1. Automatically created groups in Moodle

You will find that a number of groups are already present in your module. These have been automatically generated based on cohort data from MISIS.

The groups are created based on module CRN term, campus, and part of term. There may also be groups automatically created based on other criteria such as campus mode.

You can use these groups to make larger groupings in order to release different materials or activities to different groups of students.

You can use these, for example, to release a Turnitin assignment to the Hendon part time student cohort by selecting, in the example above, 07-Hendon-PT (2).

The number in the brackets indicates how many students make up that particular group. Here’s a short explanation on how to interpret the group names.

Programme cluster groups

Module groups

Module cluster groups

2. Creating custom groups

My Learning is populated with automatically generated groups within each module and programme area. These groups are based on cohort information in Misis, however, you can also create ad hoc groups.

Creating custom groups

To access and manage the groups within your module or programme area, remember to Turn Editing On

1. In the Settings block select Users and then Groups
   
   
   In the left column you will be able to see all the groups that are automatically generated based on cohort information in Misis. Learn more about these groups by reading our detailed guide [link here]
   
   
2. To create another group, click on Create
   
   
3. Enter the name for the new group.
   
   
4. Click the Save button

The groups that you have just created are "containers" ready to be populated. The zero in brackets next to the name indicates that there are no students placed in the groups yet.

The next step now is to populate these groups with the students.

1. Select the group
2. Click on Add/ remove users.
   
   
3. You can now select the students you want to add to the group. A list of students who are all enrolled in your module will appear in the right column called Potential Members. You can select individual students by holding down the CTRL key/ Command key on the keyboard and clicking to highlight the students you want to add into the group.
4. Then click the Add button.
   
   

With the group created, click on Back to Groups. The groups page will show the list of groups on the left with a summary of how many members are in each group. If one is selected, it will list the members on the right.

3. Creating and manging groupings

A "grouping" is a collection of groups. They allow you to quickly create and selectively release activities or resources to a number of groups.

The easiest way to explain groups and groupings is with the help of an example/ scenario.

One of the assessment task students have to complete on ART1000 is a group presentation. To help them communicate and plan their work, the tutors want to create a discussion forum for each group. Here is how they can easily do this:

1. Create groups and allocate members to each group
2. Create a grouping that is made up of all the groups
3. Create a discussion forum and release it to the grouping just created. As a result each group now has their own discussion forum.

Create a Grouping

1. In the Settings block select Users and then Groups
2. At the top of the screen, click on Groupings
   
   
   
   
3. Click on Create Grouping
   
   
4. Enter the name.
   
   
   It is recommended that you fill out the description to remind you (and your colleagues) of the purpose and composition of the grouping.
5. Click Save changes.
6. Click on the show groups in grouping icon (the third from the left)
   
   
   
   
7. Holding down the CTRL key/ Command key select the groups
   
   
   
8. Click Add

The final step is to now set up the activity and use the grouping set up to scale the activity.

You can use grouping to:

• set up group discussion forums
• set up group wikis
• set up group attendance
• Set up a Moodle assignment or Turnitin assignment for a grouping.

4. How to create group discussion boards

The following scenario will demonstrate how to set up group discussion forums on your module.

One of the assessment task students have to complete on ART1000 is a group presentation. To help them communicate and plan their work, the tutors want to create a discussion forum for each group. The tutors need to:

1. Create groups and allocate members to each group
2. Create a grouping that is made up of all the groups
3. Create a discussion forum and release it to the grouping just created. As a result each group now has their own discussion forum.

How to create group discussions

The third step is to set up the activity and use the grouping set up to scale the activity. You can create a discussion forum and release it to the groups by editing the settings on the forum.

1. Under Common module settings select group mode. Chose Separate groups if you want students to only be able to see their own group forums or Visible groups if the students should be able to see other groups’ forums too.
   
   
   
   
2. Select the grouping
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save and return to course

As a result, the 3 groups that made up the grouping now each have a discussion forum. These different forums appear once you access the activity. You can use the drop-down menu to select which forum you’d like to visit.

The grouping name is listed next to the forum’s title as a reminder.

Check membership

If you have any issues about a student not being able to see the activity, please check the student's enrollment into the appropriate group.

1. In the Settings block select Users and then Groups
2. Click on Overview
   
   
3. The groups, groupings and their membership is displayed on the page.
   
   

There are filter controls at the top so you can select the individual grouping you are interested in identifying, and the members within a group. These controls help you to quickly identify if the correct students can see the activity you have set up for them.

5. Assigning groups to wikis

The following scenario will demonstrate how to set up group wikis on your module.

One of the assessment task students have to complete on ART1000 is a group presentation. To help them communicate and plan their work, the tutors want to create a wiki for each group. The tutors need to:

1. Create groups and allocate members to each group
2. Create a grouping that is made up of all the groups
3. Create a wiki and release it to the grouping just created. As a result each group now has their own space within the wiki.

Creating group wikis

1. Create a wiki.

2. Release it to the groups by editing the settings.

3. In Wiki Settings - wiki mode select Collaborative wiki.

4. Within Common Module Settings, in Group Mode from the drop-down select Visible groups or Separate groups. (If you can't see all the options, click on Show advanced.)

• Seperate groups wiki allows you to create one wiki per group, students in that group are able to edit the wiki other students cannot view the page.
• Visible groups wiki allows you to create one wiki per group, group members can edit the wiki and other groups can view the page.

5. Select the grouping you have created.

6. Click on Save and return to course.

How to access the group wikis

Click on the title of the group in the drop down menu:

6. How to set up group attendance

The following scenario will demonstrate how to set up the Attendance activity for gruops on your module.

One of the assessment task students have to complete on ART1000 is a group presentation. To help them communicate and plan their work, the tutors want to create a wiki for each group. The tutors need to:

1. Create groups and allocate members to each group
2. Create a grouping that is made up of all the groups
3. Create the Attendance activity and release it to the grouping just created.
   

Assign attendance to Groups/Groupings

Turn editing on

Add an Activity/Resource and select Attendance.

Give a name to the Attendance activity e.g. session one, seminar one.

Select Group Mode if you want to take attendance based on selective groups, you would need to add new attendance set for each group.

No Groups set attendance for the entire class. Visible refers to if you want students to see the attendance activity or not.

Restrict access for attendance i.e. when you would like the activity to be activated or close.

Click on Save and return to course when finished.

From the Attendance dashboard, you can view sessions, add sessions, access reports, export and modify settings for attendance.

From the Add session select Session type i.e. Common or Group.

From Groups select the group you are creating attendance for, in this case it's the group called Hamlet.

Multiple sessions allows you to set up attendance for the entire semester.

Session date or Session end date here you can specify when the group meets or seminar time and when they will end (last day of semester).

Session duration allows you to set the session duration i.e. how long is the session or class duration e.g. 01:00 (one hour duration).

Session days allows you to set what day(s) of the week your class or seminar meets.

Frequency allows you to specify the frequency of seminar or class i.e. once a week for the next 3 weeks.

Description is optional.

Once you have all the settings complete click on Add session.

You will get the confirmation that the "Sessions successfully generated".

Click on Attendance and this will take you directly to the sessions created.

Attendance sessions created earlier, to take attendance click on the Green circle next to the date you want to take attendance for.

Displays all members in your session or seminar, you can now take attendance for that specific date.

Cick on Save attendance when finished.

Exporting attendance, In attendance click on the tab 'Export'. Select the settings for the export, its recommended that export attendance as an Excel document.