Groups FAQs

Yes, using the Group Self Selection activity you can allow students to either create their own groups, or to choose their groups from a set you created. For more information please see our help guide on Group Self Selection.

How can students see who is in their group?

Students can see group membership on the Participants page. Click on Course Dashboard, then click on Participants. They can filter by group using the dropdown arrow in the search box on the left. Or they can scroll through the list and see the group(s) listed for each user.

What if I want to use different groups for different activities?

Yes, you can have as many sets of groups as you need. You will just need to create and use Groupings to allow the system to differentiate between the sets of groups. For example, you want one set of groups for a Forum discussion and a different set of groups for a presentation. When you create the forum discussion groups, you will also create a grouping called "Forum groups" and associate those groups with that grouping. When you create the forum, you will set the grouping to "Forum Groups" so that the system knows to use that set of groups. When you create the presentation groups, you will also create a grouping called "Presentation groups" and associate those groups with that grouping. When you create the Assignment, you will set the grouping to "Presentation Groups" so that the system knows to use this set of groups. Please see our help guide on how to Create Groups and Groupings for more information.

I set a forum to groups, but one or more of my students can't post to the forum.

There are a few possible explanations for why your student(s) can't post. First, the student(s) might not be in a group. Go to the Participants page (Course Dashboard > Participants) and scroll to the student. It should list the group(s) they are in under the Groups column. If they are not in a group, click the pencil next to "No groups" and select the desired group from the dropdown. Then click the Save icon on the right. If they are in a group, did you set the appropriate grouping in the forum settings? If not, do so. If you do have it set to the appropriate grouping, it might be that the groups are not associated with that grouping. For either, please see our help guide on how to Create Groups and Groupings.

The other possible explanation is that you set your forum type to the Q&A Forum Type, but did not post any questions. When using a Q&A Forum Type you, the instructor, must post first. You are posting the "question." Students then come in and reply to your question with their "answer" (hence the name Q&A). Students cannot post questions, so if there are no questions posted, students are unable to post in the forum. Question posts are not brought over when importing or restoring course content, so they will need to be re-posted each term. You must post the question to each group for the students to be able to answer.

Can I set an assignment to groups? 

Yes, you can create a group assignment using the Assignment activity. A group assignment means when one member of the group submits, the submission is applied to all group members. And when you grade, the grade and feedback is given to all group members.

When you set up the Assignment, you will enable group submissions in the Group Submission Settings section. See the Group Submissions Settings section in our help guide on how to create an Assignment for more information.

You will need to create the groups within your course before they begin submitting to the group Assignment. Please see our help guide on how to Create Groups and Groupings.

Can I use groups with a Turnitin assignment?

Currently Turnitin Assignments do not work with groups. For group assignments you will need to use the Assignment activity.

How can I send an email to just one group?

You can send group members a message from the Participants page. Go to the Course Dashboard and then click on Participants. Filter the list by group using the dropdown arrow in the search box on the left and choosing the desired group. Either check the boxes to the left of the names, or at the bottom click "Select all" to select everyone displayed. From the "With selected users" dropdown at the bottom, select Send a Message. Type your message in the popup text field and click Send message. The message will then be sent to those users (by default messages are forwarded to email).

I have a combined container. Can I sort my gradebook by section to make entering grades in MyCSUSM easier?

Yes, you can sort your gradebook by section but there are a few steps to go through. First make sure you have each section in its own group. Go to your Groups area to confirm. To access, from your course homepage click on the gear icon in the upper right, then Users, then Groups. If you do not have a group for each section, please contact cchelp@csusm.edu and let us know you want groups for your Invididual sections in your combined container. Be sure to include the name of the container. If you see your section groups already, proceed to the next step.

Once you have your section groups, you need to turn on group mode in your course. To do so, from your course homepage click the gear icon in the upper right and then Edit Settings. Go to the Groups section on the right and set the Group Mode to Separate Groups. Leave Force Group Mode set to No. If you set up a Gouping for your section groups, choose the appropriate Grouping. If you did not set up a Grouping for your section groups, ignore. Scroll down and on the left click Save and display. You will now be able to

Important note about Group Mode: Once you turn on Group Mode for the course, any activity (Assignment, Quiz, Forum) created after will be a group activity by default (it will not change any already created activites). Make sure to change the appropriate settings in your new activity if you do not wish for it to be a group activity. This is why it is best to wait to turn on group mode at the end of the term, after all activities have been created.

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