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Blackboard Original - Create Groups in Merged Course and Smart Views

Below are instructions on how to create groups for individual sections (child courses) in the merged, Parent, Blackboard Original course.

To share particular information with separate course sections of students in a merged (Parent/Child) course, you'll need to create Groups for each section in Blackboard Original.

Note: for help with Parent courses that have more than 700 students enrolled  - contact IT Help Desk to submit a ticket. 

Create a Group Members File:

(containing a list of all group memberships with course sections users are enrolled in)

  1. In the Parent course, open the full Grade Center, click Work Offline > Download
  2. Download the Grade Center data to Excel - Select the User Information Only option
  3. In Excel, delete all of the columns except for the username and Child Course ID
  4. Move the Child Course ID column to the left so it's the 1st column
  5. Save the file as a CSV file and close the workbook 

Create a Groups File:

(containing a list of all groups with group titles)

  1. DOWNLOAD and Save this CSV template file to your computer
  2. Open the BbGroups.CSV file in Excel
  3. Fill in the following values for your course - leave the other fields that exist in the CSV template file blank:
    1. Group Code (matches the "Child Course ID" values in the Group Enrollment file)
    2. Title - Friendlier title for each group
    3. Available - Set to Y for all rows
    4. Self-Enroll - Set to N for all rows
  4. Save it again as a CSV file and close the workbook 

Import the two CSV files into Blackboard Original Groups: 

  1. In the Parent course, click Users and Groups | Groups
  2. Click Import
  3. IMPORT GROUP MEMBERS and Browse Local Files to attach the Group Members CSV file
  4. IMPORT GROUPS and Browse Local Files to attach the Groups CSV file
  5. Click Submit 
Within a short time, your groups should appear with the students enrolled in each group by section. Use these groups to email individual sections by choosing the Single/Select Groups option on the Send Email page. Course content and/or assignments can be made available to students in individual sections through the use of Adaptive Release settings. Tests can be made available to selected sections through the use of Test Availability Exceptions in the Test Options. 
 

Create Grade Center Smart Views for each created group:

  1. In the Parent course, click Users and Groups | Groups
  2. Check the box to the left of the "Name" column header so each group is checked
  3. Hover over Bulk Actions at the top or bottom of the list then click Create Smart View for Groups 

Mark the group Smart Views as "Favorites" (so they show up in the Grade Center menu as shortcuts)

  1. Open the full Grade Center | highlight Manage | choose Smart Views
  2. Check the box to the left of the "Title" column so each group is checked
  3. Highlight Favorites at the top of bottom of the list | click Add to Favorites 

Use the Smart Views to filter the Grade Center display to selected course sections

See Also


Keywords:
black, board, bb, blackbord, bord, section, emails blackbaord LAIC, learn, blackboard original 
Doc ID:
103415
Owned by:
Sharley K. in NDSU IT Knowledge Base
Created:
2020-06-29
Updated:
2024-09-10
Sites:
NDSU IT Knowledge Base