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1: Problems with 'grouping'
02/02/08 01:17 PM
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I'm trying to use the 'grouping' functionality in one of my sequences. The type of grouping I want is 'chosen' since there are fixed groups in the class that work on projects during the whole quarter. The problem I have is that when I go to the 'monitoring' mode and want to select the components of each group, the is no list of users to select from.

My guess is that there are no users because students have not initiated the sequence. I read in the documentation I found that you can organize groups from the 'monitoring' environment once the activity has started. I find this a bit of a drawback since it is always nice to be able to plan all the aspects of an activity in advance and not have to wait until all the users have started. It is very confusing for the users because if they start an activity that involves grouping, they are told that they have to wait until groups are formed.

I've tried to circumvent the problem by login in as the student (you can do this in Moodle) and initiating the sequence. The problem is that then when I try to set groupings it tells me I can't because the activity has started already!

There must be something rather obvious that I'm missing because it can't be so difficult to work with groups. I've read all the documentation I've found on the web but there is really little information on 'grouping' and the information there is doesn't help me figure out what I'm doing wrong. Can anybody help me, please?

Josep M.

Posted by Josep M. Fontana

2: Re: Problems with 'grouping'
In response to 1 02/02/08 04:34 PM
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Hi Josep,

I think there are two issues I can see from your posting, so let me dissect them separately.

1) Groupings in Author

When you create a Grouping activity in Author (regardless of the type of grouping you create -chosen or random), you then assign the use of these groupings to other activities also in Authoring. So for instance, after you created a Grouping activity and then you want to use the groupings that are created by this activity in say a Forum, then you select the Forum activity and open the 'Property inspector' (see Author_grouping1.jpg) and set Forum activity to use the Grouping activity we called "Grouping". Once you "apply" the grouping activity to the Forum, you should see that the Forum activity in the canvas has a multilayered look (Author_grouping2.jpg).

So to apply the use of groups to activities, you do this from the Authoring interface.


2) Groupings in Monitor

Once you have initiated a sequence (or created a lesson as we usually call it) and there's a Grouping activity that has been set to 'chosen', as soon as you open the Monitor interface you'll see that there's a require tasks to set up the groups and allocate the students to it (see Monitor_grouping1.jpg). Once you click on it, you'll see that you can create groups and allocate students into them (see picture Monitor_grouping2.jpg).

Now, you have actually discover something that I haven't thought about: when integrated with Moodle, students aren't listed in the list of available students until they click on the lesson name in the Moodle course. That's when LAMS adds the student to the lesson... and from then on, you'll be able to see this student in the list of people that you can add to a group... but unfortunately, not before.

The documentation you mention where it says that you can group all the students directly in monitor, it's correct (if and and only if) you are using LAMS standalone and that's because LAMS 'knows' its own courses. Whereas when integrated with other LMS, LAMS might know know the students in those Moodle courses. At any rate, I'll make sure this get added to the documentation.

So when the students 'jump' into the lesson, when they hit the Grouping activity, they'll be stopped and asked to wait until the teacher adds them to a group. Once they are added to a group, they will go as normal.

And the activities that were set to use that Grouping activity (like the Forum I mentioned above, then will ensure that each student is allocates to it's own forum 'group'.

Please let me know if any of this makes sense. I hope it does :-)

Thanks,

Ernie

Posted by Ernie Ghiglione

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3: Re: Re: Problems with 'grouping'
In response to 2 06/15/10 07:00 AM
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Hello,

Just one question about groups:

I need to find some way practical to monitor lessons when I work with groups.
For example:

I have 40 students,and I want them to work in the same lesson in groups of 3. I have two options:

1.- I make 13 groups in my class in lams and add the same lesson (sequence) in each group, so I have the groups clearly organised an I am able to monitor the work of each group in a clear way as I have a link to monitor and mark the lesson for each group. Problem: If I want to work this way I don't know how to do it in Moodle, I don't know how to make the groups before and not in the sequence.

2.- I make one sequence where I put a grouping activity (that can work in Moodle-Lams integration, though I have to wait till every of my 40 students access the lesson to make the groups) but I don't know how to make the monitoring in a more practical way, because in that case working either in Moodle-Lams integration or in Lams alone, I have in the learner tab of the monitoring window my 40 students all in a list, without an specific order.If only I could order them in the groups of the grouping activity, it would be more pratical to mark or to monitor the lesson of each group. But I don't know how come I can know which learners are in each group except of clicking on the grouping activity....Someone can help me, there is a more practical way to monitor by groups?

I hope I made myself undestood!

Thanks in advance.

Sandra

Posted by Sandra Ciutad

4: Re: Re: Re: Problems with 'grouping'
In response to 3 06/16/10 02:22 AM
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Hola Sandra,

LAMS has a grouping that allows you to set up the number of students you want per group. So you can set up the Number of Learners to 3 and that will do it for you.

People get allocated to group as they come in into the grouping activity. See http://wiki.lamsfoundation.org/display/lamsdocses/lagrp11

Thanks,

Ernie

Posted by Ernie Ghiglione

5: Re: Re: Re: Re: Problems with 'grouping'
In response to 4 06/16/10 03:02 AM
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Hi Ernie,

I don't have problems doing the groups with lams in the authoring part, I have the problem in the monitoring because I have all 40 students in a list but not listed in groups or something practical. I have to click the grouping tool each time I want to know which people are in which group...that is a bit impractical to mark a group work.
It is practical for individuals but not if they work in groups, I mean it is not practical for the teacher who has to correct that work.
Or there is a way to order the learners by groups or something similar?

Thanks.

Posted by Sandra Ciutad

6: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Problems with 'grouping'
In response to 5 06/16/10 09:38 PM
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> I have the problem in the monitoring because I have all 40 students in a list
> but not listed in groups or something practical.

But activities that are group will show each group in Monitor (see attachments). For instance in this sequence you have a Grouping with 2 groups and four students... the following activity is a Forum (which uses the Grouping).

You can see each student in each group in the Forum monitor page.

Ernie

Posted by Ernie Ghiglione

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