Working with Groups
The Group tool is for setting up and organizing groups and allows instructors to restrict access to materials in the course on the basis of enrollment.
This tutorial contains the following sections:
Creating a Group
All groups are organized by categories which help define the parameters of the group.
To create a category:
- From the Course Home page on the Navigation bar click on the GROUPS link. The Manage Groups pane appears.
- Click on the NEW CATEGORY button. The New Category pane appears.
- In the Category Name text box, type the category name.
- If desired, type the category description in the Description box
Next, select Enrollment Type:
- From the Enrollment Type pull-down menu specify how users will be enrolled in the group:
| Automatic Enroll Option |
Description |
| Groups of # - (each group has at most x people) |
Specify the maximum number of students per group and the system creates the appropriate number of groups to accommodate this. |
# of Groups - (there are x groups)
|
Specify the number of groups to be added and the system assigns an equal number of students to each group. |
| # of Groups - (no Auto Enrollments) |
Specify the number of groups to be added, and the system will not automatically assign an equal number of students to each group. |
Groups of # - (Self Enrollment)
|
Specify the maximum number of students per group and the students enroll themselves in their desired group. |
# of Groups - (Self Enrollment)
|
Specify the number of groups to be added and the students enroll themselves in their desired group. |
- In the Number of Groups/Users text box type the desired number (corresponding to the selected enrollment style)
- In the Additional Options section click on the EXPAND THE ADDITIONAL OPTIONS icon.
- Select desired Create Workspace option(s)
Note: It is important to set up the Discussions area and if desired, the Dropbox when you initially set up the group.
Setup Discussion Areas
Allows instructor to create a discussion area for each group. Select a Forum that has been already created using the Dropdown area or create a new forum by clicking on the New Forum button.
Setup Locker [Not recommended; only holds 1MB of storage space]
Allows instructor to setup a locker area for each group.
Setup Dropbox
Allows instructor to setup a dropbox folder for each group.
Click Here to View Instructions for Setting Up a Dropbox
- Click on the CREATE button.
Creating Additional Groups
The instructor may need to add extra groups after the initial group setup process:
- In the category where the new group belongs, click the CREATE NEW GROUP button
. The Add Group dialog box appears.
- Type the new group's name in the Group Name text box
- In the Description scroll box type a description for the group (if desired)
- Click on the ADD button. The additional group is created.
Manually Enrolling Students in Groups
After the groups have been created the instructor may begin to enroll students.
- In the desired category's row, click the ENROLL USERS button
- From the "Display" pull-down menu, select the desired groups to be available
- From the "Per Page" pull-down menu, select the number of students to be displayed per pag.
- In the column for the group, select the students to be added. A checkmark will appear to indicate that they have been added.
- Click on the SAVE button. The Enroll Users pane appears.
- Repeat steps 1,4, and 5 until all students are enrolled.
Editing Groups or Group Categories
Once a group or category has been created, the instructor can still make changes. Desire2Learn allows the instructor to edit the details of groups or categories as well as change which students are enrolled in them.
Editing Groups or Categories: Details
- Access the Manage Groups pane.
- From the "View Categories" pull-down menu select the desired category. The Manage Groups pane appears.
- Click the category or group name whose details you wish to change. The Edit Group or Edit Category pane appears.
- Make the desired changes then click on the SAVE button. The Edit Category pane appears.
Changing Group Enrollment
- Access the Manage Groups pane
- For the desired category click on the ENROLL USERS button. The Enroll Users pane appears.
- Select or deselect users for each group as appropriate then click on the SAVE button. The Enroll Users pane appears.
Deleting Groups or Group Categories
Instructors can easily delete groups from their course if they have no further need of them.
Deleting Categories
- Click on the Grades link in the Navigation bar.
- From the View Categories pull-down list select the group category that contains the group to be deleted. The category and its corresponding groups are displayed.
- Select the group category by highlighting it in the drop-down box.
- Click on the DELETE
button. A confirmation pane appears.
- Click on the DELETE GROUPS/CATEGORIES button. The group category and all its groups are deleted
Deleting Groups
- Click on the Grades link in the Navigation bar.
- From the View Categories pull-down list select the group category that contains the group you want to delete.
The category and its corresponding groups are displayed.
- Select the group to be deleted.
- Click on the DELETE button. A confirmation dialog box appears.
- Click on the DELETE GROUPS/CATEGORIES button. The group is deleted.
Releasing Content to Specific Groups
Instructors can release course content to a specified group. For example, each group in a class could be working on a different case study. Instructors can post the case studies in the Content area of the course and release them based on group membership.
Setting Release Conditions
- From the Course Home page click on the Content button in the navigation bar. The Manage Content pane appears.
- For the appropriate topic click on the EDIT
button. The Edit Module pane appears.
- Select the Restrictions tab
- Click on the CREATE AND ATTACH button. The Create a New Release Condition dialog box appears.
- From the Condition Type pull-down menu select Group Enrollment. The dialog box refreshes.
- From the Group pull-down menu select the desired group.
- Click on the CREATE button. The Edit Module pane appears.
- Click on the SAVE button. In the Content Manager area, topics with release conditions bear the following icon.
Removing Release Conditions
- From the Course Home page, click on the CONTENT link in the Navigation bar. The Manage Content pane appears.
- For the appropriate module or topic click on the EDIT button. The Edit Module or Edit Topic pane appears.
- Select the Restrictions tab
- To remove a single release condition for the appropriate condition click on the REMOVE THIS CONDITION trashcan icon.
- To remove all release conditions click on the REMOVE ALL CONDITIONS icon.
- Click on the SAVE button. The release condition is removed.