Three steps stand between a new account and your first witnessed assignment. Most teachers get through them inside one free period.
- 01Create a class. Name it, and Loam gives it a six-character join code. One class per actual class works best: rosters and assignments stay legible.
- 02Get your students in. Invite them by email (each gets a link that creates their account), then share the join code for anyone who joins later. Students never pay and never enter a payment relationship with anyone.
- 03Publish a witnessed assignment. Write the prompt, set the due date, publish. Students write in the sealed editor, and every submission arrives with its evidence attached.
Before the first assessment: the one-minute briefing
The sealed editor surprises students exactly once, ideally not mid-assessment. Tell the class up front: typing works normally, links and file attachments are fine, pasting prose is blocked for everyone, and drafts should be written in Loam from the first sentence, not pasted in from elsewhere. Consider a five-minute practice task first so nobody meets the guards for the first time under pressure.
After the first hand-ins
Open a submission and watch the replay. It’s the moment the product makes sense. The verification panel next to it answers the is-this-record-genuine question whenever you need it answered formally.
Two housekeeping notes for Free-plan workspaces: verify your email address early (evidence-bearing actions require it), and know that replay evidence is kept for 12 months from hand-in. Exporting everything is free, and an end-of-year export is a good habit from day one.