Using groups with forums

For staff on how to use Groups with forums in Moodle.
  1. On the top right-hand corner of your Moodle paper, turn on the Edit mode toggle.
  2. Find the FORUM that you want to edit. Select the three Edit dots to the right of the activity.
  3. Select Edit settings from the drop-down menu.
  4. Scroll down to Common module settings and expand the drop-down menu.
  5. Select the Group mode setting from the drop-down menu. Groups in Moodle can be set up as Separate Groups or Visible Groups.Note: Select the question mark icon to see the difference between Separate groups and Visible groups, or see the table below.
  6. If you have several Groupings of groups in your paper, select the relevant Grouping in the drop-down menu.
  7. Finally, scroll down and select Save and return to paper or Save and display.

Group mode settings

How the Group mode settings affect the use of Moodle Forums.

  No Group Separate Groups Visible Groups
Can students start new discussion topics? Yes students can start new topics Students can only start new topics for their own group Students can only start new topics for their own group
Can students post replies to other discussion topics? Yes, students can reply to other topics. Students can reply if the topic was started by another group member, OR if the topic was started by the instructor and was posted to their own group Students can reply if the topic was started by another group member, OR if the topic was started by the instructor.
Can students view other groups’ discussion topics? N/A No, students cannot view other groups’ discussions (the topics are invisible to non-group members). Yes, students can view other groups’ discussions, but they cannot reply to them.
If the instructor posts to “All Participants” N/A Students in all groups can view the instructor’s post, but no student in any group can reply to the instructor’s post. Students in all groups can view the instructor’s post and reply to the instructor’s post.
If the instructor posts to a selected group… N/A Only students in the selected group can view the instructor’s post and reply to the instructor’s post. Students in all groups can view the instructor’s post, but only students in the selected group can reply to the instructor’s post.