When a File-Sharing Classroom Isn't Enough for Live Lessons

Many tools that call themselves a "classroom" are file lockers: you post a worksheet, pupils download it, and later you collect it back. That helps with admin but does little while you teach. For a classroom platform for live teaching, the useful question is "what happens on the board, and on every pupil's screen, right now?" ClassKite is built around that moment.

File sharing is admin; teaching is live

Handing out a PDF and gathering it in is a distribution job. It tells you nothing about whether the class followed your explanation, and it leaves you marking a pile afterwards. Teaching live is different work:

Upload a PDF and teach straight from it on the smart board, annotating with pen, highlighter or calligraphy ink as you go.
Follow-me paging keeps pupils who have the same PDF open on the page you are on, and full-screen present mode shows only the page.
Pupils who switch to your board view see your pen strokes as you write, and long documents scroll continuously instead of page by page.

None of that needs a Google account or a roster import: pupils open a browser and enter a join code. If you are comparing this with Google Classroom, our live-teaching alternative page sets out the differences.

Check understanding without leaving the lesson

Because you are already teaching from the document, you can run practice live on it in the same session. Push a practice to the class and each answer is marked on submit, so multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, matching and jumbled-sentence questions give instant feedback. You build those questions by hand, by bulk-importing the Question Bank spreadsheet template, or by letting the AI draft questions you review and approve one by one. Maths goes in as LaTeX and you can attach images. If you would rather work from existing material, here is how to create digital practice from a PDF.

See the room, not a submission count

A file locker tells you who handed in. A live lesson tells you who is stuck right now. The Live Student Grid shows each pupil as in progress, done or flagged for help, with a "struggling" signal, presence (Active, Away, Offline or Left), completion and score. Afterwards, reports show each session's completion, average score, First try and Solved, a row per student, a score-trend chart, a sessions log and CSV export. The Gradebook keeps the running grade, so you don't have to.

Start teaching live from your next PDF: upload it, annotate on the board and check understanding in the same session.

Frequently asked questions

Does ClassKite integrate with Google Classroom?

No. There is no Google integration, and class lists are not synced from Google Classroom. Pupils join free in a browser using a join code, with no app or paid account needed.

Are the live grid and reports free?

Teacher Basic is free and lets you teach with PDF annotation on the smart board, write questions by hand, and run practice with instant feedback. The Live Student Grid, reports, sessions log, score trend and CSV export, plus AI question generation and unlimited spreadsheet import, are on the paid Teacher Plus and School plans. See the plans, or read about covering a whole school.

Does the AI read my PDF and write the lesson?

No. The AI drafts questions only, which you edit and approve. It does not read your PDF's contents and it does not write lesson plans or worksheets.