The instructions below can also be used to add instructors to your section, but since there are likely MANY students to add and only a few other instructors (if any), this topic focuses on importing students.

You can use the Email text box to invite multiple students, separating email addresses with commas. But if you are responsible for adding more than a few students, using a CSV import is a more efficient way to go.

What is a CSV file

CSV stands for "comma-separated values" and technically refers to a flat text file, where the values you want to import are listed on a line, separated by commas (hence the name).

If you're the kind of person who is comfortable using a text file for this information, go right ahead! Each student needs to be on its own line, and each line has to contain the following values, in this order: Email address, Last name, First name. Save the file as a *.csv file type.

It would look like this:

However...you don't have to use a text file. You can use a spreadsheet program like Excel, to construct the student information. These programs allow you to put the data into the columns, then use Save As and select the file type "csv".

That file would look like this:

The Students section of the Settings tab for your section contains a Download a sample .csv file link, which allows you to replace the existing sample data with your own. And you can open the sample file and edit it as a text file (if you like that sort of thing) or a spreadsheet file. The sample works either way.

Creating and running an import to invite students

The steps below provide instructions for using Excel to generate your CSV file, then importing it to invite students to your section.

To create a student roster import file

1. Find the course/section to which you need to invite students, and click on the course tile.
2. Click the Settings tab.
3. Click Students on the left to open the Student information page.
   
4. Click Download a sample CSV file, identified in the above figure.
   Depending on your browser and settings, you may be asked to Save or Open the downloaded file.
5. Open the downloaded file, named userInvitations.csv. If you have Microsoft Excel installed, it should be recognized as the default program to open this type of file.
6. Replace the sample data in the spreadsheet with your student roster information.
   RETAIN THE HEADING ROW!
7. When finished, click Save As from the File menu.
8. Change the File name to something meaningful. You may want to identify the section and term that applies to this student roster invitation file.
9. If necessary, check the Save as type drop-down list. Because you opened a .csv file to begin with, this may be the file type that already appears. If not, be sure to select .csv, as shown in the below figure.
   
10. Click Yes on the confirmation message from Excel. It's simply letting you know that the CSV format has limited formatting and other capabilities available in xls files.
11. When finished, close the file. Excel will ask if you want to save it as an xls file. This is entirely up to you. All the system needs is the CSV file you've already created/saved.

To import a CSV student roster to a section

1. Click the Settings tab for the section, then click Students on the left to open the Student information page.
2. Click IMPORT.
3. Use the file selection window that appears to either select and upload the file from your local computer, or use the list on the left to select the file from another shared location.
   
4. Once the processing is finished, the Students page appears again, with the newly added students appearing in the student list at the bottom of the page. If the invited students have not yet completed registering for an EchoVideo account, they are listed with a status of "Invited" as shown in the below figure.
   

Students that are not yet registered users will receive an email invitation through which they can complete sign-up.

If the students are already registered users, they are listed as Active. In addition, they will receive an email notifying them that they have been invited to your course and the course will appear on their DASHBOARD.

IF YOU GET ERRORS...double check your CSV file entries. You may have mis-typed an email address, or you may have inadvertently removed or changed the heading row values, or the student may already be added to the section. These are the most common errors encountered. If the error occurs on a particular student listed, the other students should be imported without problems. If the problem is with the heading row, you may need to attempt to re-import the spreadsheet after fixing it.