There are two ways to get students into a class. With a class code, students create their own accounts and join your class as they sign up. With teacher-created accounts, you make the logins and hand them out. Both put students in the same class with the same Student Portal, so the choice is really about your students and your school, not about features.
This guide explains how the two differ, which fits which classroom, and how to mix them.
The short answer
Use the class code when your students have an email address they can open at school, and can fill in a short form on their own. This is the usual choice for high school.
Create accounts when students don't have email, when they're younger, or when your school doesn't want students signing up for websites themselves.
Use both when a class is mixed: accounts for the students without email, the code for everyone else.
How the two compare
What students need
Signing up with a class code asks for a first and last name, a school name, a username, an email address and a password. Without an email address, a student can't finish the form. Teacher-created accounts need nothing from the student. You choose the usernames and Intertwined makes the passwords, or you set them.
Time on day one
With a code, each student fills in the form, which takes a few minutes and usually produces a typo or two to sort out. With teacher-created accounts, you do the setup before class, and students only have to log in. On the other hand, you'll need to print or send each student their login.
Forgotten passwords
This is the biggest difference. Students who signed up with the code reset their own passwords: they click Forgot password? on the login page and follow the link we email them. Teacher-created accounts have no email address, so that link can't reach them, and the portal doesn't have a way for you to reset a student's password. Your downloaded list is the backup, and if that's lost, you'll need to contact us. Helping a student with a forgotten password, username, or email covers every case.
Forgotten usernames
Self-registered students can log in with their email address instead of their username, since the login box accepts either. Students with teacher-created accounts need their username, so keep the list you downloaded.
Names on your roster
Self-registered students appear under the names they typed. Teacher-created accounts start out named after the username plus "Student" (for example "Apple01 Student") until the student puts in their real name from their profile.
How many at a time
A class code has no limit: the whole class can join at once. Teacher-created accounts are made in batches of up to 25 numbered accounts or 40 individual ones, and you can run as many batches as you need.
Later classes
Either kind of account can join other classes with a class code, using Join a class on the student dashboard. A student keeps the same login from class to class and year to year, which is one more reason not to make a second account for someone who already has one.
Choosing by situation
Middle school (grades 5 to 8): many students don't have a school email they can check, so teacher-created accounts usually go more smoothly. Individual accounts let you use names they'll remember.
High school with school email: the class code is quicker for you and gives students self-service password resets.
Your school restricts student sign-ups or requires approved usernames: create the accounts yourself, using Individual accounts to match your school's username format.
Youth programs and after-school groups: if participants change often, teacher-created accounts let you hand out logins on the spot without anyone needing an email.
Students joining partway through the year: send the join link if they have email, or create a single individual account if they don't.
Using both in one class
Mixing methods is common and works well. Students who joined with the code and students whose accounts you created sit on the same roster, show up the same way in the Gradebook and simulators, and use the same Student Portal. A practical plan:
Share the class code or join link with the whole class (see Inviting students with your class code or join link).
Ask who couldn't sign up because they don't have email or couldn't get into it.
Create individual accounts for those students only (see Creating student accounts for your class).
Check the Students tab to make sure everyone is there once, and only once.
Important: never create an account for a student who already has one, even from another teacher or last year. Their earlier work stays with their first account, and a second login leads to "which one do I use?" confusion all year. Give them the class code instead.
Common questions
Do the two kinds of account get different features?
No. Both use the same Student Portal, with the same courses, assignments and simulators your plan includes.
Can a student switch from a teacher-created account to one with their own email?
Students can't add or change an email address themselves. If a student with a teacher-created account wants password resets by email, contact us. Making them a brand new account instead would leave their existing work behind on the old one.
Which is more private?
Teacher-created accounts collect the least: a username, a password and your school name, with no student email. Class code sign-up also asks for the student's name and email address. Both are covered by our Privacy Policy.
Can I change methods partway through the year?
You can use either method for new students at any time. Existing students should keep the account they have, because their progress belongs to that account in your class.