Within Blackboard you can put students into one or more study or project groups. You can divide all your students into such groups, or place only a certain number of the students, depending on your purpose and goals. You can allow these groups to have access to a number of functions, including the ability to have their own Discussion Forums, exchange files, and have group emails. Below, each function is discussed in turn:

*Discussion Forums for a group can be started only by the instructor, who is a member of every group. Only group members can post. 
*File exchange allows the group members to attach files to the course site that other members of the group can download.
*The email function makes it easy for members of the group to send email to the regular email addresses of other group members.

1. From the Control Panel, click on "Manage Groups".
2. Click on "Add Group".
3. Provide a group name and description of the group. 
4. In the Group Options section, select the group functions you would like the group to have.
5. Click "Submit" and then "OK". This will take you to the Manage Groups page.
6. To add users to the group, click on "Add Users To Group" and select the students you would like to include.

1. To change the properties of a group,  click on "Manage Groups" in the Control Panel in the User Management area.
2. Select the group you would like to change, and click "Modify".