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Outschool Groups for Learners
Outschool Groups for Learners

How to participate in our guided, online communities

Updated over a week ago

Welcoming Online Communities Organized around Learners' Interests

Outschool Groups are online communities that allow learners to pursue their interests and connect with other learners anytime, anywhere. Groups are similar to a forum and are fully “asynchronous” - learners can participate whenever they’d like, perfect for families with busy schedules. Groups are a great complement to the Outschool Classes that a learner might take. Please note that groups are only available to learners ages 8-18.

Enrolling in a Group

Just like Classes, educators on Outschool lead Groups on a wide range of topics, from 3D printing to Zoology. To find the Groups that best fit your learner’s interests, visit outschool.com/groups.

Unlike most Outschool Classes, where payment is collected upfront, Groups are based around a monthly subscription, typically between $5-$10 USD/month.

We prorate the monthly subscription price when you enroll in a Group. We will charge your card immediately upon signup; all subsequent charges, while you remain subscribed to a Group, will happen on the first of each month. Please note that Outschool Credit, referral credits, and gift cards cannot be applied to Group renewal charges at this time.

You may stop your subscription to a Group at any time. To prevent a subscription renewal charge on the first of the month, you should stop your subscription before 4 p.m. PT the day prior (on the last day of the month). Review our refund policies for Groups and all other Outschool classes.

When your learner first joins a group or is being re-enrolled, they will be asked to record a short video introduction to verify that they are between 8-18 years old, and to agree to the Group participation guidelines, as shown below.

Please note that the video must include an audible, verbal introduction from the learner for verification purposes.

Participating in Groups

Learners can access their Groups from the Schedule tab of their Learner Space. In a Group, learners can see posts created by the teacher who leads the group and by other learners. They are able to engage with a post by adding an image, comment, or emoji reaction to share their thoughts, participate in a discussion, or just give kudos for a cool project.

Learners can also create their own posts to share with the Group. Posts are designed around “show and tell,” and are great ways for learners to ask questions, share what they’re learning, and get feedback from others in the Group on their latest projects.

Designing Groups as Safe Spaces for Learners

Across Outschool, we want all kids to always feel safe and connected in a fun, comfortable, and inclusive learning environment. Outschool has designed the experience with safety in mind so learners can engage with one another and explore their passions.

All participation is private to the Group

When learners post or comment in a Group, that content is private to the Group and is not shared publicly. The only people that can see what learners share in a Group are other enrolled, verified learners, the educator who leads the Group, and Outschool administrators.

Verifying learners are 18 or younger

To ensure that all learners in the Group are kids 18 or younger, we verify learners that enroll in Groups analogous to our learner verification for live classes. Before participating, we ask each learner enrolling in a Group to record a short video introducing themselves and sharing their interest in the Group’s topic. This video is then reviewed by Outschool’s Trust and Safety team. If a learner wishes to enroll in a Group without recording this video, they may undergo our alternative Learner Verification process by emailing verification@outschool.com.

Monitoring and moderating content

All Groups are led by an educator who encourages all learners in the Group to participate in a positive and inclusive way. In addition, all content shared in Groups must adhere to our community standards, and members of the Outschool team will step into moderate messages and content if such content violates these standards.

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