This article intended for instructors looking to create and use groups in Ultra Course View.

Overview

In Ultra courses, Groups can be used for several purposes. Groups can be used for Groups Discussions or Group Assignments, as well as giving access to content/assessments to specific groups.

• Instructors can create and manage groups from the Groups tab.

• Groups are created as “Group sets”, which can contain one or more groups.

• There are 3 types of Group sets which can be created:

  • Custom

  • Randomly assign

  • Self-enrollment

Video Instructions

Custom Groups

Custom groups allow instructors to manually create groups and assign students to the created groups.

1. From your Ultra course, click on the Groups tab.

   Open

   

2. From the Groups tab, click New Group Set.

   Open

   

3. From the new window, you can rename the Group Set and see the number of groups.

4. You can also set the visibility of the group:

   1. Hidden from students (Default) means that students can’t see or access the group. This can be used to group students for access or administrative reasons.

   2. Visible to students means students can see and access the group, this is the recommended setting, and required for group assignments or activities.

5. To create a new group, scroll down below the Unassigned students and click the plus sign.

6. You can change the default group name. You can also provide a description for that group (optional).

7. To assign students to a group, click their name cards. Selected students' name cards will turn black.

8. Once all students have been selected, click the 3 dots in any of the selected student cards, then click the name of the group you wish to assign them to.

9. Once assigned, students' name cards will move down to their assigned group.

10. Repeat this process to create additional groups and assign students.

11. Once you have created all your groups, click Save.

Randomly Assign Groups

Randomly assigned groups automatically and randomly assign students to a specified number of groups.

1. From your Ultra course, click on the Groups tab.

2. From the Groups tab, click New Group Set.

3. A new window will appear allowing you to configure the Group set.

   1. Start by naming the Group set.

   2. Next to Group Students, select Randomly Assign.

   3. You can also set the visibility of the group:

      1. Hidden from students (Default) means that students can’t see or access the group. This can be used to group students for access or administrative reasons.

      2. Visible to students means students can see and access the group, this is the recommended setting, and required for group assignments or activities.

   4. Next to Number of Groups, select the number of groups that will be created.

4. You will see the groups below, and can edit their names, give provide descriptions, and edit group membership.

5. Once finished, click Save.

Self-Enrollment Groups

• Self-enrollment allows students to enroll themselves into pre-created groups from the Groups tab.

• Instructors have the ability to change student group assignments or enroll students if necessary.

1. From your Ultra course, click on the Groups tab.

2. From the Groups tab, click New Group Set.

3. At the top you can rename the Group Set.

4. Next, change the visibility status of the Group Set to “Visible to students”. This is required since students need to see the groups to enroll in them.

5. Then select Self-enrollment from the Group students drop-down.

6. From the new window you can configure the groups and advanced enrollment options.

   1. Number of groups: A default number of groups will be given. To create, rename, or delete groups, scroll down below the enrollment options.

   2. Enrollment Start Date: The first day students can self enroll in the group. If a date is not set, students can enroll as soon as the group set is created.

   3. Enrollment End Date: The last day students can enroll in the group. If a date is not set, students can enroll at any time.

   4. Auto-enroll: will randomly enroll unassigned members at the end of the enrollment period (if set). This auto-enrollment does not occur immediately at the Enrollment window end date/time, it occurs around midnight during Blackboard’s system updates.

   5. Maximum members per group: Limits the number of students per group. This number and the number of groups should be set to ensure all students have space to enroll.

   6. Hide enrolled members: Hides the names of students who have already enrolled in that group.

7. You will see the groups below, and can edit the name, and give the groups a description.

8. Click Save.

Group Visibility

In Ultra, Group Sets can be visible or hidden from students.

• If the Group Set is visible to students, they will be able to see their group and group members from the Groups tab.

Any Group Set that will be used for a Group Assignment or Group Discussion must be set to “Visible to students” before it can be selected from the Assignment/Discussion Settings panel.

1. To adjust the visibility setting of a Group Set, click on the Groups tab.

2. The visibility status of the Group Set will be indicated under the set name. To adjust the visibility status, click the “…” on the right, and then Edit.
   
   

3. Then click the visibility drop-down on the top-right. Change the setting to your desired visibility status.

Deleting Groups and Group Sets

1. In the Groups page in your course, locate the Group Set you would like to modify

2. Click the … on the right-hand side
   If you would like to delete the entire Group Set, click Delete, then click Delete and you have successfully deleted the Group Set

3. If you would like to delete a specific Group within the Group Set, click Edit
   
   

   Then, locate the Group you would like to delete and click on the … on the right-hand side. Then click Delete group, and click Delete.