If you had the Polar Cloud create your class group based on a Google Classroom class, then the students who were in the Google Classroom class are already members of your Polar Cloud class group. If you get new students adding your course later in the year, then this section will become relevant for adding such additional students later; meantime, skip ahead to Section 8.10.
Usually the most convenient way to add students to your class group is to inform the students of the group join code and instruct the students to enter that code to join your class group. Students will navigate to the Polar Cloud groups display screen, click the “JOIN” button towards the upper right, and then enter the provided group join code at the pop-up screen; see Section 7.3.1. Students will take these steps to join the class group themselves.
Note that any Polar Cloud member who is not a member of your group but who has been informed of the group join code may join the group by entering that code after clicking the general “JOIN” button at the Polar Cloud groups screen. So instruct your students not to “pass on” the group join code to non-class members.
Also, once all of your students have joined the class group, you may, if you wish, disable the group join code: return to the group’s “SETTINGS” screen and slide the “Enable Join Code” back to the left (disabled) and click the “SAVE” button.
If students “passing on” the group join code to their (non-class member) friends would rapidly become a distinct issue at your site, there is an alternative approach whereby you don’t pass out (or perhaps even generate) a group join code, but instead you explicitly invite each student into your class group. This invitation approach is a bit more work for you, but does mean you are more explicitly managing who may join the class group. For this approach, go to your group’s “MEMBERS” screen and click the “INVITE” button (towards the upper right). Search through the Polar Cloud members for your students’ member display names, select them on the “INVITE MEMBERS” pop-up screen, and click that pop-up screen’s “INVITE” button (towards the lower right); see Section 7.3.2. The student Polar Cloud members will then each receive a notification invitation to join your class group; each student will have to “ACCEPT” their invitation to be entered into your group.
Or you may use a combination approach of passing out a group join code to the bulk of your students, while individually inviting extra students who later enter your class.