
Add activities in Schoolwork
You can add a variety of activities to your Handouts. When students receive the Handout, they can navigate to the activities in a single step.
Note: You can’t add more than 20 activities or a file larger than 2GB per Handout.
Add an app activity
Some of the most useful educational content is found within apps. But students, especially younger ones, often have a hard time finding the content. Schoolwork makes it easier to direct students to the right place in the right app.
In the Schoolwork app
, tap
in the upper right of the window or edit an existing Handout.
Tap App Activity to view and add all known apps, including all progress-reporting apps.
For some progress-reporting apps, you might need to walk through the content you want to include to see available Schoolwork activities. To do this, launch and run the app on your iPad, then explore the content within the app. As you explore, the content becomes available as Schoolwork activities. For example, to assign a Schoolwork activity for your students to take a quiz in an app and report their progress, you might need to first open the quiz when signed in with your teacher account.
Tap the app with activities you want to assign to your students, then do one of the following to add activities to your Handout:
Tap
for the activities you want to add, then tap Done.
Tap Recently Viewed, tap
for the activities you want to add from your recently viewed activities list, then tap Done.
Swipe down to search for app activities, enter the name of the activity you want to add, tap
for the activities you want to add, then tap Done.
To select and add all activities in a list, tap Select All, then tap Done.
To rename the app activity, tap the name, then enter a new name.
To confirm you added the exact location where you want your students to begin their activity, tap the activity thumbnail.
Note: To assign your recently viewed activities to students from any device, confirm Sync App Activities is selected on your iPad for progress-reporting apps (Go to Settings > Class Progress, then tap Sync App Activities). When Sync App Activities is selected and you view activities such as a chapter in a book, a set of math equations, or a quiz in progress-reporting apps, Schoolwork saves your recently viewed activities across devices so you can easily assign these activities to students from any device.
Add a file activity
When you share a file in a Handout, Schoolwork automatically saves the file in a [handout name] folder within your Schoolwork class folder in iCloud Drive. In addition, every student and any other teacher receiving the Handout also see the file in their [handout name] folder in their Schoolwork class folder.
In the Schoolwork app
, tap
in the upper right of the window or edit an existing Handout.
Tap Files, search for a file or navigate to a file on your iPad or in iCloud Drive, then tap the file to send to your students.
You can’t add a file larger than 2GB.
To specify how to share the file, tap
, then tap one of the following:
“Each student can edit their own file.” Schoolwork sends each student their own copy of the file. You work with each student in their own file.
Note: When you share a file using “Each student can edit their own file,” Schoolwork names the file [family name given name - original filename.ext], saves the work in the student’s [handout name] folder within the student’s Schoolwork class folder, and saves a copy to your [handout name] folder. Schoolwork also saves a copy in the [handout name] folder for any other teacher receiving the Handout.
“Students collaborate together on the same file” (iWork file only). Schoolwork sends all students one copy of the file. You and the entire class work together in a single file.
“Only you can make changes.” Schoolwork sends all students one copy of the file. Students can view the file, but only you and other teachers can edit the file.
When you share a collaborative file, you and your students can work in the same file at the same time. You can view and edit the file while your students are working in it, and add comments to help them along the way. When you share a non-collaborative file, you and your students can work in the same file but not at the same time. For example, you can mark up a PDF file and your students can see your comments later.
To rename the file activity, tap the name, then enter a new name.
To confirm the file appears as you want, tap
, then tap Open.

Note: You can share a file with up to 99 students. All students can open the file for editing at the same time. Teachers are always included in the recipients list when they share a file.
Add a photo or video activity
You can use the Photos app to share photos and videos as activities in a Handout.
When you share a photo or video in a Handout, Schoolwork automatically saves the photo or video in a [handout name] folder within your Schoolwork class folder in iCloud Drive. In addition, every student and any other teacher receiving the Handout also see the document in their [handout name] folder in their Schoolwork class folder.
In the Schoolwork app
, tap
in the upper right of the window or edit an existing Handout.
Tap Photos & Videos, then do one of the following:
To add a new photo or video, tap Take Photo or Video, then use the camera to create a new photo or video activity to send to your students.
