Overview

A group is a place for members to meet and collaborate. Examples include study groups, interest groups, business groups, and course groups. Each group has its own dashboard, a news feed, a calendar, resources area, forums, wikis, blogs, chat rooms, and RSS feeds. These features are only accessible to members of the group.

Installing Groups

1. Click Admin from the main navigation menu.
   
2. Click App center.
   
3. Install Groups from the Collaboration section. 
   

Group basics

Adding a group

To add a group:

1. Click Groups on the main navigation menu.
   
2. Click + Add.
   

The Add group pop-up displays:

1. Name the group.
   
2. Select a group type:
   
1. Group type helps users identify the purpose of the group. The same features are available for all group types.
   
3. Select a group scope:
   
1. Private: A private group can only be accessed by its members from the Groups tab on their dashboard.
2. Organization: A network group can only be accessed by members of that organization.
3. Business: A business group can only be accessed by members of that business.
4. Click Save.

Please note that if you are a site-level administrator, you can view and admin a group without actually being a group admin, and if you are an organization-level administrator, you can view and admin a group for your organization without being a group admin.

Group members

Adding group members

To view the members of a group and add new members:

1. Click Members from the group navigation menu.
   
2. Click + Add.
   

The People picker displays.

Administrators can also add users to groups directly from the profile page.

1. Access a user's profile page.
   
2. Click the Groups tab.
   
3. Click + Add.
   

1. Select groups.
   
2. Click Submit.
   

Automatic group membership

Administrators can also set up filters that automatically add users to groups based on user attributes. This makes it easy to create groups based on job title or location that are automatically kept up-to-date.

To set up automatic group membership filters, administrators can:

1. Access a group.
   
2. Click Admin from the group navigation menu.
   
3. Click Membership from the fly-out menu.
   
4. Click + Add in the Automatic membership section.
   

The Filter pop-up displays.

1. Select a filter from the Select a predefined filter.
   

To create a new filter:

1. Click on the + icon.
   
2. Select a field from the first drop-down menu.
   
3. Select a condition from the second drop-down list such as contains, equals, and in.
   
4. Type a filtering term.
5. You can also link together multiple filters to refine the group membership by clicking the + icon.
   
6. Once all the filters are added, click Save.
   

1. The automatic group membership filter will both add new users that match the filter criteria and remove those who no longer match them. 
   
1. Users that are added to the group by any other means (such as the people picker) are not affected by automatic membership and they are never automatically removed.
   
2. If a group has an organization scope, it will only match against users that are also in that organization.
   

1. Note that 'Automatic' displays for members that were added by an automatic membership filter.

Adding group assistants

Groups can include an optional group assistant role. Group assistants can:

1. Post and announce to the group news feed.
   
2. Add or remove resources from the group resources area.
   
3. Moderate forums in the group.
   

1. Access a group.
   
2. Click Admin from the group navigation menu.
   
3. Click Features from the fly-out menu.
   
4. Select Assistants in the Left tabs section.
   

The Assistants menu option will appear in the Group navigation menu. To add group assistants:

1. Click Assistants from the Group navigation menu.
   
2. Click + Add.
   
3. Select assistants using the people picker.

Group admins

By default, the creator of a group is automatically a group admin and a group member. To add additional admins:

1. Click Admins from the group navigation menu.
   
2. Click + Add.
   
3. Use the people picker to select additional admins.
   

1. Click Admins from the group navigation menu.
   
2. Select the admins to remove.
   
3. Click Remove.
   

Configuring a group

There are various settings and features that can be enabled for groups.

1. Access a group.
   
2. Click Admin from the group navigation menu.
   
3. Click Configure from the fly-out menu.
   

1. Click the Basics tab.
   
1. Name: Click Edit to update the group name. Click Change picture to update the group picture.
   
2. Description: Click Edit to update the group description.
   
3. Access: The group access code is displayed. Click Reset to create a new access code. Click Don't require access code to remove the access code requirement. 
   
4. Settings: Click Edit to edit the group Type.
   
5. Landing Page: Select which page will serve as the group landing page

1. Click the Features tab on the group Admin page.
   
1. By default, only the most common features are enabled, and less common features such as wikis and chat rooms are disabled.
   
