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Warning:

Small Group Mode is currently in beta. While usable in its current format, certain processes may not be as smooth as expected.

The Small Group Mode feature works by splitting students up into a specified number of groups which work independently in their own copy of the discussion. You provide the template discussion – which each group starts with – and have access to all group discussions at any time, whereas students can only view their own group’s discussion. Students can be organized into groups automatically or manually.

About Small Group Mode

• Claims, theses, and comments in the template are copied over for all the groups in the discussion.
• Any changes made to the template will be updated for each group. For example, if a claim in the template is edited, that claim is automatically edited for all groups.
• The group assignment method lets you pick whether students should be automatically sorted equally into groups, or if you want to decide each group’s composition.
• Each group can only access their own group discussion and each group’s contributions are contained to that group. For example, claims created by a student in Group 1 can’t be seen by students in Group 2. Likewise, a comment you leave on a claim in Group 2 can’t be seen by any students in Group 1.
• The discussion Owner and Admins can view, contribute to, and edit groups at any time.
• Student Participation is disabled by default when Small Group Mode is being set up to allow you to organize the discussion before students begin working. Enable it once you want students to begin contributing in their groups.
• Students can be moved between groups at any time, however their contributions won’t be moved across groups with them. Therefore, if possible, make any desired changes to groups before Student Participation is enabled.
• You can enable Small Group Mode in any discussion (including existing ones), however it cannot be disabled once turned on.
• When you enable Small Group Mode for the first time in a discussion, any pending claim suggestions will be removed from the discussion.
• The discussion chat is accessible for all discussion participants, making it a good place to coordinate with everyone involved in the discussion (if enabled).

Using Small Group Mode

Note:

You must have Owner or Admin permissions in a discussion to configure Small Group Mode settings. Students should have the Writer role.

Setting Up

To enable and start using Small Group Mode in a discussion: 

1. Create the discussion template which each group will start with:
   a. Create a new discussion, pick one from Kialo’s Topic Library, or use an existing discussion.
   b. Check Enable Small Group Mode when prompted. (If using an existing discussion, click the Settings icon in the top-right of the discussion, open the Small Group Mode tab, then check Enable Small Group.)
   c. Select the number of groups students should be split into (if appropriate) and the group assignment method.
   
   
2. Give students access to the discussion: Use LTI, a Sharing Link, or invite students manually. If manually assigning students to groups, they’ll be placed in the Waiting Room to be assigned to a group.
   
   
3. Enable Student Participation: Student participation is disabled while you set up the discussion. Make any adjustments to the discussion as necessary and once you’re ready for students to begin working:
   a. Click the Settings icon in the top-right of the discussion.
   b. Open the Small Group Mode tab.
   c. Click Enable Student Participation, then Confirm.
   
   

Done! Students will be able to start working in their groups.

Changing Discussion Views

The top bar in a Small Group Mode discussion will display the current discussion you’re viewing (e.g. Template, Group 1, etc.). To open the template or another group’s discussion:

1. Click the name of the current discussion view in the top bar (such as Template, Group 1, etc.).
2. The Groups pane opens. Select the Template or Group discussion to open. 

Managing Groups

Note:

You must have Owner or Admin permissions in a discussion to configure Small Group Mode settings. Students should have the Writer role.

About Group Assignment Methods

The group assignment method is how students should be distributed into groups:

• Automatically assign to groups: Students will be distributed evenly across the number of groups specified. Select this to get started quickly if group composition isn’t a priority. 
• Manually assign to groups: Students will join the discussion in a waiting room and must be assigned to a group. This gives you control over each group’s composition, however students can’t contribute until assigned to a group and may be time-consuming if you have an especially large number of students.
• Use LMS Groups: Imports your existing groups for supported LMS platforms. Your groups are synced when the first student joins the discussion and students will be placed in the same groups as they are in your LMS course (groups will be created automatically if required). Requires either the Moodle plugin to be installed on your LMS or LTI to be set up.
  
  

Managing Group Members

To assign new participants to a group manually, or change an existing participant’s group:

1. Click the Settings icon in the top-right of the discussion.
2. Open the Small Group Mode tab.
3. At the bottom of the page, the Waiting Room and Groups sections display their current members.
   a. To move a participant, click the Menu icon next to their name and select the group to move them to. 
   b. To quickly move all Waiting Room members to a group, click Assign All, then the relevant group. 
   
   

Deleting a Group

If you delete a group, all contributions to that group discussion will be deleted and users in the group will be moved to the Waiting Room waiting to be assigned a new group.

1. Click the Settings icon in the top-right of the discussion.
2. Open the Small Group Mode tab.
3. Next to the desired group to delete, click the Menu icon, then Delete.
4. Click Delete.