Create Groups in a Course

 

Use groups to design special work areas where learners can discuss, share, and submit work as a group. Group Categories house collections of related groups to subdivide the students. This tutorial demonstrates how to create groups in a course within MyFIRE.

 

Note: If the self-enrollment option is selected for the group enrollment type (in step 7), then it is highly recommended to utilize the start and expiry dates for the open enrollment period and not start any required group work (learning activities) until after the expiry date has passed. 


1.    Accessthe desired course in MyFIRE.

2.    From the navigation bar, select the Course Tools tab.

 

3.    A drop-down menu will appear. Select Groups.  

 

4.    When the page refreshes, select New Category 

 

5.    Enter a title for the category in the category name field. Students will be able to view the title.

 

6.    Enter a description for the category. Note: For further instructions on how to utilize the editor textbox, please refer to the how to utilize the MyFIRE editor tutorial.

 

7.    Choose an Enrollment Type. Enrollment types define how learners are enrolled and how many groups are created. Once an enrollment type is set and has been saved, the enrollment type cannot be edited. 

 

a.    # of Groups - No Auto Enrollments: The instructor manually enrolls students into each group. 

b.    Groups of #: The students are auto-enrolled into groups based on the maximum number of students that have been defined. 

c.     # of Groups: The instructor defines the number of groups, and the students are automatically enrolled based on the number of groups. 

d.    Groups of # - Self Enrollment: The students enroll themselves in groups until the maximum number of students has been reached per group.

e.    # of Groups - Self Enrollment: The instructor defines the number of groups and the students enroll themselves into groups.   

f.      # of Groups, Capacity of # - Self Enrollment: The instructor defines the number of groups and the maximum number of students within a group. The students can enroll themselves in groups until the maximum number of students has been reached per group.

g.    Single user, member-specific groups: This option provides a separate group for each student in the course. 

8.    Optionally, the Restrict Enrollments To is related to building subgroups in your course. Choose this option if you would like to restrict enrollment to a specific set of users.  

 

9.    Next, we highly recommend adding a pre-fix to each group’s title. Type the prefix in the Group Prefix field. The recommended nomenclature for the pre-fix is to list the course code. For example, “ENGL 1133 01 -” . MyFIRE will add the prefix and numeration to each group in the category. Groups’ prefix can be edited at a later date if needed. 

 

10. Under Advanced Properties, choose the desired groups options that are available based on the enrollment type of the category. 

 

a.    Note: If the Enrollment Type in step 7 includes self-enrollment for students, then the advanced options will include self-enrollment start and expiry (end) dates. It is highly recommended to enable the start and expiry dates for students to self-enroll within a group.    

b.    As a best practice, if a start and expiry dates are selected for self-enrollment, then select the Allocate unenrolled users after Self Enrollment Expiry Date checkbox.

 

11. For the Additional Options, instructors have the option to create or attach a discussion or assignment for the groups to complete. However, ID&T recommends skipping this option and adding group restrictions within each assignment and discussion learning activity. 

a.    Assignments- Groups can be added in the submission & completion section on the right side of the page when creating an assignment.

b.    Discussions- Groups can be added on the Restrictions tab when creating or editing a discussion forum or topic. 

 

12. Select Save

 

13. A pop-up window will appear informing you that the groups are in the process of being created. Depending on the amount of groups being created and your internet connection, this process may take a few minutes. Select OK

 

14. Select save once again. 

 

15. Once save is selected, you will be navigated to the manage groups page. If the groups are still being created, the group creation in progress message will be visible.   

 

16. Once the groups are created, you will receive a notification in your updates alerts icon at the top of the page. An orange dot will appear if you have an alert message available to you. 

 

17. If the creation process seems to be taking a little longer than expected, try refreshing your screen. If the process is taking longer, ID&T recommends checking back after a short period of time.