Facilitate a Group as an Owner

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Groups are a communication tool for conducting one-way and two-way conversations between group members. Groups can be created for use by clubs, organizations, events, and interests.

Being a Group Owner gives you additional options for facilitating groups, including creating and moderating groups, and resolving flags.

Access to the Groups tool as an Owner is granted via the Group Owner tool right in Communication > Groups Management.

Create a New Group

Click Create New Group at the bottom of the Groups tool.
Enter a Group Name. The name must be unique across groups in the district.
Select a School to associate with the group.Choosing a school does not limit who can be in the group but it does affect the Group Administrator role. All Group Administrators can view any groups that have All Schools selected and any School to which they have calendar rights.
Designate Group Owners. You are listed by default. You can add other owners and remove yourself as owner if desired, although the group must have at least one.
Select a Group Privacy option:
- Private: These groups can only be joined via the Access Code provided.
- Public: Participants can search for these groups and request to join them, or join via Access Code. For public groups, mark Enable Access Code to add a code to the group.
You can use the generated Access Code or type a custom code if desired. Generate a new Access Code if needed. When a new code is generated and saved for an existing group, the old code will no longer allow users to join the group.

Indicate how Group Join Requests should be handled:
- Approve Automatically when someone requests to join the group, without an owner needing to review and approve the request.
- Require Manual Approval by an owner when someone requests to join the group.
Set Group Member Permissions to determine how group members can participate in the group. Options are:
- Create New Posts
- Reply to Existing Posts and Replies
- Edit Own Posts and Replies
- Delete Own Posts and Replies
- Upload Images/Attachments (only displays if CDR is enabled)
- Even when editing and deleting posts are allowed, a record of group activity is available for group owners to view historical data via the View History report.
Click Save to finish creating the group.

When you save a new group, the group is automatically opened to the Posts tab, where you can create the first post for the group.

View the My Groups Screen

The first page of the Groups tool sorts the groups you belong to into three tabs:

Owned	Joined	Archived
These are the groups where you are listed as a Group Owner on the settings tab. You have greater access to these groups, including managing members and settings.	Even with the Group Owner tool right, you may participate in groups where you are a regular member and not an owner. For groups in this list, your level of participation is governed by group settings the same as other members.	If any groups you own have been archived, they are listed on this tab.

View a Group as an Owner

Groups where you are the owner show with three tabs:

Posts

The Posts tab collects all of the posts and replies for a group.

From here, you can create posts, respond to other participants, resolve flags, and view the history of the group.

Create a new post to start a conversation.	Create a Post Click New Post. Enter the text of your post in the editor that displays. Use the options along the top of the editor to expand WYSIWYG options for formatting the text, including adding images and links (if enabled for Groups in general and this group specifically). To lock a post from receiving replies, mark Do Not Allow Replies. Replies for this post can be turned on and off at any time. This option only displays if replies are enabled for the Group. Click Post when finished.
View Posts and Replies If the group is set up to allow other participants to create posts and reply, you can see those communications in the Posts tab as well. Post display in chronological order with new posts at the top. From this view, you can Reply to a post, Edit or Delete your own posts, or Pin a post so it always displays at the top of the Feed. Owners can always reply to a post regardless of Group settings. Deleted posts and replies are maintained in the database.		Replies display nested below the original post.
Flag inappropriate posts and enter a reason.	Flag a Post Mark Flag to flag a post and enter a Reason if desired. Flagged posts display for Group Owners and Administrators to resolve by either deleting the post or removing the flag.
Resolve a Flag Inappropriate posts can be flagged by participants. Flagged posts are indicated by a and a Flagged lozenge. You can filter the Posts tab to Show Only Flagged posts to make them easier to find and resolve. To address the flag, click Resolve Flags. A side panel displays that shows who flagged the reply and the Reason it was flagged. From there, you can either Remove Flags to keep the reply or Delete Reply to remove it from the Feed. Deleted posts and replies are maintained in the database.		Resolve flags by removing the flag or deleting the post/reply.
Generate the history report to view post activity.	View History Click View History at the bottom of the screen to generate a simple report of activity in the group in the entered date range. The report generates in csv format and lists all the details of posts in the group in that timeframe, including edited and deleted posts and replies.

