12.3.2. The Learner’s Experience of Teams

After you have enabled teams and created topics in your course, learners can begin browsing topics and joining teams. Teams are formed within topics. Each learner can belong to only one team.

12.3.2.1. Browsing Teams by Topic

On the Teams page in the LMS, learners in your course can browse topics to find a subject that they are interested in collaborating on. Learners can sort topics alphabetically by name, or by the number of teams in a topic.

On the page showing available topics, one topic has the arrow button that takes users to the list of teams within that topic highlighted.

Within each topic, learners can view existing teams. The overview for each team shows the team’s name and description, the number of members and available spots, and the elapsed time since the last activity in the team.

To find teams, learners can sort teams by the most recent activity or by the most open spots. They can also use keywords to search for teams that might match their interests, language, or country.

When learners locate a team that they might be interested in joining, they can select View on the team overview to view team details.

View of a team within a topic showing name and description, number of members.

On each team’s details page, learners can view the team’s name and description, as well as any optional characteristics that were specified, such as a primary language of communication and a country that members primarily identify with. While they are browsing teams, learners can read any team’s discussion posts, but they cannot add posts to a team’s discussion forum unless they join that team.

12.3.2.2. Joining, Creating, or Leaving a Team

When learners find a team that they want to join, they select Join Team and are immediately added to the team membership.

Note

Learners can belong to only one team. If a learner already belongs to a team, the Join Team button is not available when they view other teams. To join a new team, learners must first leave their existing team.

Learners can create their own teams if they cannot find a team they want to join. Under the list of existing teams in a topic, learners select create a new team in this topic. This link is available only to learners who do not already belong to a team.

View of a team within a topic showing name and description, number of members.

Learners specify a name and description for their team, and optionally specify a country and language that team members identify with. A learner who creates a team automatically becomes a member of the new team.

Note

EdX recommends that you encourage learners to join existing teams before they create new teams.

Note

Because course staff who have the role of Admin, Discussion Moderator, or Discussion Admin can create multiple teams, these course staff are not automatically added to teams that they create. This is also true for learners who have the community TA role.

At any time, learners can leave teams that they have joined, although you should emphasize to learners that they should try not to change teams after any team projects or activities have started. Learners who leave a team will also be unable to continue contributing to discussion threads in the team that they have left.

12.3.2.3. Participating in Team Discussions

Only members of a team (or anyone with a discussion administrator, discussion moderator, or community TA role) can post to a team’s discussion forum. Any learner in your course can view team discussions without being a member, but they cannot add posts to a team’s discussion unless they also belong to that team.

Note

Team discussions are not divided by cohort. Learners who are in the same team but who belong to different cohorts can view and participate in their team discusssions without regard to the cohort they belong to.

For information about course discussions and managing discussions, see Creating Course Discussions and Guidance for Discussion Moderators.