Once you have registered and signed in, click on your username in the upper right hand corner of the screen, then click "settings" to fill out your profile information. Next, hover over the home icon on the left hand navigation bar, then click "change profile pic" to set both your profile and banner pictures. You can click back on your name in the right hand corner, then click "view profile" to view your public profile.
Click "photos" from the top menu and hover over the camera icon in the left hand navigation bar. Click upload new photo. From the dialogue box you will be able to create albums and upload photos from your computer. Later, you can choose whether you want to add photos to existing albums or create new albums from the same dialogue box.
Click classes from the top menu and hover over the pencil icon in the left hand navigation bar. Click "create", then choose "full course" from the dialogue box. Next, enter the course name, course number, description, etc. Note the "Is this a public course?" check box. Clicking this box will allow your class to show up in users' search results and will also allow any Classmate user to "join" your course. They will be able to view course material and will be able to send you and other enrolled students messages on Classmate through the message center. They will not however, be given access to your e-mail account. Additionally, making the course public is the only way to ensure that students who you do not invite initially will be able to enroll in the course at a later date. If you do not wish to make your course public, simply do not check the box, click "create", and move on. If you do not check the box, your course will not show up in users' search results.
Once you have clicked "create" you will be prompted to enter the e-mail addresses of those you want to invite to join the course. Simply enter the e-mail address in the text box, click enter, and another text box will appear. Enter another e-mail address. Repeat this until you have entered the e-mail addresses of all the people you wish to invite. When you are finished, click "finished". An invitation will be sent to everyone you invited. All they will need to do is click a link in the invitation email, create a username, sign in, and your course will immediately be available to them and will show up in their "classes" menu.
Once you have finished the course creating process, click "classes" from the top menu. Hover over the pencil icon in the left hand navigation bar and you will see your new course under the heading "classes teaching". Click the name of the course. You will see options in the left hand menu including "syllabus", "students", notes", and "slides". Click each one of these options and familiarize yourself with the course material upload process. It is actually very easy. For instance, click "syllabus" and note the two options that appear in the center work area: "upload syllabus" and "delete syllabus". Simply click "upload syllabus" and you can choose a file from your computer to upload. It will display in the center of the screen and students will have a similar view although they will, of course, have no control over uploading or deleting materials. In addition to being able to view the syllabus, notes, slides, etc on the site, students also have the option to download the files in either their original format or as .pdfs. The course material upload and viewing process is the same for syllabi, notes, and slides. Also note that you can click "students" and view a convenient list of all the students enrolled in the class. With each student you also have the option to send them a message on Classmate, or view their public profiles.
The best way to describe a Quick Class is to note that your are viewing one right now! You can use Quick Classes for a variety of purposes such as: creating and sharing step-by-step how-to guides, posting short assignments, sharing instructions, or simply posting ideas on how best to do something. Quick Classes are always searchable by anyone including the public. So if you post a Quick Class on say, "how to change a tire", be advised that someone conducting a Google search for "how to change a tire" may view your Quick Class.
To create a Quick Class click "classes" from the top menu. Hover over the pencil in the left hand navigation bar then click "create". Choose Quick Class from the dialogue box. Choose a title for your Quick Class then click the "add section" button. Use sections to differentiate between steps, phases, or parts of your Quick Classes. Enter the text for the section the click "add". You will see each numbered section populate the "sections" portion of the Quick Class dialogue box. When you have added all the sections, click "create". Your Quick Class will appear under "Quick Classes" in your classes menu.
Any classes you are enrolled in will automatically have their own friends group containing all of your classmates for that course. To create a custom friends group, click "friends" from the top menu and hover over the friends icon in the left hand navigation bar. Click "groups". In the "groups" dialogue box, enter a name for your custom friends group, then begin typing in the "add member to group box". Classmate will automatically list members who match your entry. When the person's name and picture appear that you want to add, click on it and it will be added to the list in the center of the dialog box. Repeat this process until you have added all the people you want to be in that group, then click "save group".