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Brandeis Moodle Guides

Moodle Resources for Faculty

Overview

Private Forums are forums where students are in a group by themselves and they cannot see other student posts in other groups.

How To

Accessing Group and Grouping Settings

  1. Select the Participants link below the course header
    Groups Settings in Moodle 4
    Select the drop down menu next to Participants and select Groups.
  2. Select the Groups option from the dropdown menu. This will take you to the Groups page.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and select the gray auto-create groups button.
    Auto-Create Groups Settings
    Select Auto-create groups.

Add Students to a Group

  1. Create a naming scheme for the groups.
  2. Change the setting for Auto Create Based on to Members Per Group.
  3. Set the number of group members to 1.
  4. Group messaging: if enabled the student and the instructor can also send messages via the messaging drawer in Moodle.
  5. Skip over Group Members settings when creating a private forum.
  6. In the Grouping Setting, select New Grouping. Type in a name for the Grouping for the Private Forum./li>
  7. Select Submit to create the groups.
    Private Forum Group Settings in Moodle 4
    Set Group/member count to 1.

Private Forums

  1. Set up groups according to the instructions above. Each group should contain one student. Do this before adjusting the settings of the forum itself.
  2. Edit the settings of the Private Forum activity. Scroll down to the Common module settings section and expand it.
  3. Change the Group mode to Separate groups
    To create private forums select Separate Groups in Common Module Settings
    Set Group Mode to Separate Groups and set Grouping to Private Forums

If you would like assistance or support with setting up groups, groupings, or Private Forums please contact us at library@brandies.edu.