Your learning platform works with three different group formats that support collaborative learning and working, as well as the creation and management of digital learning resources. Depending on the application, course-related or independent groups can be created.
Group types
The system provides three different types of groups:
Learning groups / learning areas | Learning groups are linked to one or several courses. They are used for enrolment and registration purposes and can only be created by authors or other users with extended rights. They are always created within or depending on a course resource. They can be used to configure access or visibility rights to both learning resources and course elements and are crucial for awarding certificates and assessments. Only users who are enrolled in a learning group can receive certificates. Several learning groups of a course can be summarised into learning areas. Learning areas can also be used to control access to learning resources or course elements. Learning groups and learning areas are created and managed in the group management of a course. The section Group Management within the course describes how to create, configure and edit learning groups in the course to fit your scenarios. Cross-curricular groups are learning groups that are shared among several courses and can only be created by group administrators. With the automatic enrolment, users can be enrolled in a learning group directly after opening the course and do not need a course element of the type enrolment. For detailed instructions on how to configure this function of the course editor, see the help page Edit course. |
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Working groups | Working groups can be created and used independently of courses. They enable collaboration between group members, exchange of documents, and communication via email or forum within the said working group. They are an appropriate means of student self-organisation, compared to other resources and groups (e. g. learning groups), which can only be managed by authors. For further general information on how to use working groups, see the help page Create and delete working groups. |
Right groups | Right groups allow the assignment of specific author rights for a particular course. They are created and managed by course owners. Course owners can, for example, assign the right to edit or assess a course or to manage groups within the course to other users without having to declare them as owners and thus as fully equal administrators of their learning resource. |
Find and open groups
Groups can be found in various ways. To open a group in the group view, click on the group's title. Depending on the context, the group will either open in a new tab or directly in the course. You can find groups, for example, using
- the advanced search
- the portlet My groups
- the area Teach & Learn> My groups or
- the area Groups in the course.
Search
You can search for groups via the search field in the upper right corner of the learning platform. Enter the title of the group and click on the magnifying glass icon. The tab Search results opens. Select the function Advanced search and activate the checkbox Groups. Please note that only groups in which you are enrolled as a participant or tutor will be displayed. Further information can be found in the section Search and find content. |  |
Portlet "My Groups"
On the home page in the portlet My Groups, you will find all groups in which you are enrolled as a tutor or participant. The portlet also allows you to open a selected group directly. More information about portlets and their configuration options can be found in the section Personalise home page. |  |
Teach & Learn
Another option to access your groups is via the area Teach & Learn. In the menu on the left under My Groups, you will find your groups divided into those you supervise and those in which you are enrolled as a participant. When you are invited to a group, another menu entry is displayed. |  |
In the course
You will also find your learning groups in the associated course. At the end of the course menu, you will see the entry Groups, which can be expanded via the triangle icon. A list of groups that are referenced in the course opens. You can, however, only see groups you are participating in or for which you have editing rights. You will also receive an overview of all groups in the course by directly clicking on the entry "Groups". In this case, the table Groups in the course opens in the middle of the page. The displayed groups can be directly opened in the course context. Just click on the group name in the course navigation or in the overview "Groups in the course". |  |
Mark as favourite
Mark a group as a favourite via the star icon to find it faster. For more information, see the section Favourites.
Further information
The following sections explain how to create, manage and configure groups: