Managing Groups in Harmonize

Overview

Trying to divide your class into small groups? You can do it right inside Harmonize, regardless of what Learning Management System you use. There are three options for group configuration:

• Divide all students into groups of a certain size
• Divide students into a set number of groups
• Divide students up manually

If you choose one of the first two options, we will carry this over from semester-to-semester and automatically divide the students for you.

Note: Brightspace and Moodle users can only use Harmonize groups in Harmonize activities. Blackboard and Canvas users may use Harmonize group sets or connect to existing group sets from the LMS. See Setting Group Visibility in Harmonize (Canvas) and Blackboard: Groups Sets, Groups, & Group Visibility Settings.

Interactive Tutorial

Use the interactive tutorial below to learn about Harmonize groups. Some tips:

• Turn the volume up! Alternatively, you can mute the demo to view captions.
• Get ready to interact! If you see a flashing purple dot, click it to move forward.

Where to Set up Groups

You can set up groups everywhere groups are available: Discussions, Peer Review, and Social Reading (PDF Annotation).

Groups in Discussions

For a Discussion, you can set up groups directly from the Wizard.

• [1] Check the box that says "Organize students in this discussion in groups." This setting is found at the bottom of the Instructions, right before rubric setup.
• [2] Specify how many students you want in each group. Harmonize will automatically arrange students with this group number as a target, though some groups may end up with more or fewer students.

For Discussions, you can also find and manage groups from the Editor.

• Click Edit on any existing Harmonize Discussion. Then:
  • [1] Navigate to the Post Settings tab.
  • [2] Scroll down to Visibility Settings and change visibility to Students in Same Group.
  • [3] Click Manage Groups.

• You may then follow instructions for Creating Groups Automatically or Creating Groups Manually.

Groups in Peer Review

• Click Edit on any existing Harmonize Peer Review. Then:
  • [1] Navigate to the Peer Review tab.
  • [2] Scroll down to Visibility Settings and change visibility to Students in Same Group.
  • [3] Click Manage Groups.

• You may then follow instructions for Creating Groups Automatically or Creating Groups Manually.

Groups in Social Reading (PDF Annotation)

• Click Edit on any existing Harmonize Social Reading activity. Then:
  • [1] Navigate to the Annotation Settings tab.
  • [2] Go to Visibility Settings and change visibility to Students in Same Group.
  • [3] Click Manage Groups.

• You may then follow instructions for Creating Groups Automatically or Creating Groups Manually.

Creating Groups Automatically

Harmonize offers two options for automatic group creation:

• Divide all students into groups of a certain size
• Divide students into a set number of groups

When you choose one of these options, we will carry this over from semester-to-semester and automatically divide the students for you.

If you want to "Divide all students into groups of a certain size" for a discussion, you can do so directly from the wizard.

For other assignment types (or for "Divide students into a set number of groups"), you will need to use the Editor.

• First, follow the instructions in Where to Set up Groups.
• Next, click Create Group Set.

• Choose a Name for your Group Set.

• Click the dropdown arrow under Setup Type and choose either Divide all students into Groups of a certain size or Divide students into a set number of groups.

• After selecting one of the automatic group types, you can:
  • [1] Choose the number of students per group.
  • [2] Choose to Allow Harmonize to automatically assign newly rostered students to a group.
    • Note: If you don't choose this setting, you will need to manually add newly rostered students to groups after the group set has been created.
  • [3] Click Create Group Set.

• Finally, you have two options:
  • [1] (Not recommended) Click on "Click here" to generate groups immediately. We will generate groups right away.
  • [2] (Recommended) Click "Save & Close" without generating groups. We will generate groups at the last possible moment, when the first students opens the Harmonize activity.

• Warning: You're not done! You still need to select the group set. Begin by clicking the dropdown arrow next to Group Set.

• Select your Group Set.

• Publish your activity.

Creating Groups Manually

Manual groups are available only in the editor.

• First, follow the instructions in Where to Set up Groups.
• Next, click Create Group Set.

• Choose a Name for your Group Set.

• Click the dropdown arrow under Setup Type and then:
  • [1] Choose Divide students manually.
  • [2] Click Create Group Set.

• In the window that appears, you can click the "+" button to create a new group.

• We will create a group titled "Group #." You can then:
  • [1] Optionally rename the group.
  • [2] Delete the group if you no longer want it.
  • [3] Use the arrows next to student names to move them into the group.
  • [4] When ready, click the "+" button again to create another group.

