New: Quicklink to self-enrollment groups

Instructors can now insert a Quicklink to self-enrolling groups. This update provides learners a direct path to sign up for their group and a new Group Self-Enrollment screen.

The Self-Enrollment Groups option in the Insert Quicklink menu.

The new Group Selection screen, from the Group Enrollment option in the Insert Quicklink menu.

New: BIG Improvements to Group Discussions

Are you ready for something that will make your life easier with grading group discussions?

A new way to create group discussions is available. Instead of creating multiple topics, instructors can create one group restricted topic. You can create one topic with threads separated by group.



In Discussions:



When you are creating a new topic, on the Properties tab, the topic type defaults to Open topic. Instructors can select the new Group or section topic option instead. Once you create and save the topic, you cannot change the topic type. (If you selected the topic type as open, you can access the original Group Restrictions area on the Restrictions tab.)

In Groups:


To create a new group topic the original way, select the Create one topic per group radio button. To create group categories the new way, select the Create one topic with threads separated by group radio button.

If you create one topic with threads separated by group :
One discussion topic is created for an entire group category and threads within it are associated with specific groups. As a result, instructors observe less scrolling on the discussion list. Instructors can use the new All Groups filter on the topic to view all posts or to only view posts for a specific group. Inside a discussion thread, users can see which group the thread belongs to.

If you create one topic with threads separated by group :
Only one grade item is required. This makes assessing discussion topics faster as instructors do not have to navigate in and out of topics to complete an assessment.


If you create one topic with threads separated by group :
Now, when instructors copy groups to new courses, the group setup (grade item, assessment option, etc.) is also copied over.


Also, and importantly: There is no change in workflow for students as they can only see one discussion topic and the posts within it that are associated with their group, as expected.

New: Single user member specific groups

There is a new group enrollment type called Single user, member specific groups.


Have you ever wanted to make a specific item available to a student exclusively, or wanted to have discussions between yourself and only one student to reflect on learning or carry on a semester long project?


You can now use Single user, member specific groups to do just that.


Using this group category creates a group with a single user where the first name and last name of the student is the name of the group. When a new student is enrolled in the course a new group is automatically created for them. Instructors no longer need to rename groups of one.

BOLT Tips: Course Copy

We thought it might be helpful to give you a few pointers for when you are copying your courses for 17Spring.

	Make sure you are in the new, empty course when you start a course copy.
	Copying the same items from the same source multiple times results in duplicates.
	If you are copying Content and want topics to display, make sure you are also copying Course Files. If you don’t copy Course Files, the content structure will copy over... but not the content of the topics.
	If you are copying linked or associated components (such as grade items), copy the related components at the same time.
	After a successful course copy, make sure to update date restrictions.
	After a successful course copy, make sure to check your group related items and restrictions to ensure groups are set up the way you want.

Improvements to the Groups Tool

Several improvements to the Groups tool will take effect on June 17th in BOLT.

 

Save time in BOLT with these improvements:

 

Automatic creation of discussion topics for new groups.

If you have set up discussion areas for groups in a category, and new groups are created as new students enroll in the course, discussion topics for those groups will be created automatically.

 

Automatic descriptive naming of discussion topics.

If you choose to set up discussion areas for groups in the Groups tool, topics will automatically be named in the format [Category Name] - [Group Prefix] #.

 

For example, if you have a category with 3 groups called Research Project and a Group prefix of Team, your discussion topics would be:

• Research Project - Team 1
• Research Project - Team 2
• Research Project - Team 3

Groups – Enhancements to improve usability and administration

Arriving September 18, 2015, enhancements have been made to the Groups tool that enable learners to join groups more easily, and give instructors and administrators the option to set up and manage groups more efficiently. The enhancements are as follows:

• When creating or editing a group category, the Enrollment Type called # of Groups of # - Self Enrollment has been changed to # of Groups, Capacity of # - Self Enrollment to clarify its usage. 
• When creating or editing a group category, a Group Prefix field is now present. 

New Category page in Groups tool showing new enrollment type and group prefix

• When creating or editing a group category that supports self enrollment, a Set Self Enrollment Expiry Date option is now available. 
• When creating or editing a category, and when Set Self Enrollment Expiry Date is selected, the Allocate unenrolled users after Self Enrollment Expiry Date option can also be selected. 

Self Enrollment options available when editing a Category

• Once a category and groups with capacities have been created, capacity markers display (in the form x/y where x is the number of enrolled students and y is the capacity).
• Students can now see the names of the members of each group before they enroll. 
• Students can now leave a group after they have self enrolled if they choose to enroll into a different group.