When we upgrade Blackboard this summer, there will be a number of valuable improvements to the Groups feature. The Groups feature allows instructors to place students into groups and give them a dedicated group area where they may use blog, journal, wiki, calendar, task management, file exchange, and discussion board functionality. Adaptive Release rules can be set so that groups see different content within their Blackboard course based on which group they belong to.
With the upgrade new functionality will be available that improves the administration of groups for Instructors.
Easily add / remove group tools
Using a matrix interface instructors may tick and cross tools that they wish to be made available to groups in their course.
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Export Group and Group Memberships Lists
Instructors may export their group details to Excel Files.
Import Groups and Group Membership Lists
Likewise instructors may import group members via a CSV file. This is much faster than picking students from a long list.
The CSV file may be easily created using Notepad or Excel:
Create Smart Views from Groups
Grade Centre Smart Views allow instructors to quickly filter their view of their Blackboard course’s Grade Centre so that only a subset of students are shown. A new feature has been added to create Grade Centre Smart Views based on group membership. When taken along with the ability to import group members it will now be easy to create smart views of personal tutor groups.
Holistic view of which students are in which groups
Currently to see which students are in which group requires the instructor to view each group one by one and note the membership list. In the new Blackboard instructors can view a list of all their students and are shown to which, if any, groups each student belongs. Students may also be added to and removed from groups on from this screen.
