Categories
Group Work/Collaboration

Create Groups in Canvas

Last updated on October 19, 2021

Canvas makes it easy to create small and large groups of students for projects, assignments, discussions and more! Groups can also increase student to student interactivity and engagement in your online course.

Directions

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  1. Go to MSU Denver’s Faculty and Staff Hub.
  2. Click Canvas in the Teaching & Learning section.
  3. Log in to your Canvas Account.
  4. Select the Course you’d like to work in.
  5. Click People in the navigation menu on the left side of the page.
  6. Click the + Group Set button.
  7. Give your new group set a Title (e.g. Presentation Groups).

To Allow Students to Sign up for Groups Themselves

  • Select Allow Self Sign-up.
  • Select the Number of Groups you would like to have beside Group Structure.
  • Select a Number to limit the number of students who can be in a group.
  • If you would like Canvas to automatically assign a Student Group Leader, select Automatically Assign a Student Group Leader.
    • Choose either Set First Student to Join as Group Leader (whoever joins the group first will be the leader) or Set a Random Student as Group Leader.

To Create Groups Immediately without Student Self-Sign Ups

  • Do not select Allow Self-Sign Up.
  • Select Split Students into [Insert Number of Groups].
  • Select I’ll Create Groups Manually if you will manually announce student groups later. If you want Canvas to create groups now, skip this step.
  • If you would like Canvas to automatically assign a Student Group Leader, select Automatically Assign a Student Group Leader.
    • Choose either Set First Student to Join as Group Leader (whoever joins the group first will be the leader) or Set a Random Student as Group Leader.

Your group set will now have its own tab. If you selected the option to create groups manually, select the New Group Tab and then click on + Group.

  1. Type a Title for the Group (e.g. Group A).
  2. Type a Number to limit how many students can be in each group (if different than the number you typed in earlier).
  3. Click Save.
  4. Drag and drop Students’ Names into their appropriate groups.