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Hāpara quick start guide for teachers Follow

Lisa Oosthuizen
  • Updated

This guide helps teachers start using Hāpara in the first 10 minutes, during the first class and throughout the first week.

 

Who this is for

Teachers
 

In this article: 

Before you start

First 10 minutes: Sign in and find your class

First class: Choose what you want to do

To guide student browsing, use Highlights

To share files with students, use Share files in Teacher Dashboard

To organize lessons or projects, use Workspace

To help students find assignments, use Student Dashboard

First week: Build your Hāpara routine

Troubleshooting

Additional tips


 

Summary

Use this guide when you are new to Hāpara and need to get started quickly. Start by signing in, opening your class, checking student work, then using the tool that matches your lesson goal: Teacher Dashboard, Highlights, Workspace or Student Dashboard.

 

Before you start

Make sure you are:

  1. Signed in with your school Google account.
  2. Not signed in with a personal Google account in the same browser.
  3. Using Chrome, if your school recommends Chrome for Hāpara.
  4. Able to see your classes after logging in.

If you cannot see your classes, contact your school or district Hāpara administrator. Most teachers do not need to create their own classes unless your school uses teacher-managed Google Classroom syncing.

 

First 10 minutes: Sign in and find your class

  1. Go to app.hapara.com.
  2. Select Sign in with Google.
    1qs.png
  3. Use your school Google account.
  4. Select Accept if prompted to connect your account.
  5. Allow pop-ups if your browser asks.
  6. On the My Classes page, choose the class you want to open.

If you have trouble signing in, check that you are using your school Google account and not a personal Google account.

 

First class: Choose what you want to do

Use this section to choose the Hāpara tool that matches your classroom task.

To view student work, use Teacher Dashboard

Teacher Dashboard helps you see recent student work in Google Drive, open student files and give feedback.

  1. Open your class from My Classes.
  2. Review each student’s Student Tile.
  3. Click a file to preview or open the student’s work.
  4. Add comments or suggestions directly in the Google file.
  5. Use the Student Tile menu to open the student’s folder or email the student.

Learn more:
What can I do with Teacher Dashboard?

Getting to know Teacher Dashboard

 

To guide student browsing, use Highlights

Highlights helps you see student browsing activity during class and guide students to the right online resources.

  1. Open Highlights from your class.
  2. Use Current Screens to see what students are viewing.
  3. Use Browser Tabs to see open tabs.
  4. Send an Announcement if the class, a group or a student needs a quick message.
    6qs.png
  5. Use Guide browsing when you want to start a Focus or Filter session.
    7qs.png
  6. Use Snaps when you want to capture a moment for feedback, follow-up or digital citizenship conversations.

Use Highlights to support learning, not to surprise students. Let students know how you use Hāpara to keep learning focused and safe.

Learn more:
What is Highlights?

How do I guide student browsing?

How to send announcements to students
 

To share files with students, use Share files in Teacher Dashboard

Share files helps you send Google files to the whole class, selected students or groups.

  1. Open Teacher Dashboard.
  2. Select Share files.
  3. Choose up to five files.
  4. Select the students or groups who should receive the files.
  5. Choose the sharing settings.
  6. Send the files.

Learn more:
How to use the Share files feature in Teacher Dashboard

 

To organize lessons or projects, use Workspace

Workspace helps you create, copy, personalize and share digital lessons or projects.

Use Workspace when you want students to access instructions, resources, evidence tasks and due dates in one place.

  1. Open Workspace.
    9qs.png
  2. Choose whether to create a new Workspace or copy an existing one.
    10qs.png
  3. Add learning resources, instructions and evidence tasks.
  4. Add groups if students need different resources or levels of support.
  5. Publish the Workspace when it is ready for students.

Learn more:
What is Workspace?

How to create Workspace Cards

Workspace overview
 

To help students find assignments, use Student Dashboard

Student Dashboard helps students see assignments, due dates and learning resources in one place.

Students can log in by:

  1. Going to app.hapara.com/student.
  2. Signing in with their school Google account.
  3. Bookmarking the page for daily use.

Learn more:
Student Dashboard overview
 

First week: Build your Hāpara routine

Use these simple routines during your first week.

Day 1: Sign in and open each class

  1. Sign in to app.hapara.com.
  2. Open each class.
  3. Check that your student list looks correct.
  4. Contact your school Hāpara administrator if a class or student is missing.

Day 2: Check student work in Teacher Dashboard

  1. Open Teacher Dashboard.
  2. Review recent work in Student Tiles.
  3. Open one or two student files.
  4. Leave feedback in the Google file.

Day 3: Try one Highlights classroom routine

  1. Open Highlights.
  2. Use Current Screens or Browser Tabs during an online activity.
  3. Send one Announcement to the class.
  4. Use the information you see to support students who need help.

Day 4: Share one resource

  1. Open Share files in Teacher Dashboard.
  2. Choose a file students need.
  3. Share it with the class, a group or individual students.

Day 5: Plan your next lesson flow

Choose one next step:

  1. Use Workspace if students need a full lesson or project path.
  2. Use Highlights if students need guided browsing.
  3. Use Teacher Dashboard if you need to review work and give feedback.
  4. Use Student Dashboard if students need help organizing assignments.

Troubleshooting

I cannot sign in

Check that you are signed in with your school Google account. If you are also signed in to a personal Google account, sign out of the personal account or use a separate Chrome profile.

I cannot see my classes

Contact your school or district Hāpara administrator. Classes are usually loaded by an administrator. If your school uses Google Classroom syncing, you may see an Add new class option.

My students cannot log in to Student Dashboard

Ask students to go to app.hapara.com/student and sign in with their school Google account. If they still cannot access Student Dashboard, contact your school Hāpara administrator.

I am not sure which Hāpara tool to use

Use this quick guide:

  1. View and give feedback on student work: Teacher Dashboard.
  2. See student browsing during class: Highlights.
  3. Guide students to or away from websites: Highlights.
  4. Share Google files: Share files in Teacher Dashboard.
  5. Build lessons or projects: Workspace.
  6. Help students track assignments: Student Dashboard.

Additional tips

  1. Bookmark app.hapara.com for daily access.
  2. Ask students to bookmark app.hapara.com/student.
  3. Use Hāpara openly with students. Explain that the tools are used to support learning, focus and digital citizenship.
  4. Start with one tool at a time. Teacher Dashboard is usually the easiest first step for viewing student work.
  5. Link teachers to product-specific articles instead of adding every feature explanation to this guide.

 

Related articles

What can I do with Teacher Dashboard?

Getting to know Teacher Dashboard

What is Highlights?

How do I guide student browsing?

What is Workspace?

Student Dashboard overview

 



 

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