1. Migrating from a personal account to Goodnotes Education
Q: How can teachers and learners transition from a personal Goodnotes account to Goodnotes Education without losing their notes?
A:
For Teachers
Step 1: Back up your personal notes
Before joining your school’s Goodnotes Education institution, make sure all of your personal notes are backed up.
1. Turn on iCloud Sync (recommended)
- Open Goodnotes on your personal iPad.
- Tap the Gear icon (Settings) in the top-right corner.
- Go to iCloud Settings in Cloud and Backup.
- Turn Use iCloud On.
2. Create a manual backup (recommended)
- From the Library view, tap the Gear icon.
- Select Cloud & Backup.
- Tap Manual Backup Documents > Backup Now.
Step 2: Join your school’s Goodnotes Education institution
Once your notes are backed up, you can sign in to your school account.
- Open the Goodnotes app.
- Tap the Help button (or your profile) in the top-right corner.
- Select Sign in with a different Apple ID, or choose your school’s usual SSO sign-in method (for example, Sign in with Google).
- If your school uses a QR code or Single Sign-On (SSO), sign in using your school email or Eduplaces credentials.
- Once you’ve joined your school’s institution, you’ll have access to your Goodnotes Education workspace.
Step 3: Restore your teaching materials
- Create your new Class Folder(s).
- Tap the + button to import the PDFs or .goodnotes files you exported from your personal account.
- You can then begin organising your teaching materials and sharing them with your classes.
For Learners
Step 1: Back up your personal notes
Before joining your school’s Goodnotes Education institution, make sure your personal notes are backed up.
1. Turn on iCloud Sync (recommended)
- Open Goodnotes.
- Tap the Gear icon (Settings) in the top-right corner.
- Go to iCloud Settings in Cloud and Backup.
- Turn Use iCloud On.
2. Create a manual backup (recommended)
- From the Library, tap the Gear icon.
- Select Cloud & Backup.
- Tap Manual Backup Documents > Backup Now.
Step 2: Join your school’s Goodnotes Education institution
- Open the Goodnotes app.
- Tap the Help button (or your profile) in the top-right corner.
- Select Sign in with a different Apple ID, or choose your school’s usual SSO sign-in method (for example, Sign in with Google).
- Sign in using your school email or Eduplaces credentials, or scan the QR code provided by your teacher.
Step 3: Continue learning
- Your personal notes will remain available in your Private library.
- Your teacher will invite you to Class Folders where you can access lesson materials, complete assignments, and collaborate during class.
- Any new school work should be completed within your Class Folders, while your personal notes can continue to be kept in your Private library.
For more information on the migrating to and Education account, please see: https://goodnoteseducation.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/13787046783375-Will-my-current-Goodnotes-documents-sync-over-after-joining-my-School-or-Institution
2. iPad Lab Deployment & Application
Q: What is the best deployment model for a school iPad Lab, and how does the school apply for it?
A: For a school-managed iPad lab, we recommend using the VPP deployment model.
To use this setup, the school must have:
- Apple School Manager (ASM)
- A supported Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution
- Goodnotes deployed through Apps and Books in Apple School Manager
This model allows the school to centrally deploy and manage Goodnotes on shared iPads without requiring each student to install the app individually.
Schools should ensure that Apple School Manager and their MDM environment are fully configured before beginning the Goodnotes Education deployment.
3. Scaling Accounts
Q: What is the procedure for adding more teacher and student accounts as the school grows?
A: Schools can add new teachers and students through their existing Goodnotes Education sign-in and deployment process.
If your school requires additional licences, user capacity, or support with scaling the deployment, please contact the Goodnotes Customer Success team. We will review your setup and help you add the required accounts.
Q: How can I add more users later on?
A: Adding new Teachers or Students can be done at any time, not just during set-up. Simply head to User Management in the Admin Console, and you can individually invite users or add them in bulk using a CSV upload. Please see:
Please make sure you have enough available seats before adding more users otherwise you may find failures when inviting.
4. Feature Comparison
Q: What are the key feature differences between standard Goodnotes and Goodnotes for Education?
