classroom, but having someone to help answer questions, monitor progress, or handle administrative tasks improves responsiveness and reduces burnout risk. The assistant doesn't necessarily need full classroom manager permissions; even someone who can answer participant questions or monitor discussion forums reduces bottlenecks.
Structured communication channels become necessary to manage interaction volume. Rather than ad-hoc individual emails, you'll want defined communication pathways - perhaps a dedicated forum for questions, scheduled office hours, automated announcements, or teaching assistant-monitored chat channels. Without this structure, keeping up with communication becomes overwhelming and important messages get lost in volume.
Regular but not constant monitoring represents a sustainable approach. You can't watch the scoreboard continuously for 50 participants, but you can check analytics daily, review progress metrics weekly, and identify struggling participants through dashboards rather than personal awareness. This analytics-driven approach maintains oversight while respecting your time constraints.
Group-based support strategies maximize your impact. Rather than answering the same question individually to multiple participants, you create FAQ documents, hold group review sessions, or post answers to common questions where everyone can see them. You think in terms of cohort-level interventions (like adjusting difficulty based on aggregate performance) rather than purely individual interventions.
Peer learning becomes a significant asset at this scale. With 30-100 participants, you have enough diversity for rich discussions, sufficient group size for collaborative problem-solving, and opportunities for more advanced participants to help beginners. Facilitating this peer learning reduces your direct support burden while improving participant outcomes.
Large Classrooms (100+ participants):
Beyond 100 participants, you're operating at enterprise scale requiring fundamentally different management approaches. Individual attention becomes impossible and even small-group attention becomes limited. Success depends on leveraging automation, analytics, and distributed management structures.
Multiple classroom managers aren't just recommended - they're effectively required for sustainable operations. Divide responsibility geographically (different sections), by function (one manager for content, one for technical support, one for grading), or by participant subset (managers responsible for specific cohorts). This distribution prevents any single person from becoming overwhelmed and provides redundancy when someone is unavailable.
Automated communication tools become essential infrastructure. Welcome sequences that automatically email new enrollees, periodic progress reminders triggered by analytics, bulk announcements to the entire classroom, and template-based responses to common questions all reduce the manual communication burden. You're managing communication at scale, not individually crafting each message.
Analytics-driven intervention replaces the personal awareness that works in smaller classrooms. You configure alerts for participants who haven't logged in for a week, dashboards showing completion rates by cohort, reports identifying questions where many participants struggle, and bulk exports for tracking overall program health. Data becomes your primary window into participant experience rather than direct observation.
Tiered support structures acknowledge you can't personally help everyone. Perhaps teaching assistants handle tier-one questions, classroom managers handle tier-two escalations, and you handle only tier-three policy or complex issues. Or community peer support handles most questions, with official support reserved for issues peers can't resolve. This tiering maintains quality while making support scalable.
The participant experience necessarily becomes more standardized and less personalized in large classrooms. But proper structuring still delivers excellent outcomes - massive open online courses demonstrate that hundreds or thousands of participants can learn effectively with well-designed systems. The key is accepting you're designing systems rather than delivering personal instruction.
Lifecycle Management
Setup Phase:
Create classroom with clear name
Customize appearance
Configure default settings
Test with personal account
Active Phase:
Monitor participant enrollment
Add games as needed
Track engagement
Respond to participant needs
Completion Phase:
Export final analytics
Archive classroom
Preserve data for records
Document lessons learned
Archival:
Keep for institutional memory
Historical trend analysis
Future reference
Compliance requirements
Troubleshooting
Participants Can't Find Classroom
Solutions:
Verify join link is correct
Check classroom visibility settings
Confirm enrollment period is active
Ensure password was communicated correctly
Wrong Participants in Classroom
Solutions:
Review enrollment method (open join vs manual)
Check if join link was shared too broadly
Remove incorrect participants
Regenerate join link if compromised
Classroom Manager Can't Access Features
Verify:
User has Classroom Manager role (not just participant)
User assigned to correct classroom
Specific permissions granted for desired actions
Role assignment has taken effect
Related Documentation
Managing Games - Games within classrooms
Managing Users - Participant enrollment
User Roles - Permission levels
Analytics - Classroom-level analytics
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