How do I create small group discussions

From D2L Wiki

Creating small groups for discussions and dropboxes is one of the most commonly asked about features in D2L. The process, although fairly simple, involves several steps. It is often difficult to know where to start if you have already completed one or more steps. Continue reading to begin the process from the beginning. NOTE: Groups has become a tool on its own in 8.3. You do not access it via the classlist anymore. There is greater functionality in that you can create group discussion areas and a group dropbox when creating the small groups.

Creating Groups

The first step in this process is creating groups. You may choose to have the program automatically assign individuals to a group or you may manually assign a student to a particular group.

Create Group Categories

1. Select Edit Course on the nav bar.
2. Select Groups from the column on the right.
   
3. Select New Category at the top of the screen.
   • Note: You will only need to create a category for each combination of students. For example, the discussion groups will remain together for the duration of the course. At the end of the semester students are required to work in groups to complete a final project, if the students will present with their discussion groups, you can use the same category. If students will present with students different from their discussion groups a new "Final Project" category should be created.
4. Complete the fields
   • Category Name: This is a name for your collection of groups, such as "Discussion".
     
   • Description: optional and for your reference only. Most people skip it.
   • Enrollment Style: this determines whether you or D2L will enroll students in individual groups.
     
     • # of Groups - No Auto Enrollment: D2L will create x number of groups but you must manually enroll students in each group.
     • Groups of # - ie each group has at most x people: D2L will create a set of groups based on how many students (x) should be in each group. Students will be randomly be assigned to groups. One of the most commonly used.
     • # of Groups – ie there are x groups: D2L will create a set of groups based on how many groups (x) you request. Students will be randomly be assigned to groups. One of the most commonly used.
     • Self Enrollment – maximum x people per group: D2L will create a set of groups based on how many students (x) should be in each group. Students will select the group in which they would like to work from the Groups tab in the Classlist. Groups will display “Full” and not permit further enrollments when each group’s student limit is reached. You must add Groups to the nav bar when using self enrollment. How do students self-enroll in a group?
     • Self Enrollment – x groups: D2L will create a set of groups based on how many groups (x) you request. Students will select the group in which they would like to work from the Groups tab in the Classlist. Groups will display “Full” and not permit further enrollments when each group’s student limit is reached. You must add Groups to the nav bar when using self enrollment. How do students self-enroll in a group?
   • Number of Users/Groups: specifies how many groups you want to create OR the maximum number of students you want placed in each group. Will read as "Number of Users" or "Number of Groups" depending on your choice of Enrollment Style.
     
   • Advanced Properties: This section will only appear if you chose "Groups of #" or "# of groups".
     
     
     • Auto-Enroll New Users: Click the box to have a student who adds your class after you set up the groups, automatically put into a group.
     • Randomize users in Groups: Check this box to have students randomly assigned to a group.
5. If you want group discussion topics or a group dropbox, select their checkboxes, under Additional Options. If you do not select these options when creating the groups, you can manually create these items in the dropbox or discussion tool.
   
   
   • A group dropbox gives all members of the group access to the same area for turning in assignments and receiving feedback and grades. Any grade you give will be given to all members of the group.
   • Group discussion topics will create topics within specified forums restricted to members of the group.
6. Click the Create button in the lower right corner of your screen.
   • NOTE: If you clicked the boxes to setup Discussion Areas or Dropboxes, you will get screens to assist you in those tasks next.

Verify/Assign Group Enrollment

If you chose to manually enroll students to a group, the following steps will guide you through the process. Similarly, if you chose automatic enrollment, you can use this method to determine which students were assigned in each group.

1. Select Edit Course on the nav bar.
2. Select Groups from the column on the right.
   
3. From the dropdown labeled "Group Categories", choose the group in which you would like to verify/assign enrollment.
   
4. The chosen group will be displayed. Notice that in the example below, Group one has four members, group two and three do not have any members.
   
5. Click the "Enroll Users in Selected Groups" button. (Circled above)
6. The group enrollment table will be displayed.
   
7. Click the checkboxes to assign individuals to groups.
8. Click the Save button.

Set Up Discussion Areas

There are multiple ways to setup discussion areas. Most methods depend on how much you want to do manually and how much you want D2L to automatically create for you. The following instructions start from the beginning, if you already have forums/topics created, skip to the section on "Setting Group Restrictions".

Create a Discussion Forum

When working with small group discussions, Forums help organize discussion questions and the areas in which students will respond to the questions.

1. Click Discussion on the Navigation Bar
2. Click the New Forum Button located near the top of the screen.
3. Add a title and modify any desired forum properties.
4. Click the "Save" button.
5. Click the Forums & Topics List button from the top of the screen.
6. Verify that the forum you created is listed. (It will have a gray/light blue background.)
   

Create Discussion Topics

Topics are the spaces that students can post responses to the discussion questions. Generally there is one topic for each group of students. There are two methods for adding topics to forums.

Manually Create Topics

1. Click Discussion on the Navigation Bar
2. Click the New Topic button located near the top of the screen.
3. Use the dropdown to select the forum in which the topic should be placed.
4. Give the topic a title. (Example: Group 3 Discussion
5. Modify topic properties as necessary.
6. Click Save
7. Continue to Add topics for each small group of students.
8. Modify Group Restrictions (See directions below)

Automatically Create Topics

1. Click Group Restrictions from the "Discussion Areas widget in the upper left corner of the screen.
   
2. From the dropdown labeled "Forum", choose the Forum in which you would like to add topics.
3. From the dropdown labeled "Group Category", choose the Group Category you would like to assign to the discussion Forum.
4. Click the blue link "Automatically create restricted topics"
   
5. Verify that "Group Category" and "Forum" dropdowns contain correct information.
6. Click Create
7. If desired, verify Group Restrictions (see next section)
8. Click "Discussions"on the Navigation bar and verify that topics were created.