To add an existing photo or video, tap Photo Library, tap a folder, then tap a photo or video activity to send to your students.
To specify how to share the photo or video, tap
, then tap one of the following:
“Each student can edit their own file.” Schoolwork sends each student their own copy of the photo or video. You work with each student in their own file.
“Only you can make changes.” Schoolwork sends all students one copy of the photo or video. Students can view the file, but only you and other teachers can edit the file.
When you share a photo or video, you and your students can work in the same file but not at the same time. For example, you can mark up an image file and your students can see your comments later.
Tap Untitled Photo # or Untitled Video # and enter a title for the photo or video activity or, to rename an existing photo or video activity, tap the name, then enter a new name.
To confirm the photo or video appears as you want, tap
, then tap Open.
Note: You can share a file with up to 99 students. Teachers are always included in the recipients list when they share a file.
Add a scanned document activity
You can scan physical paper documents and share them as PDF file activities in a Handout. When students receive the Handout, they can mark up the PDF file and submit it to the Handout without copying and re-sharing it.
When you share a document in a Handout, Schoolwork automatically saves the document in a [handout name] folder within your Schoolwork class folder in iCloud Drive. In addition, every student and any other teacher receiving the Handout also see the document in their [handout name] folder in their Schoolwork class folder.
In the Schoolwork app
, tap
in the upper right of the window or edit an existing Handout.
Tap Scan Documents, then place your document in view of the camera on your device.
If your device is in Auto mode, your document is automatically scanned as soon as the camera can capture the image. If you need to manually capture a scan, tap
 or one of the Volume buttons.
Drag the corners to adjust the size of the scanned document, then tap Keep Scan.
Scan additional pages to add to the document, then tap Save when you’re done.
Schoolwork adds the document to your Handout.
To specify how to share the document, tap
, then tap one of the following:
“Each student can edit their own file.” Schoolwork sends each student their own copy of the document. You work with each student in their own file.
“Only you can make changes.” Schoolwork sends all students one copy of the document. Students can view the file, but only you and other teachers can edit the file.
Tap Untitled Document #, then enter a title for the document activity.
To review the PDF you created, tap
, then tap Open.
Add a link activity
You can use links to share a webpage, a video, or even collaborative Google Docs as an activity in a Handout.
You might find an activity in an app or webpage that you want to use with your students at a later time. To use the activity in Schoolwork, open it in the app or Safari and use the Share menu to save the activity as a Schoolwork bookmark. When you are ready to assign the activity to your students, you can select the activity in the Bookmarks list.
Schoolwork supports Save to Schoolwork bookmarks for progress-reporting apps that adopted the sharing framework, mobile Safari, and universal links.
In the Schoolwork app
, tap
in the upper right of the window or edit an existing Handout.
Tap Links, then do one of the following:
To add a new webpage link activity, tap Webpage, enter a link to send to your students, then tap Add.
To add a saved bookmark link activity, tap Bookmarks, then do one of the following:
Tap a recently added bookmark, if applicable.
Tap an app, then tap an added bookmark, if applicable.
Tap Safari Bookmarks, tap an added bookmark or tap a bookmark folder, then tap an added bookmark, if applicable.
To rename a webpage or bookmark link activity, tap the name, then enter a new name.
To confirm you added the exact location where you want your students to begin their activity, tap the activity thumbnail.
Note: Schoolwork uses iCloud to keep your bookmarks the same on all your devices with the Schoolwork feature enabled in iCloud settings (Go to Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > then tap Schoolwork).
Add a hand-in request activity
When you create a Handout, you can request that students submit a hand-in activity.
Students can submit work within Schoolwork, or they can use the Share button to submit from another app. Students can submit items such as app files, collaborative files, spreadsheets, PDFs, photos, videos, or scanned documents. For example, in Keynote for iPadOS, students can create a file, tap the More button, tap the Share button, tap Schoolwork, then select their class and Handout to submit the file.
In the Schoolwork app
, tap
in the upper right of the window or edit an existing Handout.
Tap Hand-in Request, tap Untitled Item #, then enter a title for the hand-in activity.
When submitting from an app other than Schoolwork, students might not see the Handout name or instructional text, so it is important to provide a descriptive title for the requested work.