Confusion with sections in NB1

[Philip Matern]

Hi all, 

Can't seem to understand how/what sections students are assigned to.  Curious if anyone has some clarity on what might be happening.

• Students are joining site at different times with invite link. 
• I created 3 sections (named 1, 2, 3).
• Had originally set section assignment as random, but at some point turned it off to try manual sorting.
• When going to the sections page, users would not have a section listed in the drop down.
• I manually assigned each user to the groups (1, 2, or 3) using the dropdowns, and immediate CSV export shows those group names assigned.  
• After reloading the section page later, nothing shows in the dropdowns for users.
• Looking at the exported CSV at that point, all users have been assigned to strange group names (2204, 2205, 2206).
• It seems that 2204 is my group 1, 2205 is my group 2, etc.

Question:  If I turn random back on, will it assign just newly signed up users to one of the groups at random going forward?

Question:  Is there any issue with my changing assigned sections even after users have commented on other user's posts?  Will they no longer see the post they commented on if their sections are different now?

Question:  Is it normal that we can't see what section students are assigned to in the properties "section" page?

Thanks!

Philip Matern

[Philip Matern]

An update:

I turned on "random" for section assignment again, but it doesn't seem to be assigning anyone.  The section page still doesn't clearly show what section each person is in (dropbdowns are blank, but could be selected as 1, 2, or 3).  

When I export the csv, it shows everyone I previously assigned as 2204, 2205, and 2206 still, but all the newly joined people were blank.  I manually entered 2204, 2205, and 2206 to assign those blank students to the respective sections.  However, when I went to upload the CSV, it said that 3 new sections will be created and showed buttons for 2204, 2205, 2206.  So, went back in and left those already assigned 2200 numbers as is and assigned the blanks as 1, 2, and 3.  This time the upload didn't create any new sections and said only the number that were blank would updated.

So, it seems that turning the section assignment off and back on, prevents it from actually automatically assigning people to sections?

Other questions remain unanswered so far, but I'll keep observing the students to see if it's disrupting how they are using it.

Thanks!

[Jumana F]

Hi Philip, I did attempt to address your questions; maybe it went directly to your email since I hit "Reply to author"?

 

Assuming you're asking about the new NB, I'll answer with that in mind.

Question:  If I turn random back on, will it assign just newly signed up users to one of the groups at random going forward?

If you don't assign users to a section, they will be left without a section, so they won't be able to see any comments from any of the other sections. 

 

Question:  Is there any issue with my changing assigned sections even after users have commented on other user's posts?  Will they no longer see the post they commented on if their sections are different now?

Even if you change a student's section, they will still be able to see their own comments. However, they won't be able to view replies they made to their peers' comments that are in other sections.

 

Question:  Is it normal that we can't see what section students are assigned to in the properties "section" page?

In the new version of NB you can see the sections and modify them under the "Users" tab. In order to modify the sections you first "Download Students  CSV" then modify that, after that upload the csv again and the changes will be reflected.

 

Hope that helps!

Jumana

[Philip Matern]

Hi Jumana,

Thanks for the reply and considering the possibilities.  Unfortunately, I am using NB1 so I'm thinking I'll need to just test it out with some fake student accounts to see if I can figure out what their actually seeing.

I think it's safe to assume it is not automatically assigning students anymore.  I know it was initially, but doesn't seem to now that I manually assigned.

The numbering issue to manually assign them is still strange, and not being able to tell who is in which group from the section page makes it really difficult.  Wondering how many people are still using NB1 or if any remember having section issues when they did use it.

Thanks!

Philip