Groups and Sections

Question

In Canvas, we have both 'Groups' and 'Sections'—could someone provide examples or further clarification on how they differ in terms of functionality and usage within the platform?

james_whalley · Accepted Answer

Groups are a way for instructors to organize students into working groups. When a group is created, they are given their own area within Canvas that is like a mini-course. In the Group space, group members can share files and take part in discussions that are only visible to fellow group members. Groups can also be used with assignments to have a collective of students turn in a single submission together.

Sections are a way to organize a collection of students when you need to be able to differentiate them. Sections can be used when assigning content in a Canvas course, allowing you to share specific materials with specific students. Sections are generally created via integration with an institutions enrollment management system, but can be manually created and managed at some institutions.

TL:DR Groups are for organizing students to work together. Sections are for organizing students in a way that an instructor can provide them content separate of other students.