Groups in Canvas

 Overview

In this module, participants will understand how to collaborate using groups in canvas. 

 Learning Intentions

• I can create, edit and delete appointment groups in Canvas. 
• I can articulate why I would use appointment groups with my students in Canvas. 
• I can create groups with my students and assign a group lesson.

Creating Groups in Canvas

Groups are a small version of a course and used as a collaborative tool where students can work together on group projects and assignments.   In this video you will learn the basics of group creation and group management.

Within Groups, Instructors Can (click on arrow for more information):

• • View all activity within all the groups within their course, including groups created by students as noted in the instructor's Student Groups tab (by default students will be allowed to create their own groups as noted in the Course Details tab)
  • View all created groups within the course
  • Manually or automatically create groups within a group set
  • Manually or automatically assign students to groups within a group set
  • Assign group leaders to each group
  • Allow students to sign up for their own groups  
  • Expand and collapse subgroups
  • Move students into different subgroups
  • Create group collaborations

Ways Group Can Function in Your Class

When you create a group, you are essentially creating a digital space for those students to collaborate and communicate. Here are some ideas on ways you can leverage groups in your course:

• Create Study Groups
  Each Group has its own announcements feature, discussions area, content pages, space for files, opportunities to hold conferences and participate in real-time collaboration. This could be a great space for students to communicate and work together on group projects.
  
  
• Create Group Assignments
  Under assignment settings, there is an option for group assignment. Instead of all students having to submit an assignment, Canvas will allow one person from each group to submit on behalf of their team. As an instructor, you can choose to grade the assignment as a group (all members will receive the same grade) or individually. 
  
  
• Create Small Group Discussions
  If you have a big class, it might be helpful to break your discussions into groups to have a more intimate and deeper conversation. Only the members of the group will see and respond to their group's post (even though all students are posting to the same discussion topic).

The following tutorials will provide instructions with setting up groups in your courses:

• What are Student Groups?
• How do I view Groups?
• Where do I find the Group sets that I already created?
• Which Groups am I enrolled in?
• How do I make a new set of Groups? 
• How do I automatically create Groups?
• How do I manually create Groups?
• How do I expand and collapse Groups?
• How do I create self sign-up Groups?
• How do I automatically assign students to Groups?
• How do I allow students to sign up for their own Groups? 
• How do I prevent students from switching groups in self sign-up Groups? 
• How do I move a student into a different Group?
• How do I view what students are doing in their groups?
• How do I delete a set of Groups?
• How do I start a Collaboration with my Group?