What is the difference between Groups, Sections, and Differentiation Tags?

Canvas has its own comparison article -- Understanding Sections, Groups, and Differentiation Tags | Instructure Community -- but there are Harvard specific considerations with sections.

Groups

Groups are a way of organizing students within a course or section to allow them to cooperate or collaborate on activities or assignments.

Groups have their own “mini-Canvas” site where students can post Announcements, upload files, have Discussions and Collaborations. Instructors can also create assignments for groups of students (1 submission per group).

Use groups when you want to facilitate a collaborative space for your students to share announcements, files, and discussions, or when you are planning to assign and grade group activities through Canvas. If the purpose of grouping is administrative, prefer sections or differentiation tags.

See How do I use Groups in Canvas?

Sections

Sections organize students largely for administrative purposes. If the Canvas site is cross-listed to combine my.harvard sections, then more than one section may already exist. Instructors are able to section further, however.

Sectioning allows instructors to create sets of students that:

  • Will be seen by students.
  • Can be assigned different TA/TFs for grading.
  • Generate their own list-servs within the Course Emailer tool.
  • Can be sent particular Announcements.

As with Differentiation Tags:

  • Can be used to target communications via the Inbox, that is, to send emails to students only within a particular set.
  • Can be used to differentiate content in the Canvas site, that is, to assign Modules/Pages/Assignments only to a particular set, or to set different due dates.
  • Can have different due dates for assignments and view differing content.
  • Can filter the gradebook.

Where possible, prefer differentiation tags over sectioning.

See How do I use Sections in Canvas?

Differentiation Tags

Differentiation Tags allows instructors to create custom sets of students within a course that:

  • Are hidden from students.

As with Sections:

  • Can be used to target communications via the Inbox, that is, to send emails to students only within a particular set.
  • Can be used to differentiate content in the Canvas site, that is, to assign Modules/Pages/Assignments only to a particular set, or to set different due dates.
  • Can be used as a filter in the gradebook.

Use differentiation tags when you do not want students to see how they are grouped, if the purpose of the grouping is not collaborative activity, and you do not need to assign TA/TFs to specific groups for grading.

See How do I use Differentiation Tags in Canvas?

 

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