Dear Bev,

I’m really struggling to understand the difference between Groups and Groupings in iLearn. I want to be able to create a range of groups and apply them to multiple activities and assessments. Can you help me figure it out?

Yours,
Wannabe Groupie

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Dear Wannabe Groupie,

You’re not alone! Even I found iLearn Groups and Groupings a bit baffling in the beginning. Here’s my cheat sheet:

1. Group
2. Grouping
3. Apply to an activity

1. Group

Essentially a Group is a collection of students / users.

For instance, let’s create a Group for each tutorial class.

To create a group:

Tools > Unit Administration > Users > Groups > Create a Group:

Group Name: Tutorial Group 1

+ a brief description in the ‘Description’ field

+ ‘Save Changes’.

Repeat for all Tutorial Groups 2, 3, 4, … etc.

Now, when you return to Groups:

Tools > Unit Administration > Users > Groups

You’ll see all the Tutorial Groups from 1 to … (left) and all the iLearn users (right).

Click the Add/Remove users button:

Then highlight the user names (at right) + click ‘Add’ = appear in group (at left):

Click ‘Back to Groups’ to view.

Want to auto-create internal / external cohort groups?
See the Managing groups for internal and external cohorts guide.

2. Grouping

A Grouping, on the other hand, is like a folder to contain types of groups so we can apply certain Groupings to access specific resources and activities.

For instance, let’s create a grouping for an individual reflection task, including peer comment in tutorial groups, which we’ve created using the iLearn OU_Blog activity.

To create a grouping:

Tools > Unit Administration > Users > Groups > Groupings tab > Create grouping

Grouping name: Reflection Grouping

+ a brief description in the ‘Description’ field

+ ‘Save changes’.

To add Group/s to a Grouping:

Click on the people icon 

Highlight the groups (right)
+ click ‘Add’ to place the selected groups in the Grouping (left):

3. Apply to an activity

Edit the settings of your activity (e.g. OU_Blog).

Under the ‘Common Module Settings’ category you will see options for Group mode and Grouping:

There are three options for Group Mode:

(i) Separate groups
Group members can see only those in their group

(ii) Visible groups
Group members work in their group, but can also see other groups

(iii) No groups
All users are part of one big community

From the ‘Grouping’ field select your preferred group mode – in our example case, ‘Separate groups’.

So there you have it, Wannabe Groupie!

If you need back up, give us a shout: ilearn.help@mq.edu.au or fohs.lds@mq.edu.au, or read the iLearn Groups guide.

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