FAQs: Classroom Activities

Desmos Classroom products (Classroom Activities, Activity Builder, Computation Layer and the Desmos Math 6-A1 Program) are now part of Amplify Education. For the most current Desmos Classroom help center resources please visit Amplify’s help center.

The most accurate version of this specific article can be found here.

 

Are you new to Desmos Activities?

Welcome! Here are some answers to frequently asked questions. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by emailing support@desmos.com.

Learn more about: Student Experience | Teacher Dashboard | Finding Activities | Creating Classes | Assigning Activities | Account Questions

 

Student Experience

What will Desmos activities look like for students?

Students will learn by interacting with mathematical representations, illustrations of the world, and their classmates. They’ll represent their developing ideas with sketches, text responses, card sorts, number responses, multiple choice, and more.

Animation of a value being entered and comparison being made on a scale. Animation. 

Click Student Preview on any activity to experience it as a student.

Spotlight on the student preview button on the activity landing page. Screenshot. 

Teacher Dashboard

What will Desmos activities look like for teachers?

Teachers will learn about their students from the teacher dashboard, which you can access after you assign the activity.

Spotlight on the view dashboard button on the activity landing page. Screenshot. 

 

In the dashboard, you can use the teacher view to answers questions like:

  • How did all my students answer this question?
  • What answers were most common?
Spotlight on the teacher tab in the activity teacher dashboard. Screenshot. 

 

The summary view will answer questions like:

  • Which students have logged in?
  • Where are my students in this activity right now?
  • Which students are further ahead or behind than I anticipated?
  • Were any questions particularly easy or challenging for my class?
Summary view of teacher dashboard. Screenshot. 

Here is what these symbols mean:

  • Dash: It isn’t possible for students to do any work on this screen. Save your time and attention for other screens.
  • Check: Everything on this screen is correct.
  • Cross: Something on this screen is incorrect.
  • Warning: Something on this screen isn’t merely incorrect but indicates the student may have misunderstood the question itself—intervene ASAP!
  • Dot: This screen needs human interpretation.
  • Teal Flag: Written feedback comments have not yet been read by the student.
  • Gray Flag: Written feedback comments have been read by your student.
Why are the names of my students different?

You might have the anonymize feature turned on. From the teacher dashboard under the activity title you will be able to toggle the anonymize feature on/off. Check out this article to learn more about our classroom conversation toolkit.

Image of the anonymize mode turned on. Screenshot. 
My teacher dashboard is missing. Where could it be?

If you are unable to find your teacher dashboard for a class from the activity page or dashboard history, you might want to check your archived sessions. If the dashboard has been unassigned or archived you will be able to reassign or restore the teacher dashboard by clicking on the three vertical dots to the right of the activity. If you still don’t see your activity please write to support@desmos.com.

Where do I go to learn more about using Desmos in class?

Our professional learning modules are designed to support teachers, schools, districts, and various organizations in using Desmos for teaching mathematics. Whether you are a teacher exploring for the first time, a school or district seeking to increase staff Desmos knowledge, or an international education company, we’re here to help. To learn more about our free events and webinars check out our Professional Learning page.

Finding Activities

How do I find Activities?

To find an activity created or curated by the Desmos Faculty use the search bar at the top of the screen. To learn more about how to find activities not created by the Desmos Faculty check out this article on searching for activities.  A great place to start is in our Feature Collections and Most Popular Activities.

How do I edit an activity I found or create a new one?

To edit an activity you found click on the three vertical dots to the right of the activity title and select ‘copy and edit’. To create a new activity from teacher.desmos.com, select the ‘Custom Activities’ tab on the left side panel. You will see an option to create a ‘New Activity’ at the top right of the screen.

Creating Classes

How do I create classes?

Create classes to assign activities to the same group of students throughout a school term. Students will use an invitation code to join the class at the beginning of the term. Check out Desmos Classes to learn more about setting up your classes.

How do I add a co-teacher to my class?

You can add your co-teacher from your classes tab located on the left side panel when signed in at teacher.desmos.com. Click on the three vertical dots to the right of the class you would like to add a co-teacher to. Next, select ‘manage co-teachers'.

If you need to share your dashboard once in a while and don’t want to add the teacher as a co-teacher to your class, you can share a dashboard link. To do this from the teacher dashboard, click on the activity title and select ‘share dashboard’.

To learn more about adding co-teachers check out Desmos Classes.

Activities

How do I assign an activity?

Once you’ve created your classes, go back to the activity page and assign the activity. Your dashboard will be empty until students join. You can choose to assign the activity to a class, multiple classes or create a single session class code.

Image of assign button on an activity landing page. Screenshot. 

When students log in at student.desmos.com, they will see any new activities you’ve assigned to the class.

Image of student activity stream at student.desmos.com. Screenshot. 
Where do I find the work my students completed?

You can access the teacher dashboard for an activity you have assigned by clicking on the ‘view dashboard’ on the activity page. You can also access your teacher dashboards from the Dashboard History page.

Image of assign button on an activity landing page. Screenshot. 
I made edits to my activity, however my students do not see the changes made. Why can’t they see the edits I made?

If you assigned an activity to your classes and then published changes to an activity, you will need to reassign the activity to students.

How do I embed the scientific calculator into my activity?

To embed the scientific calculator into your activity you will need to have the activity editor open. Click on the title of the activity and select ‘Enable scientific calculator on student screens’. Once you have the scientific calculator embedded you will need to publish the edits of your activity.

Account Questions

How can I reset my student's password?

There is not currently a way for teachers to reset passwords, but we can help with this.

First, have the students go to student.desmos.com and click the Forgot Your Password link when they try to log in. They need to enter the email associated with their Desmos account. Normally, the password reset link will be sent to that email.

If your school/district blocks external emails you will need to write to support@desmos.com. We will need to know the email address for the students. We also need to verify you are a teacher in the same school (writing us from your school account is helpful).

Can I recover an activity I deleted?

Yes! Write to us at support@desmos.com using the email address associated with your account. We will need the title of the activity you would like to restore.

How do I change the email address associated with my account?

Make sure you are signed in at teacher.desmos.com and click on your name in the upper right hand corner. Click on Account Settings and you'll see an option to change your email address. A link will be sent to the email you currently use for Desmos.

If the email address you are changing your account to is already linked to a Desmos account you will need to write to support@desmos.com and request for your activities, collections and graphs to be migrated from one account to another.

How do I delete my account?

Go to teacher.desmos.com and make sure to sign in. Click on your username in the upper right hand corner of the site and select Account Settings.

You'll see an option to Delete your Desmos Account? Click on the link and then select Send Delete Account Email. We will send an email to your current email address with a link to delete your account.

After 30 days of inactivity your account will be permanently deleted. If you sign in prior to the 30 days your account will be reactivated.

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