Versions Compared

Version Old Version 16 New Version Current
Changes made by

Alex Gyder

Sturdy Knight

Saved on

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.
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.

set up assignments and discussions with existing groups in Blackboard Ultra

⏬ Table of Contents

Table of Contents
maxLevel2
minLevel2
An important note on this documentation

Warning

titleWARNING

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: Create the

group set

Group Set

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

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")

Image Removed
Screenshot of Mange Groups page in BlackboardImage Added

Step 2: Create the

assignment

Assignment/

discussion

Discussion

Panel
borderColorblue
bgColor#D6EAF8

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

in Blackboard Ultra, see the Course Content answers page.

Step 3: Access the

item settings

Item Settings

Once you have created the item, open the item's settings by clicking the gear icon to the right of the settings.

When the settings panel opens, scroll down to the "Additional Tools."Select the option to "Assign to groups"

Image Removed
Screenshot of Additional Tools to Assign Groups in Item SettingsImage Added

Step 4: Assign via "Reuse Groups" option

When you select to assign an item to groups, a view will appear identical to that of the Group Set creation view

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

Custom, Randomly assigned, or Self-enrollment groups

a new group at this stage.

  • Next to the "Group students" option, click on the drop down menu (

currently

  • 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.

Image Removed
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