In response to school closures due to COVID-19, Starfall has been sending, upon request, courtesy home membership access codes to school administrators and teachers. The intent is for an administrator to distribute one code to each family. Because each code can be used only once to create a Starfall membership account, it is important to assign (or pair) each unique code to a single family.

Your process for distributing these codes will vary depending on the number of students involved and the communication method you are using.

You will receive an email from Starfall containing instructions to be sent to each family and an attached list with the access codes. Most will start by copying and pasting this list into an existing spreadsheet, with email addresses in one column and access codes in another. 

Here are some options for distributing the codes:

  1. Use a program with an automated bulk email system such as Microsoft Outlook, that uses an Excel spreadsheet for a source. Add the instructions to a template and send a unique email to each family -- each email with a single access code.
  2. Send an email to each family one at a time. Prepare an email template with the access code instructions. Then copy and paste a unique code into a separate email to each family. 
  3. The instructions with a single code per family could also be printed on paper and distributed through the mail or provided with other materials given to each family.

Other means may be best for your particular situation and may better scale according to the numbers of codes and families you are supporting. The important thing is that each family obtains a unique code. If you have suggestions for educators distributing codes to students, please let us know.

Root help page for Outlook bulk mailings: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Use-mail-merge-to-send-bulk-email-messages-0f123521-20ce-4aa8-8b62-ac211dedefa4