Creating a Single Manual-Enrolled Group

This lesson will demonstrate how to set up a single group in which the instructor enrolls students into the group.  For instructions on creating a group where the students enroll themselves, please refer to the guide on creating a Self-enrolled Group. If you are interested in creating multiple groups at once, please refer to the instructions for creating group sets (self-enrolled, manually enrolled, or randomly enrolled)

Accessing the Groups Tool

Image of the Blackboard Control Panel with the following annotations: 1.Click on Users and Groups.2.Then click on Groups.

Log into Blackboard and go to the Control Panel.  

  1. Click on Users and Groups.
  2. Then click on Groups.

Creating an Individual Group with Manual Enrollments

Image of the Groups screen in Blackboard with the Create Button outlined with a red circle with instructions to click on create. In the menu, under the Single Group section, Self Enroll is highlighted with a red circle with instructions to click on Manual Enroll.

You will now see a screen labeled Groups that lists all the groups created within the course.

The Self Enroll feature allows students to select the groups they want to enroll in. To create a group set with student-selected enrollments, click on the Create button and select Self Enroll from the menu in the Single Group column.

Setting up the Group Information

Image of the Create Group: Group Information with the following annotations: 1.Name: Enter a name for the group set under the space marked Name.  Blackboard will automatically append each group within the group set with a number2.Description: Enter a description for the group set here.3.Group is visible to students: Select Yes to make the group set availabile to students.

You will now see a screen labeled Create Grou. Group Information allows instructors to enter the group set name and description.

  1. Name: Enter a name for the group set under the space marked Name.  Blackboard will automatically append each group within the group set with a number
  2. Description: Enter a description for the group set here.
  3. Group is visible to students: Select Yes to make the group set availabile to students.

Setting up Group Tool Availability and Settings

Image of Tool availability with the following annotations: 1.Blogs: Check the checkbox here to enable the Blogs tool.  Additionally, grading options can be enabled by selecting Grade.2.Collaboration: Chick this checkbox to allow students to create live chat and virtual classroom sessions for the group.3.Discussion Board: Check this checkbox to enable the group discussion board.  Additionally, instructors can choose to permit students to create their own forums in the group, or instructors can choose to prevent students from creating their own forums.4.Email: Check this checkbox to allow students to send emails to each other within the group.5.File Exchange: Check this box to allow students to share files with each other within the group.6.Journals: Check this box to enable the Journal tool within the group.  Additionally, grading options can be enabled by selecting Grade.7.Tasks: Check this box to allow students to create tasks for group members.8.Wikis: Check this box to enable the Wiki tool in the group environment.  Additionally, grading options can be enabled by selecting Grade.9.Commercial Content Tools: Check this box to enable tools provided by an external tool provider.

Tool Availability allows you to enable and disable individual tools for student use within the groups.  To enable a tool, check the checkbox next to the tool name.  To disable a tool, uncheck the checkbox next to the tool name.

  1. Blogs: Check the checkbox here to enable the Blogs tool.  Additionally, grading options can be enabled by selecting Grade.
  2. Discussion Board: Check this checkbox to enable the group discussion board.  Additionally, instructors can choose to permit students to create their own forums in the group, or instructors can choose to prevent students from creating their own forums.
  3. Email: Check this checkbox to allow students to send emails to each other within the group.
  4. File Exchange: Check this box to allow students to share files with each other within the group.
  5. Journals: Check this box to enable the Journal tool within the group.  Additionally, grading options can be enabled by selecting Grade.
  6. Tasks: Check this box to allow students to create tasks for group members.
  7. Blackboard Collaborate Ultra: Check this box to allow students to use Blackboard Collaborate Ultra for live collaboration in their group environment.
  8. Wikis: Check this box to enable the Wiki tool in the group environment.  Additionally, grading options can be enabled by selecting Grade.

Setting up Module Personalization Settings

Image of Module Personalization Settings with Allow Personalization checked.

Module Personalization Settings allows instructors to permit students to personalize the appearance of the group home page.  To allow students to personalize the group home page, check the box labeled Allow Personalization.

Modifying the Group Set Options

Image of Group Options with the option labeled Create Smart View For this group

Group Options allows instructors to create a smart view for the group. Check the box for Create smart view for this group to create a smart view in the grade center that allows instructors to view the group members within the Grade Center.

Adding Group Members

Image of Section 5: Membership with the Add Users button outlined by a red circle.

Membership allows instructors to add members to the group.  To add members, click the Add Users button.  The step below will provide additional details on adding users.

Selecting Students

Image of the Add Users screen with the following annotations: 1.Search: Use the search bar and the criterion selectors to search for a specific user to add.2.Show all course roles: Check this option to list users with roles other than student.3.The list of course users will appear here.4.Check the checkboxes to select the users you wish to add.5.Use the page navigation buttons to navigate between multiple pages.6.Click the Show All button to show all users on one page.7.Click the Edit Paging button to manage how many users are listed per page (maximum: 200 per page)8.When finished, click the Submit button to add the users to the group.

You will now see a screen labeled Add Users:

  1. Search: Use the search bar and the criterion selectors to search for a specific user to add and click Go to search.
  2. Show all Users Regardless of Role: Check this option to list users with roles other than student.
  3. The list of course users will appear here.
  4. Check the checkboxes to select the users you wish to add.
  5. Use the page navigation buttons to navigate between multiple pages.
  6. Click the Show All button to show all users on one page.
  7. Click the Edit Paging button to manage how many users are listed per page (maximum: 200 per page)
  8. When finished, click the Submit button to add the users to the group.  

After clicking Submit, you will then be returned to the Edit Group Screen, and the students will have been added to the list of group members.

Finishing Up

Image of the Membership section showing a confirmation message that the users were added successfully. The submit button at the bottom of the page is outlined with a red circle.

After you have edited the group membership, you will see a purple bar indicating that the selected users have been added to the group.  When finished, click the Submit button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.