You can create formal groups of students to collaborate on coursework and provide each group with its own group area. You can include links to group tools to help students collaborate and communicate. For example, you can create a special group discussion board, available only to the members of a course group.
Group discussion boards are separate from the regular course discussion board, which is available to all course members. Members of a group can create and manage their own forums. To learn about creating course groups, see Creating Groups.