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Assigning Discussions & Assignments to Existing Groups

Group Assignments & Discussions

Excerpt

This page shows examples of how to

utilize groups of students once they are created within your course. Warning

set up assignments and discussions with existing groups in Blackboard Ultra

⏬ Table of Contents

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An important note on creating and utilizing Groups

Warning

Warning: Course Groups vs. Ad-Hoc Groups

The following documentation outlines Online Learning Service's recommended steps for

assigning

creating and using course groups, and creating group discussions and group assignments.

Although other approaches

may

exist for creating

groups when assigning content, implementing

ad-hoc groups within the settings for a new assignment or discussion, this option is limited and will not give students access to the full range of group options and tools. Implementing other strategies outside of the prescribed method below will result in students being unable to access materials through the Group navigation tab in your course. 

Recommended steps for assigning group items

Step 1:

Creating

Create the

group set

Group Set

Step 2: Creating the assignment/discussion

Create a group set in the Groups tab of your course navigation.  This group set may be one that you wish to use over the course of the semester (such as individual sections in a merged course) or it may be a set that is specific to a particular assignment/discussion. 

The example to the right shows two examples of different groups sets, each created for a different purpose. 

Image Removed

For example, you might create an instructor-assigned group set to sort students by individual course sections (i.e. M001, M002, M003), and then create a self-enrolled group set for students to sign up for final project presentation groups. 

(For information on creating groups sets, visit our Answers page "Ultra Course - Groups")

Screenshot of Mange Groups page in BlackboardImage Added

Step 2: Create the Assignment/Discussion

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To assign a

Group Assignmentor Discussion

group assignment or discussion, begin by creating the

respective

item

on the Course Content stream.

in the course content area. For more information on how to create content

and information on the different content items, click here.Assigning to existing Groups

in Blackboard Ultra, see the Course Content answers page.

Step 3: Access the Item Settings

Once you have created

a new discussion

the item,

click

open the item's settings by clicking the gear icon

in

to the right

hand corner

of the

assignment across from "Discussion Settings."

Screenshot of the Discussion settings menu with a red arrow pointing to a gear icon across from the title Discussion SettingsImage Removed

Under

settings.

When the settings panel opens, scroll down to the "Additional Tools."

of the Discussion settings, select

Select the option to "Assign to groups"

Screenshot of the Additional Tools within the Assignment Settings. A red arrow points to a link titled Assign to groups underneath the Assigned groups sectionImage Removed

You will see within the "Assign to groups" setting, there are several different ways to assign the discussion:

  • Custom: Create specific groups that are needed for that particular group discussion. (To do this, follow the same steps for creating groups that is outlined on the Ultra Course - Groups Answers page
  • Randomly assign: When you select this option, another drop down menu will appear to the right to select how many groups you would like to be created and the system will randomly assign students to groups based on that number
  • Self-enrollment: This gives your students the option to join a group of their choosing, with a limit on the number of students that can enroll in each group. More information about this option can be found on the Ultra Course - Groups Answers page
  • "Reuse groups": This section will list any groups that you have previously created in your course

A screenshot of the settings that appear once the link Assign to groups has been clicked. A red box outlines the different options to create groups for the discussion. Options include Custom, Randomly Assign, Self enrollment, or to reuse groups that have already been created in the course.Image Removed

Screenshot of Additional Tools to Assign Groups in Item SettingsImage Added

Step 4: Assign via "Reuse Groups" option

Selecting "assign to groups"  will open a panel similar to the "create group set" panel under the course groups tab.  

It is important to avoid creating a new group at this stage.

  • Next to the "Group students" option, click on the drop down menu (default set to "Custom").

  • Within this drop down menu, a section titled "Reuse groups" will appear, listing the current groups that exist in your course.

  • Select the group set you previously created that you wish to assign to the Assignment or Discussion. 

  • Select "Save" in the bottom right hand corner. 

  • Select "Save" again in the item settings.

Screenshot showing option to resuse groupsImage Added

Improvement to the management of group discussions from Instructor View

When an instructor views a group discussion on Ultra, there is a subtle but very important addition that they will see within the discussion page. A drop down menu will appear below the discussion topic that allows the instructor to easily navigate between the group discussions without having to leave the page and navigate to a separate group's page. The video below illustrates this unique Ultra course feature:

https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/2707131/sp/270713100/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/45992501/partner_id/2707131?iframeembed=true&playerId=kplayer&entry_id=1_9k4xydhe&flashvars%5BstreamerType%5D=auto