Difference between sections and groups

From CLEW Wiki

In CLEW, instructors who wish to conduct group work, must have the groups prepared prior to implementing any functionality for groups within various tools. Sections and Manage Groups are two tools an instructor can use to create and manage subsets of participants within a course. Each tool has some specific attributes to consider when making your decision about which to use to create and manage groups. The attributes are outlined below:

Contents 1 Sections Tool 2 Groups Using the Manage Groups Tool 3 Group-Friendly Tools 4 Related Articles

Sections Tool

Sections can be created and managed using the Sections tool. A section may have a variety of data attached to it, such as category, days of the week, times, and an assigned teaching assistant (in a course site only). An instructor can set several different sections up (where students are only in one category of a section at a time). The Sections tool can create subsets of site participants like the Manage Groups tool.

Sections have the following attributes:

• Sections are managed through the Sections tool.
• You may provide additional information about a section, such as title (required), days, start time, end time, maximum size, and location.
• Sections must be assigned to a given category. Categories include lecture, lab, discussion, tutorial, studio, and recitation.
• In a course site, an instructor may assign a teaching assistant to a section (as designated in the Site Editor tool).
• Participants cannot be in more than one section in a given category.

Groups Using the Manage Groups Tool

Groups are subsets of participants for a given site. You access groups through the Site Editor tool, and select the Manage Groups link. Groups are not preloaded with official course data, and can therefore be created by the instructor. Groups are useful to organize study groups, project teams, and other, non-official subsets of site participants.

Groups have the following attributes:

• Groups are managed through the Site Editor tool with the Manage Groups link. They are also accessible through in My Workspace.
• Groups may have a title.
• Groups are not populated with official course data.
• While groups cannot have an assigned teaching assistant per se, an instructor may create an ad hoc teaching assistant by assigning a participant a specific role in Site Editor.
• Participants can be in more than one group at a time, so care must be taken when assigning participants to not miss them, or duplicate them unnecessarily.

Group-Friendly Tools

Both Manage Groups and Sections prepare and manage groups for the following "Group-Friendly" tools:

• Announcements,
• Assignments,
• Forums,
• Discussions,
• Resources and
• Gradebook.

See the specific tool article for instructions on how to implement group functionality with that tool.

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