• Keep going until all students are assigned to a group.
• Optional: For large classes, you can go to Search Students to find specific students for each group.

• When you are done, click Save & Close.

• Warning: You're not done! You still need to select the group set. Begin by clicking the dropdown arrow next to Group Set.

• Select your Group Set.

• Publish your activity.

Editing Group Sets

You can access and edit existing group sets by going to any activity where groups are an available option.

• Begin by following the instructions in Where to Set up Groups up to the point where you click Manage.

• If there is no group set currently assigned to the activity, you will see a list of available group sets. You can click on one to view and edit it.

• If there is a group set assigned to the activity, you will be taken straight to a list of groups and members.

• You can then take a variety of actions to edit and manage the group set:
  • [1] All Group Sets. Click here to return to the list of all group sets (e.g., to select a different group or to create a new group).
  • [2] Bulk Assign. This takes you to the group set editor used when Creating Groups Manually.
  • [3] Group Filter. You can filter down to a specific group if desired.
  • [4] Move to Existing Group. Click if you want to move the student to a different group.
  • [5] Edit Group Set. This allows you to regenerate the group set using any of the available options (number of students, number of groups, or manually.
    • Note: Once the groups have been generated, you can no longer regenerate the whole group set. You can still edit the groups manually.
  • [6] Save & Close. When ready, Save & Close.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I use Canvas or Blackboard. Can I still use the group sets from my LMS?

• Yes! You can use the built-in LMS group sets, or you can build your groups and group sets inside Harmonize. If you build inside Harmonize and choose a group size or a number of groups, we will carry your preferences over from semester-to-semester. See also:
  • Setting Group Visibility in Harmonize (Canvas)
  • Blackboard: Groups Sets, Groups, & Group Visibility Settings

Q. Why can't I edit my group set?

• If you're a Canvas or Blackboard user, you might be looking at a group set that was created inside your LMS. In that case, you will need to go to your LMS to make changes.

Q. Why are my groups the wrong size?

• We do our best to sort students into groups that are roughly the right size. However, we might have to make some changes, depending on the number of students in your course. It's also possible that you chose to set the total number of groups instead of setting the number of students per group. Double check your settings, and reach out to us if you need help: support@harmonizelearning.com.

Q. Do I need to set up my groups each semester?

• If you choose "Divide all students into groups of a certain size" or "Divide students into a set number of groups," we will save your settings and use them next semester. How do we do this? We set up groups at the last possible moment, when the first student enters the Harmonize activity. At that point, we create groups based on the existing roster. You can even choose to let us add new students to groups automatically!

Q. If I let Harmonize automatically divide my students into groups, how does Harmonize actually do that?

• We make sure groups have more than one person. Regardless of the settings you select, we make sure that each group has at least 2 students so that no student is stuck in a group by themselves.
  • Example: If you have 20 students in your class and ask for 20 groups, we will instead create 10 groups of 2 students.
• We keep groups similar in size. When the number of groups option is chosen, we randomly assign students evenly among the groups, ensuring all groups’ sizes are within 1 of each other.
  • Example: If you ask for 6 groups and have 20 students in your class, we will create 4 groups of 3 students and 2 groups of 4 students.
• If you specify a certain number of groups, we get as close to that we can. If the number of groups requested is greater than half the roster size, then fewer groups will be made while still ensuring that each group has at least 2 students and has a size within 1 of every other group. This is the "groups # > (roster/2)" rule.
  • Example: If you ask for 6 groups but only have 9 students in your class, we will create 3 groups with 2 students and 1 group with 3 students.
• If you specify a group size, we get as close to that as we can. When groups of a certain size is chosen, we take (roster size / requested group size) and round to the nearest whole number. We create that number of groups and randomly assign students among the groups, ensuring all groups’ sizes are within 1 of each other.
  • Example 1: If you ask to have 10 students in each group and your class has 34 students, we will create 3 groups: 2 groups will have 11 students, and one group will have 12 students.
  • Example 2: If you ask to have 10 students in each group and your class has 36 students, we will create 4 groups, and each group will have 9 students.

Q. What happens when students add or drop the class?

• When students are dropped for the course roster, they are automatically removed from all groups
• If a group set is configured to auto assign new students, Harmonize will add any new student to the group of the smallest size
  • If multiple groups are tied for the smallest size, the student will be randomly assigned to one of them
• If a group set is not configured to auto assign new students, Harmonize will leave those students unassigned and the instructor must manually assign them to a group
• At no point will Harmonize ever automatically create new groups, delete existing groups, or reshuffle group assignments due to a roster change