How to use Grok for Queensland state school teachers

This is an FAQ page for Queensland state school teachers. If you are a Queensland state school student, please go here instead.

How do I log into my account?
Do I need to do a risk assessment?
Do I need to get parental consent?
How much does it cost?
QCA Courses
Purchasing access
Using Grok as a Teacher
System requirements
Leaving DoE
Issues with access to Grok

To login to Grok Academy using your Queensland Department of Education (DoE) credentials via the Grok website, click on the “ Log In” link at the top of the page:

1. Enter your DoE email address. The Login button will change to say "Log in via Education Queensland". Click this button.

2. If the above doesn't work, click on “Use SSO” and then click on “Queensland” under the heading “Australian Schoo

You will then be redirected to the Queensland DoE SSO login page. Once you have logged in there, you will be redirected back to Grok.

Do I need to do a risk assessment?

Your school does not need to do a risk assessment to use Grok Academy . A departmental risk review has already been conducted and you can find that information here.

Yes, your school is required to obtain parental consent for students to use Grok Academy. This process should be in accordance with any other online third-party provider. A template third party website consent form for parents is available here.

Please refer to the Queensland DoE's Queensland Coding Academy user guide for further information including details of the identity data sent to Grok to provide Single Sign-On (SSO) access and personalised accounts, and information to send to parents.

How much does it cost?

Some courses on Grok are free, and others need paid access. The Queensland Coding Academy (QCA) courses are free for all students and teachers at Queensland state schools.

Teachers have free access to all other Grok Academy courses and competitions.

To access the non-free Grok courses, students will need paid access. The pricing for paid access is shown on the pricing page.

Queensland Coding Academy (QCA) courses on Grok

The Queensland DoE has contracted Grok Academy to provide a series of introductory coding courses on their website for state school students in grades 3 through 10. Here is a link to all the Grok QCA courses.

When students login to Grok, they land on the launchpad. This page displays all courses that the student can access, including those they have been assigned. To find the Grok QCA courses, look for the QCA filter next to the search bar, or the “Queensland Coding Academy” under the Authors filter. Clicking either of these will show just the Grok QCA courses. The Grok QCA courses can also be distinguished by the QCA logo and QCA Band prefix to the course name.

Purchasing access to additional courses

Teachers can register their students for additional access to paid courses and competitions from the Teacher Dashboard.

Using Grok as a Teacher

On Grok, we provide a Teacher Dashboard. Your Teacher Dashboard allows you to manage students and see your students' progress through courses. Here is an introduction to Grok which explains step-by-step what you need to know as a new teacher on Grok. (Looking for a guide for your students? Try this one!)

You will have visibility of all students at your school that have been registered with Grok Adacemy. To make it easier to monitor and manage the students that you directly teach, you can assign students to groups.

So that your students know what work to do, you can assign a specific course to them. Students complete the work in the Grok 'Learning Interface', in which they read the notes to learn the content, and then practice by submitting answers to problems and marking them.

Once your students have started work, you can view their progress on the dashboard. You can select a specific course to see the class or specified group's progress through that course. The coloured indicators on the progress bar shows how far through the course a student has progressed, and you can click through to see the student's code submissions and history.

Sample solutions to all the problems on Grok Academy are provided. Access to view sample solutions is normally restricted to verified teachers, or students who have already solved the problem.

System Requirements

To access the Grok QCA courses on Grok, you will need an internet connection and a modern browser (see our system requirements here).

Leaving the State School system

If you leave the Queensland State School system, your Queensland Department of Education (DoE) account will be disabled. This will also disable your Grok account associated with that Queensland DoE email address. If you would like your existing progress copied out to a new Grok account, please contact Grok support. You will need to provide your old Queensland DoE username, which school(s) you were at, and the rough time period that you left the state school system to prove your identity to Grok.

If you leave the Queensland State School system and then return, your existing progress within Grok will be there waiting for you when you return.

Some common issues and how to resolve:

Firstly, try logging out and logging back in. Each time you log in, we refresh your account details from the DoE. If that doesn't resolve it, try one of the following:

1. Account details are incorrect on Grok

Check the details in OneSchool (for students) or Payroll TSS (for teachers). If there is still an issue following this, teachers can log a job with Service Centre for Identity and Access Management (IAM) to investigate.

2. Access for support staff

If you are not a teacher or student at a Queensland state school but you need access to Grok (eg. IT support staff): Request access to Grok via your iRegister site. You will need to obtain your manager’s approval, and you should read the section on Grok in the Queensland Coding Academy user guide before you register to ensure you are aware of the Department’s connection with Grok, and the personal data that is transferred to Grok Academy through SSO.