LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT

Managing groups in Blackboard

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USING GROUPS

Technology Enhanced Learning CQSD

02/05/2023

LIMITLESS POTENTIAL | LIMITLESS OPPORTUNITIES | LIMITLESS IMPACT

PREPARATION

1. Use the Chrome browser2. Find your own Practice Course under:

Enrolments > Courses (> No Term Assigned)3. Enter your Practice Course.

Use it for the hands-on activities2

3Tip: Mute Audio when you are not speaking to prevent feedback loop noise

Welcome to the

session

Issues with Sound!• Plug your headset in before

joining the session.• Go to Collaborate Panel > My

Settings and ‘Set-up your Camera and Microphone’• Check your computer Sound

settings• Allow your browser to use audio

and video

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THIS SESSION WILL BE RECORDED

•The recording for the session will only be made available to staff enrolled on this course in Blackboard.•Please provide your consent for us to record the session by writing in the Chat tool. Type: I agree• If you do not want to be recorded during the session, please let us know. 5

SESSION OVERVIEWIntroduction to the Groups tool and Sign-up List tool• Hands-on practice• Ask questions1. Set-up and manage Groups within a

course,2. Understand how groups work and can be

used,3. Awareness of the other tools that can be

used in association with groups,4. Set-up and manage a Sign-up List.

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WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT?

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YOUR EXPERIENCE

•Do you do group work with your students?•Have you used the Groups tool in Blackboard?

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WHAT IS GROUPS?• Groups is a tool within a course• Allows you to create sub-sets of students • Facilitates collaboration, communication & administration• Provides a discreet online space for group work

•Each group can have online tools (e.g. Discussion Board, Blog, Wiki)

• Use it behind the scenes to organise students•Works in conjunction with other tools to filter & control access 9

SET UP OPTIONS• Different ways of setting-up groups and making students

members.

• Single Group – Create one group• Group Set – create multiple groups in one go with the same

settings

Membership enrolment options:• Manual Enrol – Instructor chooses who is a member• Self Enrol – Students can enrol themselves *• Random Enrol (Sets only) – system randomly allocates

students

• Import – Add group members in bulk (CSV file)

* Use Sign-up list tool instead for this option

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THINGS TO KNOW

• No limit to number of groups• Students can be members of different groups

•But only a member of one group in a ‘Group Set’• Students can only access their own groups• Groups can be made un-available to students• A group has to be to available to students if used with:•Assignment submission•Send Email 11

TOOLS THAT USE GROUPSWorks in conjunction with other tools to:

• Adaptive Release - Control access to content • Bb Assignment - group assignment submission• Send emails - Specific groups• Smart Views - Filter your view of students (in the Grade

Centre)• Turnitin by Groups – Filter your view of individual

assignments

• Sign-up List – Self enrol and manage members12

STUDENT SIGN-UP

• What do you ask students to sign-up for?• Have you seen the Sign-up list tool?• Has anyone used it?

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WHAT IS A SIGN-UP LIST?• Create online sign-up sheets

•Students can add and remove themselves• Better functionality to manage sign up• Can be separate from the Groups tool• Or can work with the Groups tool:

•Automatically assigns membership•Allocates to existing group or creates a new group

Examples:• Book appointments• Sign up for a group project• Join scheduled activities / events

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ANY QUESTIONS?

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SUPPORT AVAILABLE

Get in touch

Staff DevelopmentTEL guides

Support for Staff tab on

BlackboardTEL blog

Blackboard Help site

TEL courses

Blackboard Surgeries

IT Service Desk(it@reading.ac.uk)

• Help you with technical queries

• Forward your TEL queries to us

TEL TWITTER@unirdg_TEL

TEL BLOGhttps://blogs.reading.ac.uk/

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