Groups and Groupwork in Learn Ultra

Who is this guide for?

USA Faculty, IT Admins, and others

What can this guide help with?

This guide will review the various places in Blackboard where groups can be created and the different group features and functions that exist. 

What can groups be used for?

You can organize students into groups so they can interact with each other and demonstrate their knowledge while they learn to appreciate the perspectives of others.

You can create group sets to use for graded work, such as:

• assignments
• tests
• discussions

Creating Course Groups

There are two ways to create groups in Learn Ultra - the first is that the top of the page using the groups button:

The second way is to create groups at the assignment level within the assignment edit page under additional tools:

For most assignments, it is recommended to create groups at the course context as opposed to the assignment context. This is because:

• Groups created at the course context can be reused
• Groups created at the course context receive a "group space" that is easy to view (more on group spaces later).
• Groups created at the course context are much clearer for other instructors and support staff to identify. 

Guide - Create Course Groups

You can create as many course groups as you want, with any number of students in each group. You can also create new course groups or remove course groups.

Groups can be setup in a few ways:

• Custom - instructor sets the groups manually.
• Randomly assign - students are randomly assigned to a group based on a few parameters.
• Self-enrollment - students must enroll themselves into a group
• Reuse groups - any previously created group set 

Create Randomly Assigned/Custom Groups

The major difference here is that for custom groups, the instructor assigns users. For randomly assigned groups, Blackboard assigns users randomly.

Create Self-enroll Groups

You can ask students to self-enroll in course groups. Only students may join. Students receive a course announcement and an activity stream notification about groups they need to join.

You can also add an enrollment period. Students are notified when the enrollment deadline approaches. When the enrollment period ends, students can no longer join groups, and they’re enrolled automatically.

If you added a preview user, that user is also enrolled automatically in a group. You can remove the preview user before or after you create self-enrollment groups.

1. To select Self-enrollment, you must first make the groups visible to students by selecting Visible to students on the top right corner of the New Group Set page.
2. Select Self-enrollment in the Group students menu.
3. Your students are evenly divided among the groups listed next to Number of groups. You need to create at least two self-enrollment course groups.
4. Select the plus sign wherever you want to add another group. The Number of groups updates automatically. You can add and delete groups even after students have started to join. If you delete a group that students have already joined, they’re moved to the unassigned list. You'll need to notify them to join one of the remaining groups or add them to a group. Reminder: If you add an enrollment period, unassigned students are enrolled automatically when the period ends.
5. You can add an enrollment start and end date. Select the arrow next to Advanced options to collapse the enrollment section.
6. You can change or clear the Maximum number of members per group that appears by default. The optional maximum must be 2 or greater. If you add or delete groups, the maximum number doesn’t update.

   Pay attention to the maximum members per group and the number of groups. For example, if you lower the maximum number, some students won’t be allowed to enroll in a group at the end of the enrollment period. You’ll need to create new groups and enroll the students.

   To allow unlimited members per group, leave blank. Students see the maximum number allowed when they make their group selections. If you allow an unlimited number per group, students see the total number of students in their class.

   You can override the maximum membership for a group. For example, you can add a newly enrolled student to a group.

7. Select the Hide enrolled members check box if you don't want students to see who's already joined.
8. Edit each group name if you want to change the default naming.
9. Add optional group descriptions. You can add information to help students choose a group. You have no limit on the number of characters.
10. Open the menu next to a group to access the management options.

Removing or Moving Students from a Group

Instructors may need to adjust the enrollment of a group, which is easy to do in Blackboard Ultra.

Removing a Student From a Group

Moving Students from One group to another

A note on groups:

When an assignment is converted to a group assignment, only students in a group will be able to see the assignment. Similarly, only students within a group will be able to be graded. Prior to accepting submissions, please be sure that all students have been placed or are enrolled in a group.