Can I let the students choose topic for a project

[johan_gustafson]

My students will make a project with different topics, which the students should sign up for. Each topic should only be available for one student. Is there any way to solve this in Canvas.

In our previous system, I solved this by creating groups limited to 1 student per group, but in Canvas it seems I cannot limit the number of students in a group to less than 2. I understand that there is no real point in having groups of 1 student, but I also cannot see how this functionality would make any harm.

[Bobby2 · Accepted solution]

Hi  @johan_gustafson  Welcome to the Canvas Community.

Good on you for wanting to give your students choice. Canvas can indeed have groups of one. I've seen teachers use that facility for many reasons. Projects are a great reason to use them; to keep track of progress, as an ongoing assessment, a private space between student and teacher etc. 

It depends how you want to set it up so here are a few options for you:

How do I manually assign students to groups? 

https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-9998-415255485 

How do I allow students to create their own student groups? 

How do I manually create groups in a group set? 

How do I edit a group set in a course? 

How do I add a group set in a course? 

How do I view all groups in a course as an instructor? 

Sing out if you need a hand.

[johan_gustafson]

Hi Bobby and thanks for the quick response.

Yes I see that it is possible to create groups of one, but I cannot limit the number of students to 1. That is, if I add the students to the groups manually, it is of course not a problem, but in this case I want the students to choose groups, and then I cannot limit the number of students per group to less than 2.

[Bobby2]

Hmmm I see what you mean  @johan_gustafson 

Would the option to How do I allow students to create their own student groups? work for you in this situation?

I haven't tried it myself.

The only other thing I could think of would be to have the options set up using a Collaboration or a tool like Padlet for students to assign themselves to. You could still use the single student groups once people have chosen their topics. 

[johan_gustafson]

No, as I have to set the topic of each group, they cannot create the groups themselves. And it would of course be possible to find an external solution, but I would prefer not to mix more systems. The only problem is the limitation, which I don't understand, with at least 2 student as a minimum for self-assigned groups.

[AnnetteDietz]

Hi Bobby - I see how this could work if I wanted pairs of 2 students to self-select into groups, but if I want to have each individual student choose a unique topic the groups won't work. Allowing groups of one student would solve this issue. I could then have students select their desired topic (in the form of a group name) and post more detailed information or instructions related to that topic in an announcement specific to that group of one. 

[Stef_retired]

Hi,  @johan_gustafson , I too would like to welcome you to the Canvas Community! Bobby has given you great advice. I wanted to share one of my favorite short videos that incorporates groups-of-one as a solution: .

[AnnetteDietz]

I am sad that it still doesn't seem possible to create groups of one, as it seems that would be an excellent way to do this.