Learning outcomes
By the end of this guide you should know;
- How to setup Groups in Blackboard
Groups in Blackboard can be used to disseminate teaching, learning and assessment content to specific groups of students. This can be a particularly useful approach for managing the delivery of blended learning. For example, a module cohort of 100 students could be spilt into five groups of twenty. These Groups can be used to facilitate online group work, to align particular instructors with particular groups of students, and to allow specific groups to access specific content relevant to their group only.
Important notes:
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To create groups:
In the module – go into the Groups area.
There are three main options for creating groups:
Option 1 – automatically create a specified number of Groups and randomly assign students to each Group (the quickest option).
Option 2 – automatically create a specified number of Groups and manually assign specific students to each Group.
Option 3 – manually create each individual Group and manually choose which students are assigned to each Group (the least quickest option).
Option 1:
If you want to automatically create a specified number of Groups and randomly assign students to each group.
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Text version
- Click the Create tab and select Random Enrol under the Group set option.
2. Give the group set a name – e.g. Group; and ensure the group is visible to students.
3. Scroll down the page to the Tool Availability panel and indicate the tools that you want each group to have access to. In this example each Group will have access to its own Group Discussion Board.
NOTE: if you do not select any tools at this time, but then decide to give groups access to specific tools at a later date having set up the Groups – you will have to activate the tools for EACH INDIVIDUAL GROUP; which could be time consuming.
NOTE: these tools only apply to Groups. If you do not check any tools in this list they will still be available across the module for general use.
4. Scroll down the page and un-check the module personalisation setting.
5. In the Group Set Options panel, check the Create Smart View . . . option. This will allow you to filter the Grade Centre to only show results for the students in each Group (should you require this option).
6. Scroll to the bottom of the page and use the membership options to determine how many groups/students per group there will be. Then click Submit.
7. The groups panel will appear showing a series of auto-generated groups and how many students have been enrolled in each group. Students will have been randomly assigned to a group.
Clicking on a Group name will present a list of the Group members.
If you want to automatically create a specified number of Groups and then assign specific students to each Group.
Click here to download a printable version of this guide in MS Word format
Text version
1. Click the Create tab and select Manual Enrol under the Group set option.
2. Give the group set a name – e.g. Group. You can choose if you want students to be able to access their group or not area or not by making the group visible to students or not. If you are just using the group function to organise students you can select No.
3. Scroll down the page to the Tool Availability panel and check the tools that you want each group to have access to. In this example each Group will have access to its own Group Discussion Board. You can ignore this step if you have set group visibility to No.
4. Scroll down the page and un-check the module personalisation setting.
5. In the Group Set Options panel, enter the number of Groups that you want to be created. The Create Smart View option allows you to filter the Grade Centre to only show results for the students in each Group – should you require this option).
Click the submit button.
6. In the Group Set Enrolments panel – click the Add Users button for a Group
7. From the student list indicate which students you want to add to the Group and click Submit.
The students will be enrolled on the Group
Repeat this process for each Group.
8. When all Groups have been setup, click Submit.
The Groups will be saved.
Option 3:
If you want to manually create individual groups and manually assign specific students to each group.
Click here to download a printable version of this guide in MS Word format
Text version
1. Click the Create tab and select Manual Enrol under the Single Group option.
2. Give the group a name; and ensure the group is visible to students.
3. Scroll down the page to the Tool Availability panel and check the tools that you want each group to have access to. In this example each Group will have access to its own Group Discussion Board.
NOTE: these tools only apply to Groups. If you do not check any tools in this list they will still be available across the module for general use.
4. Scroll down the page and un-check the module personalisation setting.
5. In the Group Set Options panel, check the Create Smart View . . . option. This will allow you to filter the Grade Centre to only show results for the students in each Group (should you require this option).
6. In the Membership panel click the Add Users button.
7. From the list of users – select the students who you want to be in this group, and click the Submit button.
8. Click the submit button to save the group.
Repeat this process for each group until all students have been assigned a group.