Starting a Travel Group (or Interest Group) on ClassicalU

We are very excited about the new Groups feature on ClassicalU. In this article, we will show you how to easily set up your own Travel Group on the platform, and note the differences between a Travel Group and a Cohort. To learn more about Cohorts and how to form one, see this article.

First, there are two common types of groups:

• Interest Groups — for users who share a common interest, academic discipline, or grade level 
• Travel Group — for users who wish to “travel together,” share insights, ideas, and experiences as they take courses on ClassicalU.

A Cohort is a group of learners all under one subscription. For example, when one purchaser such as school principal purchases 10 subscriptions at once for 10 teachers, that collection of learners will be a Cohort. 

Here is how a Cohort differs from a Group:

• A Cohort comprises members who are all under the same subscription.
• Cohorts give the ability to invite users to gain access to ClassicalU courses.
• Cohort Managers can view member progress.
• A Group is a community of learners. Each learner will have purchased his or her own subscription.
• A Group can be created by any user at any time, and subscribers can join any public group that have been created. 

You can join an existing Interest Group or start one. You can also start a Travel Group.

What Is a Travel Group?

A Travel Group is an easy way for any group of subscribers to “travel together” on ClassicalU.  A Travel Group could consist of:

• A group of teachers from the same school
• A group of teachers and parents from the same homeschool co-op
• A group of friends from around the country 
• Any gathering of subscribers on ClassicalU who wish to “travel together” on ClassicalU

Here are the ways that a group could “travel together:”

• Take the same course(s) and discuss the course(s)
• Upload and download shared documents such as lesson plans, course guides, essays, etc.
• Share insights, ideas, and experiences while studying together on ClassicalU
• Post photos relative to your school or homeschool

Starting a Travel Group and inviting other subscribers to join your group is easy. Here is how:

• Go to the Groups page on ClassicalU
• Click Create a Group
• Follow the prompts to give your group a Name and Description
• Select the option to make the group Private (you will be able invite your colleagues in directly) unless you want anyone to join your Travel Group in which case select Public.
• Select the option to make the group a Travel Group
• Select the option to include a Forum within your Travel Group
• Don’t upload a photo or cover photo–we will do that for you using a standard “Travel Group” icon.
• Invite others to join your group. You will be able search the member directory and invite people into your group.

Here are some screen shots showing you the prompts that will appear when you set up your Travel Group: