The Groups tab under the People section of a course allows you to create, join, or leave groups. This space is provided for you to work, share files, have discussions, and create pages that can be shared amongst your group members. Note that some of this functionality might be restricted by your instructor.

Creating, Joining, and Leaving Groups

If your instructor has enabled this functionality, you should be able to see this screen upon clicking on the Groups tab:

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1. Creating a Group

Clicking on the '+ Group' button will bring up a pop-up that allows you to enter a Group Name, set restrictions on who can join your group (either free to join or by invitation only), and select students to invite to your group. After clicking on 'Submit', your new group will automatically be created (and you will be inside it as well).

2. Joining a Group

If a group has been set to be free to join, then a 'Join' button will show up on the right. Clicking it will let you join the group immediately.

3. Leaving a Group

Once you're in a group, there will be a 'Leave' button on the right. Clicking on it will let you leave the group immediately.

Collaborating in Groups

Once you've joined a group, then will be a 'Groups' icon appearing on your Global Navigation Menu. Clicking it will allow you to either select which group to view or to see all groups that you are in:

canvas groups collab 1.png

Upon selecting a group, you will be brought to a page where you will be able to collaborate with your group members. Note that this page can also be accessed under the Groups tab of the People section of the course.

canvas groups collab 2.png

We will go through these 4 sections quickly before moving on to the next 3 sections:

The Home section is where you can view recent activity within your group.
The Announcements section is where you can view announcements as well as create announcements.
The People section is where you can view your group members.
The Collaborations section is where you can view current collaborations as well as start a new collaboration. For more information on these, do check out the Collaborations page in the guide.

1. Pages

The Pages section of your group allows you to view pages that others have created as well as create pages that can be used to share information. Clicking on the '+ Page' button on the top right brings you to this page, where you can set a page title, type out your content, and set restrictions:

canvas groups pages.png

Canvas Pages provides a versatile approach for organising and displaying resources, with links between pages being possible as well. You can think of it as a Word/Google document that can be used as a collaboration tool amongst your group members. Do explore the editor page to get a feel of what you can do - for instance, you can insert links, images, equations, media, and documents, as well as embed videos.

2. Discussions

The Discussions section of your group allows you to view discussions amongst your group members. For more information on this, do check out the Discussions page in the guide.

You can also create a new discussion by clicking on the '+ Discussion' button on the top right. This will bring you to a page where you can set a topic title, type out your content (similar to the Pages editor above), and choose your settings.

3. Files

The Files section of your group allows you to view files that your group members have uploaded. For more information on this, do check out the Files page in the guide.

You can also upload your own files by clicking on the 'Upload' button on the top right, or dragging files from your computer's file explorer to your browser. To organise the files within your group, simply click on the '+ Folder' button and then move files to whichever folders you want them in.