What are invitation codes and how do they work?
Desmos Classroom invitation codes are six-character codes that students use to join a class or a single session.
To invite students to your Desmos Classroom session, you can share the invitation link, which includes the code. Students can also enter the invitation code themselves on student.desmos.com.
Students joining a class will be prompted to sign in. Students can join single sessions without signing in, but we recommend that students sign in so they can return to their work later.
What is the difference between classes and single sessions?
Classes allow you to assign multiple activities to a class using just one invitation code. Single sessions allow you to invite students to a single activity.
Classes in Desmos Classroom
At the beginning of each term, we recommend setting up your classes. Each class will have an invitation code that students use just once to join. Students who join the class will appear in your class roster.
Throughout the term, you can assign activities to these classes and students in the class will automatically see them at the top of their activity history when they are logged in on student.desmos.com. Learn more about setting up classes on Desmos Classroom.
We recommend using classes whenever possible to assign your activities, as it creates a smoother experience for students and allows you to find all the sessions for a particular class in one place on the History page. Invitation codes for classes are active for 2 weeks by default. We recommend deactivating the invitation code as soon as all of the students you expect to join have joined the class.
Single sessions
You can generate a single session code to invite students to join a single activity. For single sessions, there is one invitation code per activity. Invitation codes for single sessions are active for 48 hours by default. We recommend deactivating the invitation code as soon as all of the students you expect to join have joined the session.
What does an inactive code mean?
When an invitation code is inactive, it can no longer be used to join a class or session. Students who have already joined a class or session and are signed in will still be able to access their work. We recommend deactivating invitation codes once all of your students have joined to ensure no unexpected visitors show up. If additional students need to join after the invitation code has been deactivated, you can always temporarily reactivate the code to let them in.
Can I reactivate the code once it has expired?
Yes! If you deactivate the code or the expiration date has passed, you can always reactivate the code to let new students join the class or session. If you’re using classes for Desmos Classroom, you also have the option to generate a new code instead of reactivating the previous code.
You can reactivate a single session code from the Activity page or your History page.
If you’re using classes, you can reactivate the invitation code or generate a new invitation code from the Class Roster view on the Manage Classes page.
Why should I deactivate my invitation codes?
Any active invitation code poses a small security risk because it is possible for people to randomly generate lots of six-character codes and eventually get into a session or class.
There is also the risk that students might share an invitation code online or with friends with the intent that these people will join a session and cause unwanted behavior (e.g., inappropriate name choice or inappropriate responses in the response fields).
What can I do to increase security?
Use classes instead of single session codes whenever possible, since classes allow you to assign activities to a group of students with only one invitation code.
Deactivate your invitation codes once all the students you expect to join have joined the class or session.
Use the 48-hour expiration default on single session codes when possible.
If you notice anyone in your class roster that you don’t recognize, use the Remove Student option to remove that student from the class as soon as possible. Then deactivate the invitation code (available for classes and single sessions) or generate a new code (only available for classes).
If you notice anyone in an activity session that you don’t recognize, use the Hide Student option next to their name in the Summary view of the Teacher dashboard. This will hide all their responses from other students in the class. Then deactivate the invitation code.