A: Goodnotes for Education builds on the core Goodnotes experience with features designed specifically for teaching and learning.
Key education features include:
- Live student monitoring – View student work in real time, either by page or by question.
- Class Folders – Distribute learning materials and keep classroom resources organised.
- Assessment and feedback tools – Provide timely feedback and support formative assessment.
- Smart Clustering – Group similar student responses to speed up marking and identify learning trends.
- AI-powered teaching tools – Pedagogy-informed AI features that help teachers understand student thinking, uncover misconceptions, and provide targeted support.
While standard Goodnotes is designed for personal note-taking and productivity, Goodnotes for Education adds classroom management, collaboration, assessment, and AI features to support effective teaching and improve student learning outcomes.
6. Cloud Storage & Syncing
Q: How does personal cloud storage differ from institutional storage, and can users sync personal clouds (e.g., iCloud, Google Drive) within the Education app?
A: Yes. Users can continue using their personal cloud services, such as iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox, for their own documents.
Personal cloud storage is connected to the individual user’s account and is used for personal notes, backups, imports, and exports.
Institutional storage is managed by the school and is used for shared educational content, including Class Folders, lesson materials, student work, and feedback.
The two storage areas serve different purposes:
- Personal documents remain in the user’s private library.
- School-managed content remains within the institution’s Goodnotes Education environment.
- Users can still import files from or export files to their personal cloud services.
Q: Are my Class Folders included in a Manual Backup?
A: No, your Class Folders are synced through Institutional Storage so they are available on any device you log in to, however will not appear when you take a Manual Backup of Goodnotes. To save these Lessons locally, you can export them one by one or in bulk through the export function.
7. Offboarding (Graduation/Resignation)
Q: What is the best practice for managing accounts when students graduate or teachers leave the school?
A: Schools should remove users from the institution when they no longer require access.
- Ask the user to back up or export any personal documents they want to keep.
- Confirm that any required student work has been reviewed or retained according to the school’s data-retention policy.
After this is complete, the school administrator can remove or deactivate the user through the school’s identity-management or provisioning system.
Users may need to delete and reinstall the app in order to properly log into a fresh version of Goodnotes with a personal Goodnotes Account.
8. Training & Support
Q: Are there official trainers, resources, or learning hubs available to help the school utilize Goodnotes for Education effectively?
A: Yes. Schools can access the Goodnotes Education Learning Centre, which provides official guides, training resources, and practical support materials for teachers and administrators.
We are also developing more localised resources and training materials to better support schools in different regions and languages.
In the meantime, we recommend visiting the Goodnotes Education Learning Centre for step-by-step guidance, feature information, and teaching resources.
https://www.goodnotes.com/learning-center
https://www.goodnotes.com/trainers
9. BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Environments
Q: What is the ideal deployment strategy for a BYOD environment with diverse devices (iPad, Android, Windows)?
A: For the best teaching experience, we recommend that teachers use a Mac for lesson preparation and an iPad for classroom teaching. This allows them to make full use of Goodnotes Education’s teaching, annotation, and classroom features.
In a mixed-device environment, schools should:
- Use iPads as the primary classroom device where possible.
- Use Macs for preparing lessons and teaching materials.
- Confirm which Goodnotes features are available on Android and Windows devices before deployment.
- Test the school’s sign-in, file-sharing, and classroom workflows across all device types.
- Begin with a small pilot group before expanding to the whole school.
10. Audio Features & Limitations
Q: Is the audio recording/transcription feature available in Goodnotes for Education? Are there any specific Goodnotes 6 features that are excluded from the Education version?
A: Yes. Audio recording and transcription remain available in private documents within Goodnotes for Education Plan/ Teir.
However, audio features is not be available inside Class Folders or other school-managed collaborative spaces. Availability can also depend on the device, platform, and your school’s setup.
In general, users can continue to access the core Goodnotes 6 note-taking features in their private library, while Goodnotes for Education adds classroom-specific tools for teaching, collaboration, assessment, and feedback.