Participants

The Participants tab includes requests to join the group, the list of participants with options to filter that list, and participant management options.

Join requests are listed at the top of the screen.	Join Requests If a group is set to Require Manual Approval, participants who request to join the group are listed in the Join Requests at the top of the participants screen. Click the checkmark to accept the request or the X to reject it.
Filter Participant List Filter participants using the following options: Participant Name - search for a name to find a specific participant. Group Role - filter participants by Owners or Members of the group. Campus Role - filter participants by Students, Staff, and Others (not students or staff). Status - filter participants by those who are Unmuted or Muted. See below for more information. Click Apply Filters to filter the participant list before or Reset Filters to restart. Collapse and expand the Filter section if desired using the -/+ icon at the top right.		Filter the participant list by name, role, and status.
Manage participants using the buttons in the list.	Participant Management Options In the participant list includes the name and Group Role, and, if applicable, their Campus Role and ID number. The following options display for each participant: The mute icon indicates if the participant is unmuted or muted. If the mute icon displays with an X, the participant is muted and cannot post or reply in the group. If the mute icon does not have an X, the participant is not muted and can post/reply if group settings allow. Click the mute icon to mute or unmute the participant. Click the X to removeand/or Block the participant from the group. When you click this button, a popup displays giving you the option to remove the participant from the group or remove and block them. Removed participants can rejoin or be readded to the group. Blocked participants cannot.
Add Participant From the Participant tab, click Add Participant to open a search panel where you can search for users to add to the group by First Name, Last Name, and Campus Role.		Search for users to add them as participants.
Open the Block List to review blocked participants and unblock them.	Block List If participants have been blocked from the group, a Block List button displays at the bottom of the screen. The Block List lists all participants who have been blocked.

Settings

The Settings tab matches the options available when you created the group:

Group Name: Name displays for all members and must be unique.
School: The School associated with the group. Choosing a school does not limit who can be in the group but it does affect the Group Administrator role. All Group Administrators can view any groups that have All Schools selected and any School to which they have calendar rights.
Group Owner: Participants with an Owner role in the group. Groups must have at least one owner.
Group Privacy: Whether the group is public or private.
- Private: These groups can only be joined via the Access Code provided.
- Public: Participants can search for these groups and request to join them, or join via Access Code. For public groups, mark Enable Access Code to add a code to the group.
- You can use the generated Access Code or type a custom code if desired. Generate a new Access Code if needed. When a new code is generated and saved for an existing group, the old code will no longer allow users to join the group.

Use group settings to manage access and permissions for the group.

Group Join Requests: Whether participants need approval to join the group.
- Approve Automatically when someone requests to join the group, without an owner needing to review and approve the request.
- Require Manual Approval by an owner when someone requests to join the group.
Group Member Permissions: How members can participate in the group.
- Create New Posts
- Reply to Existing Posts and Replies
- Edit Own Posts and Replies
- Delete Own Posts and Replies
- Upload Images/Attachments (only displays if CDR is enabled)
- Even when editing and deleting posts are allowed, a record of group activity is available for group owners to view historical data via the View History report.

Archive a Group

Archive groups that are no longer in use to remove them from the groups list of participants. For group owners, archived groups display in the Archived tab on the main Groups screen. This tab only displays if you are the owner of an archived group.

Archived groups can be unarchived by clicking the group name in the Archived list, clicking the Settings tab, and clicking Unarchive Group at the bottom of the screen.

Leave an Owned Group

Groups must have at least one owner. To leave a group you own, assign a new Group Owner in the Settings tab and remove yourself from the Group Owner field. When you save that change, you can no longer interact with that group as an owner.

Facilitate a Group as an Owner

Create a New Group

View the My Groups Screen

View a Group as an Owner

Posts

Create a Post

View Posts and Replies

Flag a Post

Resolve a Flag

View History

Participants

Join Requests

Filter Participant List

Participant Management Options

Add Participant

Block List

Settings

Archive a Group

Leave an Owned Group

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