Creating Groups and Group Lockers

No Auto Enrollment – Instructor manually enrolls groups members

Auto-Enrollment – Brightspace automatically enrolls groups members.

Self Enrollment – Students enroll themselves as group members.

Creating a Group Category

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
   • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.
4. In the drop-down menu, select Groups. You will be taken to the Manage Groups page.
5. Click the New Category button.                                             
6. Enter the desired name for the Group Category in the Category Name text box. You also have the option to enter a description in the Description text box.
7. Select an Enrollment type from the drop-down menu. See a description of the enrolment type options in the table below.
8. Enter the number of groups to create and/or the number of students per group.
9. To apply a distinctive prefix to each group name and code in the category, enter it in the Group Prefix field. If you do not fill in this field, the prefix defaults to “Group”.
10. Under Advanced Properties, you have the option to make category and group descriptions visible to group members.
11. Under Additional Options, you have the option to setup a discussion area workspace,  group lockers, or a dropbox folder for each group to submit their assignments in.
12. Click Save to save your settings and return to the Manage Groups page.

Assigning Students or TAs to Groups

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
     • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.
4. In the drop-down menu, select Groups. You will be taken to the Manage Groups page.
5. Select a group category from the View Categories drop-down list to view all groups within that category.
6. Click the drop-down arrow next to the category name in your groups table, then select Enroll Users.
7. On the Enroll Users page, scroll down to the table listing all users enrolled in your course.
   • To add a user to a group, check the box for that user in the appropriate group column.
   • To remove a user from a group, uncheck the box for that student in the appropriate group column.
     

     TIP: Search for a student’s name in the search field to jump to a specific student, or click Show Search Options to access more search filters, including the options to view all users who are currently not enrolled in a group.

8. Click Save to save your enrollments and return to your Manage Groups page.

Creating Groups from Sections (Bulk Enrolling)

Changing Group or Category Names

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
     • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.
4. In the drop-down menu, select Groups. You will be taken to the Manage Groups page.
5. Select a group category from the View Categories drop-down list to view all groups within that category.
6. In your groups table, click the group name that you want to edit. To edit a category name, click the drop-down arrow next to the category above the groups table, then select Edit Category.  
7. Enter a new name in the Group Name or Category Name field.
8. Click Save.

Adding a Group to a Category

1. Log in to Brightspace with your MyCarletonOne credentials.
2. On the Brightspace homepage, locate your course in one of the following ways:
   • • Click on the course tile under the My Courses widget.
     • Click the Course Selector Grid  and select the course from the drop-down menu. If you are enrolled in more than 20 courses, you can search for the course name using the search bar.
3. In the navbar, click Tools.
4. In the drop-down menu, select Groups. You will be taken to the Manage Groups page.
5. Select a group category from the View Categories drop-down list to view all groups within that category.
6. Click the drop-down arrow  next to the category above the groups table, then select Add Group.
7. In the Add Group window, enter a name for the group.
8. Click Save.

When to use:

• Use this enrollment type when you know how many groups you want to create and which users you want in each group.

When to use:

• Use this enrollment type when you know how many users you want in each group. Select this option when you have assignments that require work to be divided between a specific number of users, or when you can only accommodate a set number of users in a lab or work area at one time.
• If you also enable the Auto-enroll new users option and all of the existing groups reach their maximum size, new users are added to a new group. Because there is no way to know how many new users will join, all new users are added to the same group until it is full.
• If users are enrolled after groups are set up, users are added to groups using a bucket-filling algorithm because there is no way for the system to determine how many groups in total are needed. For example, if a maximum group size of 5 users is chosen for a class in which 23 users eventually enroll, the first five users are added to Group 1, the sixth through tenth user to Group 2, and so on. After 23 users are enrolled, groups 1-4 have 5 users and Group 5 has 3 users.
• If the Can be auto enrolled into groups option is cleared, the minimum number of groups needed to create groups under the specified size are created with no users enrolled in them. If no users are enrolled in the course, one group is created. You can enroll users using the Enroll Users page.

When to use:

• Use this enrollment type when you know how many groups you want to create, but want the system to place users in groups for you.
• If the Can be auto enrolled into groups option is enabled, users are added using a brick laying algorithm, regardless of whether they enrolled before or after the groups were created. For example, if a class has 23 users and 5 groups, the first user is added to Group 1, the second to Group 2, and so on. The sixth user returns the enrollment sequence to Group 1. Groups 1, 2, and 3 have 5 users and Groups 4 and 5 have 4 users. If a new user enrolls later, they are put in Group 4.
• If the Can be auto enrolled into groups option is not enabled, the specified number of groups are created with no users enrolled in them. You can enroll users using the Enroll Users page.

When to use:

• Use this enrollment type when you know how many users you want in each group, but you want to allow users to choose their own groups. By default, users cannot self-enroll in more than one group.
• If there are no users enrolled in your course at the time of creation, then only one group is initially created. You can use the Edit Category page to add additional groups.

When to use:

• Use this enrollment type when you want to make a specific number of groups available for users to join. Select this option when you want to organize groups on specific topics. By default, users cannot self-enroll in more than one group at one time.

Note that you can increase or decrease the capacity for self-enrollment groups after they have been created, and prior to the group sign-up expiry date and time. Decreasing a group size to an amount smaller than has already signed up for a group will not re-allocate users to other groups, so you must assign those users manually to other groups.

When to use:

• Use this enrollment type when you know how many users you want in each group, you want to allow users to choose their own groups, and you want each group to have a maximum number of users.

When to use:

• Select this option when you want to create journal type groups with a single member.

View your Groups Categories and Groups

1. Click Tools in your course navbar, then select Groups in the drop-down menu.
2. View your Group categories and Groups in the table. Group Categories are indicated with an arrow.

Create New Categories

1. Click Tools in your course navbar, then select Groups in the drop-down menu.
2. Click New Category.
3. Follow the instructions above.

Edit Categories or Groups

1. Click Tools in your course navbar, then select Groups in the drop-down menu.
   • To Edit a Category:
     1. Click the drop-down arrow next to the category name above the groups table, then select Edit Category.
     2. Make your changes on the Edit Category page, then click Save.
   • To Edit a Group:
     1. Click on the name of a group in your groups table.
     2. Make your changes on the Edit Group page, then click Save.

Add a Group or Category Description

1. Click Tools in your course navbar, then select Groups in the drop-down menu.
   • To add a Category description:
     1. Click the drop-down arrow next to the category name above the groups table, then select Edit Category.
     2. Add a description.
     3. Click Save.
   • To add a Group description:
     1. Click on the name of a group in your groups table.
     2. Add a description.
     3. Click Save.

Check Which Students are Enrolled in What Group

1. Click Tools in your course navbar, then select Groups in the drop-down menu.
2. Under the Members column in your groups table, click on the number indicating how many students are enrolled in the group.
3. You will see a pop-up window displaying a list of group members.

Delete Categories or Groups

1. Click Tools in your course navbar, then select Groups in the drop-down menu.
   • To Delete a Group:
     1.  In the groups table, place a checkmark next to the group(s) you want to delete.
     2. Click the Delete icon above the groups table.
   • To Delete a Category:
     1. Click the drop-down arrow next to the category name above the groups table.
     2. Select the Delete option from the drop-down menu.

Send an Email to all Students in a Specific Group

1. Click Tools in your course navbar, then select Groups in the drop-down menu.
2. In your groups table, click the checkbox to select the group you want to email.
3. Click Email.
4. A Compose New Message window will open. Compose your message, then click Send.