Chapter 5 Groups for easy management

Groups enable you to share your class Workspace and manage permissions for many people at once. We recommend starting with one Group for instructors and one Group for students.

5.1 Instructor Group

Create an informative, unique Group name for any co-instructors and teaching assistants. We suggest a combination of institution-class-role (e.g., “jhu-bmr2021-instructors”). Only letters, numbers, underscores, and dashes are allowed in Group names. To create a Group for instructors:

1. Go to https://anvil.terra.bio/#groups

2. Click “+ Create a New Group”

   

3. Type in your instructor Group name

4. Click “CREATE GROUP”

   

You now have a unique instructor Group.

5.1.1 Add Instructors as “Admin” (Instructor Group)

Now that your instructor Group has been created, you should add any additional instructors. You should also ensure that they have the correct permissions.

1. Go to https://anvil.terra.bio/#groups/ and click on the instructor Group name. This page should also be visible at https://anvil.terra.bio/#groups/<group-name>.

   

2. Click on “+Add User”. You will be prompted to add the instructor’s AnVIL ID.

   

3. Type in the instructor’s AnVIL ID

   

4. Make sure “Can manage users (admin)” is selected

   

5. Click ADD USER. This will take you back to the Group administration page.

   

Make sure the newly added instructor displays “Admin” under “Roles” beside their AnVIL ID. Repeat this process for any additional co-instructors and teaching assistants.

5.2 Student Group

Next, you will create a Group for your students. Create an informative, unique Group name. We suggest a combination of institution-class-role (e.g., “jhu-bmr2021-students”). Only letters, numbers, underscores, and dashes are allowed in Group names. To create a Group for students:

1. Go to https://anvil.terra.bio/#groups

2. Click “+ Create a New Group”

   

3. Type in your student Group name

4. Click “CREATE GROUP”

   

You now have a unique student Group.

5.2.1 Add Instructors as “Admin” (Student Group)

The next steps ensure any additional co-instructors and teaching assistants are able to administer the student Group in case you are unavailable. Follow the steps below to add each co-instructor in the student Group:

1. Go to https://anvil.terra.bio/#groups/ and click on the student Group name. This page should be visible at https://anvil.terra.bio/#groups/<group-name>.

   

2. Click on “+Add User”. You will be prompted to add the instructor’s AnVIL ID.

   

3. Type in the instructor’s AnVIL ID

   

4. Make sure “Can manage users (admin)” is selected

   

5. Click ADD USER. This will take you back to the Group administration page.

   

Make sure the newly added instructor displays “Admin” under “Roles” beside their AnVIL ID. Repeat this process for any additional co-instructors and teaching assistants.

5.2.2 Add Students as “Member”

Follow the steps below to add individual students to the student Group:

1. Go to https://anvil.terra.bio/#groups/ and click on the student Group name. This page should be visible at https://anvil.terra.bio/#groups/<group-name>.

   

2. Click on “+Add User”. You will be prompted to add an AnVIL ID.

   

3. Type in the student’s AnVIL ID

   

4. Click ADD USER

   

Make sure the newly added student displays “Member” under “Roles” beside their AnVIL ID. At present, each student’s AnVIL ID must be added separately.

Your instructor and student Groups are now set up.

5.3 Group Email Lists

Note that your newly created Groups have Group emails associated with them. Take note of these Group emails. You will use them for granting access to your class Billing Projects and Workspaces. It saves you from having to add or revoke access to students one by one.

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