Group Assignments

The Groups tool sets up student work groups. It allows the instructor to restrict access to Discussion topics and Assignment folders on the basis of group enrollment. Students can belong to any number of groups in the same course. 

Create a Group Category

The first step in the process of creating group assignments is creating a Group Category. Categories will organize and manage groups related to specific course activities, i.e. Discussion Group, Case Study, etc. To create a new set of groups, you need to set up a Category.

1. Select Other Tools on the Navbar, then select Groups
2. Select New Category at the top of the screen
3. Enter a name for your group in Category Name

4. [Optional] Enter a Description for your use only
5. Select the arrow next to Enrollment Type and select how you want to assign the members of your groups

You can Manually enroll students into groups, Allow D2L to automatically enroll students randomly, Allow students choose to their groups, or Create a group for each student.

1. 1. 1. Manually enroll students: Select # of Groups – No Auto Enrollment. D2L will create a specified number of groups and you will manually enroll students into each group.
         NOTE: To manually enroll students, go to Verify/Assign Group Enrollment at the bottom of this tutorial.
      2. Automatically enroll students: Select Groups of # and D2L will create groups based on how many students you want in each group, or select # of Groups and D2L will create a specified number of groups.
      3. Allow students to choose their groups using a Self Enrollment option: Select Groups of # – Self Enrollment and students choose their group and you select how many will be allowed in each group, or select # of Groups – Self Enrollment and students choose their group and you select how many groups there will be, or select # of Groups, capacity of # – Self Enrollment. With this choice, students choose their group, while you set the number of groups and how many students are allowed in each group.
      4. Create a group for each student: Select Single user, member-specific groups: D2L will create one group for each student using the student’s name as the group name.

6. Number of Groups/Users: Depending on the chosen Enrollment Type, enter the Number of Groups to create, the Number of Usersper group, or both.
7. Group Prefix: To apply a distinctive prefix to each group name and code in the category, enter it in the Group Prefix  If you do not fill in this field, the prefix defaults to “Group”.
8. If you have chosen a Manual or Auto Enrollment Type, these Groups Options will appear in Advanced Properties. Select Auto-enroll new users and Randomize users in groups. With these options, late course registrants will be auto enrolled and students will be assigned to groups randomly.
9. If you have chosen a Self Enrollment option, the Set Self Enrollment box will appear. Select Set Self Enrollment Expiry Date and complete the deadline for students to self enroll and select Allocate unenrolled …. Students who have not enrolled by the deadline, will be assigned to groups.

NOTE:  If you want to change group enrollments part way through the semester, it is recommended that you create a new group category, rather than moving students from one group to another.

10. Select Save.
11. Optionally you can select Set up discussion areas and Set up assignment submission folders, but we recommend you go directly to Discussions and/or Assignments to set up group discussions or group assignment folders.

Create a Group Assignment Submission Folder

To get started, select Assignments on the Navbar.

1. Select New Assignment
2. Enter a Name for the group Assignment folder, i.e. Week 1 Group Assignment
3. Check the box next to Group submission folder.
4. If the assignment will be graded, select into the Score Out Of box and add the total points possible.
   1. If you have not created a grade item, a grade item will be created automatically.
      If the grade item needs to be placed in an existing grade category, select the In Grades menu, select Choose from Grades, select the Grade Category, then select OK.
   2. If you already have a grade item created, select the In Grades menu, select Choose from Grades, select Link to an existing grade item, select the grade item and select OK.
5. Select the Due Date box to select a Due Date. An ending time of 11:59pm will be automatically entered, but you can change the ending time if needed.
   NOTE: If you only set a Due Date, and do not add an End Date (i.e., step 7 below) students will be able to submit their assignments past the due date; however, you will see a notation of how late the submission was.
6. [Optional] In the Instructions text box, enter instructions to your students regarding the assignment.
7. To set Start and/or End Dates and Release Conditions for the assignment, select the Availability Dates & Conditions menu. Start and End dates control when the student can submit to the folder.
8. Select the Submission & Completion menu to set Assignment Type and other settings.
   1. Assignment Type: Select Group assignment, then select the appropriate Group Category (this step is critical when creating a group assignment)
   2. For Submission type, select one of the following options
      1. File submission: Use this option if the students will submit a document such as Word, Excel, PPT, Image, etc.
      2. Text submission: Use this option if the students need to send you a link to a video that they have created and uploaded to MediaSpace or YouTube, or if you want students to briefly type in a few sentences as their assignment submission.
      3. On paper submission: no file or text submission required.
      4. Observed in person: no file or text submission required.
   3. Choose an option under Files Allowed per Submission by selecting on the radio button next to Unlimited, or One file.
   4. Choose an option under Submissions by selecting on the radio button next to All submissions are kept, Only the most recent submission is kept, or only one submission allowed. 
9. Select the Evaluation & Feedback menu to add a Rubric or enable Turnitin,
10. Select Save and Close. Group Assignment folders will display a group icon.

Verify/Assign Group Enrollment

If you chose to manually enroll students in your groups, the following steps will guide you through the process. If you chose automatic enrollment, you can follow these instructions to view which students are enrolled in each group.

1. Select Other Tools on the Navbar, select Groups.
2. On the Manage Groups page, select the arrow next to View Categories and choose the category, i.e. Case Study.  

3. The Category name (i.e. Case Study) and corresponding Groups will display.

4. Select the arrow next to the Category name (Case Study 2) and select Enroll Users.

5. The group enrollment table will display.

6. Select the checkboxes to assign or reassign individuals to groups.
7. Select the Save button.

View Student Submissions and Leave Feedback

For group assignments, only one member of the group needs to submit their work. After students submit Assignments, you will see a summary of activity such as how many groups have submissions, and due dates.

1. To view group submissions, select the name of an Assignments folder.
2. Select the Evaluate link located to the far right of a group’s name.
3. On the Evaluate Submission page, in the left frame, select the arrow next to the group name to view the members of the group (circled in the image below).
4. To view the submission, select the name of the group file. This will open the file in the document viewer.
5. In the right frame, enter a Grade, if applicable.
6. In the Overall Feedback text box, type in comments you wish to convey to the group regarding their assignment. NOTE: For Group Assignments, the grade and feedback entered will go to every member of the group.
7. If you would like to attach a file or record audio or video, select the icons located under the feedback box, select Upload.
8. Save the Feedback. You have two options:
   1. Publish. The group score and your feedback will be available to the students immediately.
   2. Save Draft: The group score and your feedback will be saved but will not be available to the students. You can save drafts of all student submission feedback and then publish them later.
9. If you saved feedback as Draft, you must Publish the feedback later.
   1. From the main Assignments page, select the folder that has draft feedback saved.
   2. Select the box at the top of the list of groups to select all.
   3. Select the Publish Feedback link, located just above the list of group names
   4. Select Yes.