If you need to organize students more flexibly than by section for group discussions, projects, or assignments, consider creating groups in the People tab. Students placed into groups will have their own mini Canvas site accessible only to their group members, where they can send announcements, store files, use a discussion board, and share a calendar.
Additionally, Canvas Gradebook can sort students by groups.
By default, Big Blue Button and Collaborations appear in the course navigation of the group. We don’t typically recommend these tools, but they are available if students want to use video conferencing or Google Docs.
Creating Group Sets
To create a group set, go to the People tab and click the +Group Set button. You’ll be prompted to give the group set a name, toggle options for self-signup and sections, and determine the group structure. It is possible to automatically assign students by number of groups or by the total number of students and assign a group leader. When ready to proceed, click Save.
If you configure groups to set up later, you can individually create and name each group within the set and then drag and drop students into those groups.
When creating groups, consider the semester’s add/drop dates. Students who drop a course will disappear from the Canvas site, and students who add after groups were created will appear as unassigned and need to be manually added to a group.
Instructors can visit each group’s mini-site by clicking on the three dots and then Visit Group Homepage.
If you import course content using the Course Import Tool, Group Sets must be set up again. The “Projects Groups” tab won’t automatically have any Groups associated with it in the new course.
Additional Resources
Getting Help
Please contact your Local Support Provider or submit a request to canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.