Our groups area is where you can link up with people studying the same subject, on the same course, living in the same area, with the same interests - or any other point of connection you choose.
We suggest you take a look around first to see which groups area already live on Platform. You can join as many as you wish, and once you're a member, and logged into Platform, you can contribute news, ideas, forum topics and polls and also pull in relevant RSS feeds into your groups. You can comment on other members' posts; create and vote in polls, start discussion threads and tell each other about events.
You can also set up your own group if your course, hobby or other area of interest isn't covered (remember to add it to one of the subject or interest categories available so that others can find it!). It's then up to you as administrator of the group to decide whether you want to share the running of the group with all its members or manage its smooth-running yourself or with a few others.
To create a group click the blue “create your own group" button on the groups page. You can name your group (title), add a mission statement (editorial), add a description (which appears on the group landing page to describe your group to others, and decide if you want to list it in the groups directory or keep it private. You can also load an image to illustrate your group.
You can also decide if membership is open to all, whether you want to approve membership requests, keep it invite only or closed.
Under subject area tick the subject most relevant to you group so it can be listed correctly in the directory, ie, if it’s a group for A174 Start writing fiction you’d tick Arts and Humanities. And then, if appropriate tick one of the interest boxes, if appropriate.
Click save and your group has been created and you can start using all the features. If you have any queries about the groups, just email a member of the Platform team and we’ll do our best to help -platformeditor@open.ac.uk
