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Live mode

Overview

Live mode turns Grouper into a classroom display. When you click Go live, Grouper opens a full-screen presentation view designed to be shown on a projector or shared screen. Students see their groups or seats on the big screen, and you have a set of Live mode tools available to keep the class moving.

Live mode includes the following tools:

  • Groupings

  • Seating (beta)

  • Attendance (PRO)

  • Mood (PRO)

  • Random picker (PRO)

  • Timer (PRO)

  • Student spotlight (PRO)

  • Icebreakers (PRO)

The Groupings tool is available to all users. Free users can navigate to any other tool and preview it.

Starting and leaving Live mode

To start Live mode:

  1. Open a class and go to Groups or Seating view.

  2. Click Go live in the top-right area of the screen.

If you open Live mode from Groups view, it starts on the Groupings display. If you open it from Seating view, it starts on the Seating display.

To exit Live mode, press Esc or click the back arrow in the floating panel.

Grouping display

The Grouping display tool is available to all users. It shows your current grouping on screen — each group's members displayed as student avatars with names.

From this view you can also:

  • Shuffle to re-randomize groups on the fly.

  • Rotate groups (shift each group to the next position).

  • Show roles — if you have a Role attribute set up, toggle this on to display each student's role alongside their avatar. See the Preset attributes support article.

  • Zoom to get an enlarged view of a group - helpful for large classes or students with visual impairments.

Seating display (PRO)

The Seating display tool shows your current seating chart on screen so students can quickly find their assigned seats.

From this view you can also Shuffle to re-randomize student placement using the current seating layout.

Important:

  • To use the Seating display, first create a seating layout in Seating view.

  • If you launch Live mode from Seating view, Grouper opens directly to the Seating display.

Attendance (PRO)

The Attendance tool helps you take attendance live. When students are shown in groups on screen, it's easy to spot where they're supposed to be in the classroom and notice if someone is absent. It also enables you to change the student's attendance status with a single click. You can also email yourself an attendance report so you can review it later.

Two common workflows:

  • Mark absent as needed — Leave everyone marked present and click student names to mark them absent. Good for quick, lightweight attendance.

  • Student self-check-in — Click Set all absent first, then let students tap their own avatar on the smartboard to mark themselves present as they arrive.

To use the attendance tool:

  • (optional) Click Set all present or Set all absent to set the starting state for the whole class.

  • Click a student name to toggle their attendance status between present and absent.

  • (optional) Click Email attendance to send yourself an attendance report.

  • Students marked absent are automatically excluded from automated grouping tools like Shuffle.

  • Attendance resets all students to present automatically after 18 hours of inactivity, so it's ready for your next class.

Notes:

  • Students marked Tardy in the Student list view are treated as present in Live mode.

  • Attendance emails include each student's exact attendance status text (for example, Present, Absent, or Tardy).

Mood (PRO)

Mood mode lets students do a quick emotional check-in as they arrive at class. When Mood is active, students tap their own avatar on the screen to pick how they're feeling, giving you a snapshot of classroom energy before the lesson starts.

To use Mood mode:

  1. Open the Attendance tool in Live mode.

  2. Toggle on Mood.

  3. Let students tap their avatar on the smartboard and select a mood.

Available moods: Happy, Sad, Angry, Tired, Neutral. Students can also tap Absent to mark themselves absent.

Note: mood check-ins are not saved after you leave Live mode.

Random picker (PRO)

The Random picker randomly selects a student or group to call on. Three pick modes are available:

  • Pick a student — picks one student at random from the whole class.

  • Pick a group — picks one group at random.

  • Pick one student from each group — picks one student per group simultaneously, useful for selecting a spokesperson or presenter from every group.

Each pick is shown with a confetti animation. Keep picking to cycle through students without repeating.

Timer (PRO)

The Timer tool lets you set a countdown for group work time. Features include:

  • Set a custom duration.

  • Play, pause, and reset the timer.

  • Adjust time up or down while the timer is running.

  • An optional animated character can be enabled as a visual cue as time runs out (off by default).

  • After you start the timer, it stays visible in the Live mode toolbar while you use other Live tools. You can pause or resume it directly from the toolbar.

Avatar (PRO)

The Avatar tool enables students to customize their avatars to capture their personal vibe. Select from:

  • Background color

  • Fur

  • Clothes

  • Hat

  • Eyes

  • Mouth

  • Extra (freckles, earrings, etc.)

Icebreakers (PRO)

Icebreakers are short, whole-class warm-up activities to energize groups before they start working. Three activities are available:

  • Ick or OK? — Students hear or read a prompt and decide: gross or acceptable?

  • Would you rather? — Students choose between two options.

  • Food Fight — Students debate which food wins.

For each activity, students find classmates who agree with them and stand together. Navigate through questions using the arrow buttons or keyboard arrow keys.

Attributes in Live mode

Attribute overlays (color-coded data you can see in Groups view) are not visible to students in Live mode. The exception is the Role attribute, which can be toggled on using the Show roles button in the Groups display tool. See the Preset attributes support article.

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