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Canvas Sections and Groups Comparison

Definitions

Section - In a Canvas class, a section is simply a segment of the class roster used for administrative purposes. Sections in Canvas are created automatically when courses are crosslisted in PAWS. Instructors can assign assignments to a specific section of students, assign different due dates to different sections, and can take attendance by section.

More information on Sections.

Group - Groups function like a smaller version of your Canvas class and are typically used for collaboration, group discussions, and group assignments. 

More information on Groups.

Comparison of Groups and Sections

The following video provides an overview and comparison of Canvas Groups and Sections.

Comparison of Canvas Groups and sections

Tasks	Group	Section	Associated Procedures
Instructor needs to assign different assignments to different sets of students (e.g., only grad students should complete this assignment)	No	Yes	Assign Assignment to Section
Instructor needs to assign different due dates for the same assignment to different sets of students (e.g., undergrads have different due dates than grads)	No	Yes
Instructor needs to send announcements or messages to different sets of students	Yes	Yes	Post Announcement to Group Post Announcement to Section
Provides a team space to post discussions and to collaborate on pages and files.	Yes	No	Create a Group Discussion Create a New Page in a Group Create Collaborative File in Group
Instructor can create group assignments, and students can turn in a single submission as a group and receive group feedback.	Yes	No	Create Canvas Group Assignment
Students need to select membership in a team (e.g., self-enroll in a group for group presentations)	Yes	No	Create Self Sign Up Groups
Take attendance for a specific set of students.	No	Yes	Take Attendance by Section
Filter gradebook by a specific set of students.	Yes	Yes	Filter Gradebook by Group or Section
Filter Speedgrader by a specific set of students.	Yes	Yes	Filter Speedgrader by Group Fillter Speedgrader by Section
Create Canvas Calendar events for a specific set of students	Yes	Yes	View a Group Calendar