2. Select the features you would like to enable for the group.
   

1. Select Dashboard from the Features tab.

1. Click Dashboard on the group navigation menu.
   
2. Click the Edit icon in the top right corner. 
   
3. Select which dashboard you want to customize: Member dashboard or Administrator dashboard.
   
1. To learn more about configuring the banner widget, visit the Widgets article.

To manage rules related to group membership:

1. Click the Membership tab on the group Admin page.
   
2. Settings: Click Edit if you would like to set a maximum number of group members.
   
3. Added actions: Click + Add to add actions that will be triggered when new members are added to the group, such as:
   
1. Add to group: Add the user as a member into a specific group.
   
2. Award badge: Award a badge to the user.
   
3. Award certificate: Award a certificate to the user.
   
4. Award points: Award points to the user.
   
5. Enroll in a course: Enroll the user into a specific course.
   
6. Enroll in a path: Enroll the user into a specific path.
   
7. Remove from group: Remove the user from a specific group.
8. Send custom notification: Send a custom notification to the user.
   
9. Send the "group member added " canned message: Send the "group member added " canned message to the user.
   
10. Webhook: Invoke an API.
    
11. xAPI: Invoke xAPI
    
4. Removed actions: Click + Add to add actions that will be triggered when members are removed from the group. The available actions are similar to the Added actions.
   
1. An example of a helpful removed action: You may want to create a notification to group admins when a member leaves the group.  
   

To manage how the group is displayed in the catalog:

1. Click the Catalog tab on the group Admin page.
   
2. Settings: Click the Publish checkbox to publish the group in the Groups catalog. If you do not want the group to appear in the catalog, deselect the checkbox.
   
3. Visibility: Click + Add to add visibility filters, so that only select users can view the group in the catalog.
   

To manage the group News feed:

1. Click the News feed tab on the group Admin page.
   
2. The first checkbox allows you to allow, or disallow, comments on news feed announcements.
   
3. Post actions: Click + Add to add actions that are triggered when users post on the news feed.
   
1. For example, you can add an action that awards game points to users that post to the news feed.
   
4. Reply actions: Click + Add to add actions that are triggered when users reply to posts on the news feed.

To manage permissions for the group:

1. Click the Permissions tab on the group Admin page.
   
1. The Permissions page allows you determine if you would like to allow leaders to enroll members or run reports. You also have the ability to allow, or disallow, members to edit group resources.
   

Tagging groups

Group admins can add tags to groups. To add tags to a group:

1. Access the group's landing page (Dashboard or News).
   
2. Click the + icon in the Tags row of the Admin widget. 
   
1. Type tags into the text box. You can multiple tags by typing a comma after each tag.
   
2. To remove tags, click the X icon on the tag.
   
3. Click Save when you are finished adding tags.
   

Configuring right bar widgets

Group administrators can configure the widgets on the right panel of the group landing page. 

1. Access a group's landing page (Dashboard or News).
   
2. Click the Edit widgets    icon in the upper right corner of the group.
   
3. Select if you would like to edit the Members dashboard or the Administrators dashboard.

1. To add new widgets, move them from the 'Available widgets' panel to the right panel using drag-and-drop.
   
1. Note, if you are configuring the Dashboard, you will drag widgets from the Available widgets panel on the right to the Dashboard panel in the center.
2. To change the order of the widgets, move them into their new position using drag-and-drop.
3. To remove a widget from the right bar, click on its Ellipsis icon and select Delete, or move the widget back to the "Available widgets" panel using drag-and-drop.
   
4. When you have finished configuring the widgets, click Save.
5. If you want to discard the changes you made, click Cancel.
6. If you edit a custom widget arrangement, you can reset it back to the initial defaults by clicking Reset.
7. If you remove all the widgets from the right panel, then it will be automatically hidden.
   

