Working with Groups
Course groups allow instructors and students to create groups of students within a course. These course groups have their own area in Blackboard Learn to collaborate on course work, and these spaces are equipped with tools to assist in the collaborative process. If included in a course, the Course Menu item Groups accesses the Groups page. There you can create, manage, and access course groups.
Getting Started With Groups
A Blackboard Inc. Guide that you can download and print.
Creating A Group
You can create formal groups of students to collaborate on work, and create these groups one at a time or in sets. You can manually select group members or allow students to self-enroll. Each group has its own space, or homepage, with links to tools to help students collaborate. Only the instructor and the group members can access the group tools.
Creating Group Sets
When naming a set of groups, the name of each group has a number added to it when they are first created. For example, a set of groups named “Research” results in groups named “Research 1,” “Research 2,” and “Research 3,” depending upon the number of groups in the set. You can edit the group names after they are created.
Creating Self-Enroll Groups
Self-Enroll allows students to add themselves to a group using a sign-up sheet. You can make sign-up sheets available to students on the groups listing page or by adding a link to a course area, such as a Content Area, Learning Module, Lesson Plan, or folder. When you create a group using sign-up sheets, the group can be immediately available to use or made available after all members have signed up. Self-enrollment is an option available for both single groups and group sets.
Editing And Managing Groups
On the Groups listing page, you can create groups, as well as edit and manage them. Each group’s contextual menu provides quick access to the group homepage and email. You can also access the options to edit group properties and delete groups. Editing a group allows you to add or remove members, as well as change its name, availability, and tools.
Adding Group Links To Content Areas
You can manually add links to individual groups and sign-up sheets in Content Areas, Learning Modules, Lesson Plans, and folders. You can set up a Content Area to include all the content and tools your students need for the week. After reading the weekly lecture, and viewing the slide presentation, students can also access the Groups tool to complete the group assignment. Students do not need to navigate anywhere else in the course to complete all the required activities for the week. When you add a link to a specific group in a Content Area, all students will see the link, however, if the student is not a member of the group, he or she will not be able to access the group homepage.