Setting Up and Managing Groups in Populi

Setting Up and Managing Groups in Populi

Groups in Populi are a powerful way to create interactive learning spaces where students can collaborate, share resources, and communicate effectively outside of class sessions.

For NIMAA instructors, groups can be used to facilitate team-based learning activities—especially in courses like Applied Medical Assisting (AMA), where collaboration and communication are key skills for working in interprofessional healthcare teams.

Creating and managing a group allows you to simulate real-world teamwork experiences, helping learners build the collaboration and accountability they’ll need in clinical practice.

AMA 101

Example Use Case

In the Applied Medical Assisting (AMA) course, groups in Populi provide a dedicated platform for students to collaborate using built-in tools like:

  • Discussions for team communication and documentation

  • File sharing for submitting group work or reference materials

  • Calendar for scheduling meeting times or deadlines

  • Chat for real-time (synchronous) collaboration

We create small student groups for:

  • Practicing team communication and documentation

  • Discussing case study scenarios

  • Sharing reflections on patient interactions

These collaborative activities help learners strengthen their communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills—the same competencies they’ll use in professional healthcare settings.

Naming Convention for Groups
To keep group spaces organized and easy to identify across terms, use a consistent naming convention when creating your group. This ensures that both instructors and students can easily find the correct group for their section and case assignment.

Recommended format:
[Year]_[Term]_[Instructor Initials]_[Case Letter]

Examples:

  • 2025_Fall_KO_CaseA

  • 2025_Fall_JL_CaseB

  • 2025_Spring_MS_CaseC

Guidelines:

  • Use four digits for the year (e.g., 2025).

  • Use Fall or Spring to identify the term.

  • Use the instructor’s initials to indicate who facilitates the group.

  • Use CaseA, CaseB, or CaseC to distinguish which case the group will discuss.

💡 Tip: Keeping the naming format consistent allows students and staff to quickly locate the correct case group, especially when multiple sections run at the same time.

 

Step 1: Create a New Group

  1. Navigate to Home > Groups.

  2. Click Create a Group.

  3. Enter a name (required) and description (optional).

    • Example: AMA 2025 Fall KO CaseA

  4. Choose your membership restriction:

    • Invitation only – Members must be invited by a group admin or moderator. This ensures that only assigned students are in each group. However, if you expect groups to shift mid-course, you can allow Admins/Moderators to invite replacements easily.

  5. Choose who can invite new members:

    • Any member

  6. Select Private to make the group visible only to members and invitees.

  7. Click Save.

Notes

Instructors don’t need to be members unless they plan to actively facilitate or provide feedback in the group. For most AMA teamwork activities, the group should be student-led. Instructors can monitor overall participation through assignments or reports instead of directly joining each group.

The new group will now appear under both All Groups and My Groups.

Edit Group

At any time you may edit the group settings and image. Choose from the images below to add a group picture. 


Step 2: Invite Students to Your Group

Once your group is created, you can add members.

  1. Go to your group’s Members tab.

  2. Click Invite People.

  3. Start typing a student’s name and select them from the list.

  4. Repeat to add more invitees.

  5. (Optional) Check Email invitations if you’d like Populi to send an invite notification.

  6. Click Save.

Step 3: Add the Group Link to Your Course Syllabus

Once your group is set up and students have been invited, make it easy for them to find and join by adding a direct link to the group on your Syllabus page.
​
To add the group link:

  1. Navigate to your course in Populi.

  2. Go to the Syllabus tab.

  3. Click Add Link.

  4. In the Title field, enter the group name—such as:

    • Case A Group

    • Case B Group

    • Case C Group

  5. In the URL field, paste the direct link to your group:

    • To get the URL, go to Home > Groups, click your specific group, and copy the web address from your browser’s address bar.

  6. Click Save.

💡 Tip: Students can now access their case group directly from the syllabus, reducing confusion and ensuring everyone joins the correct space.



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