HTML widgets

You can add multiple HTML widgets to the right or center panel. To configure an HTML widget:

1. Click the Edit widgets    icon in the upper right corner of the group.
2. Click the ellipsis icon on the widget.
   

1. Click Settings from the drop-down to:
   
1. Add a widget name.
   
2. Select if you want the widget to be minimizable.
   
3. Click Save.
   

1. Click Editor from the drop-down to:
   
1. Use the HTML editor to build the content of the widget.
   
2. Click Save to save changes.

1. Click Delete from the drop-down to:
   
1. Delete the HTML widget.
   

Custom report widgets

You can add multiple report widgets to the right or center panel. To configure a report widget:

1. Click the Edit widgets    icon in the upper right corner of the group.
2. Click the ellipsis icon on the widget.
   

1. Click Report from the drop-down menu.
   
2. Select a scheduled report.
   
3. Click Save.

The selected report will be added to the right panel. The data is refreshed every time the report runs based on the defined schedule.

To modify the report widget:

1. Click the Edit widgets    icon in the upper right corner of the group.
2. Click the ellipsis icon on the report widget. 
   
3. Click Title to rename the widget.
   
4. Click Delete to delete the widget.

Please note that you can only attach widgets to scheduled reports that return a chart. 

Rules for group members

Automation page

The Automation page allows group administrators to view all rules for the group. To enable the Automation page:

1. Access a group.
   
2. Click Admin from the group navigation menu.
   
3. Click Features from the fly-out menu.
   
4. Click the Automation checkbox.

1. Click Automation from the group navigation menu.
   
1. Current actions will display.
2. Click Edit. 
   
3. Click + Add in the Added actions section to add rules that are triggered when users are added to the group.
   
4. Click + Add in the Removed actions section to add rules that are triggered when users are removed from the group.

Group games

Much like courses, you can add games to groups. To enable games for a group:

1. Access a group.
   
2. Click Admin from the group navigation menu.
   
3. Click Features from the fly-out menu.
   
4. Click the Games checkbox.
   

1. Click Games on the group navigation menu.
   
2. Click + Add. 
   
3. Enter a game name and determine if you want members to level using points or periodic promotion/demotion.
   
4. Click Save.
   

1. Click Edit to add or edit a game description. 
   
2. Click Delete to delete the description.

Next, create levels for your game. To add a new level for the game:

1. Click + Add from the Levels section.
   
2. Enter the name of the level, a description, and the number of points needed to achieve the level.
   
3. Click Save. 
   

To learn more about building your game, visit the Course games article.

Group news feed

The group news feed aggregates the main contents of the group, announcements, today's events, and upcoming events. When you first access the news feed, the latest posts and replies display at the top of the feed.  If you continue to scroll, more items automatically display. When the end of the feed is reached, the message "no more news" is displayed.

Posting to the feed

To post to the feed, click the post option available to your account type: 

1. Group administrator: Click + Post to post a message or Announcement to post a group announcement.
   
1. Click the Sticky checkbox if you want the post to appear at the top of the feed.
2. Instructor: Click + Post to post a message.
   
1. Click the Sticky checkbox if you want the post to appear at the top of the feed.
   
3. Learner: Click + Post to post a message if group policies allow it.
4. Parent: None.

Subscribing to the news feed

If you would like to receive notifications for new group posts, announcements, and messages:

1. Click News on the group navigation menu.
   
2. Click Subscribe.
   
1. Click Unsubscribe to unsubscribe from the group news feed.
   

Deleting a group

To delete a group:

1. Access a group.
   
2. Click Admin from the group navigation menu.
   
3. Click Delete from the fly-out menu.
   
4. Click Confirm.
   

Catalog

To view the Groups catalog:

1. Click or hover over Groups on the main navigation menu.
   
2. Click Catalog.
   

1. Type a search term in the text box to begin searching.
   
2. Use the Type drop-down menu to filter by group type.
   
3. Use the Scope checkboxes to filter by group scope.
   
4. Click the Reset icon to clear search filters.
   

Adding a course group

You can also create a group for a course or class. Only learners in the course will have access to the group. To add a course group:

1. Access the course or class.
   
2. Click Groups from the course navigation menu.
   
3. Click + Add.
   

The add group pop-up displays.

1. Name the group.
   
2. Select a group type.
   
1. Group type helps users identify the purpose of the group. The same features are available for all group types.
3. Click Save.