Workshop groups with conditions

Divide students into groups online: start with the stations

Count the stations that can actually run at the same time, then choose the matching number of groups. A workshop with six prepared tables needs a different plan from an exercise designed for six people at every table. Enter the participant list and mark absences before drawing. The physical room is the constraint; a tidy division is useful only when it fits that room.

For example, twenty-three attendees can be distributed across six tables with uneven sizes. These are illustrative planning figures. Check how many people each station's equipment can accommodate, and decide what the smaller group will do. The generator can allocate names but cannot know whether a microscope, laptop or facilitator is available at a particular table.

Random group generator with conditions: write the necessary rules

Add a “Keep together” rule for an agreed support relationship or “Keep apart” for a specific arrangement the session requires. Keep the rule list short enough to explain. A request that every participant stays with several familiar colleagues may contradict the purpose of a mixing workshop. Resolve that organisational question before asking the draw to meet incompatible aims.

Together rules form connected clusters. If two linked relationships pull three people together, all three need room at one station. Inspect those chains when the result reports a problem. Another shuffle cannot fit a large cluster into a smaller available group. Change the group size, revise a condition or adapt the activity, then generate a fresh proposal.

Use experience labels without assigning hidden roles

Labels can help distribute experience across working groups. Enter a neutral category after a tab or vertical bar, then enable “Mix labels evenly”. This distributes the categories you supplied; it does not assign a facilitator role or certify that every table has a particular competence. Check named responsibilities separately in your workshop notes.

Do not put confidential comments into visible participant names. A projected card needs enough information for someone to locate their table, without becoming a personnel assessment. If a facilitator needs private context, keep that context in the appropriate separate record. Sharing a CSV or class file can expose more than the simple card currently shown on screen.

Confirm the arrangement after the room check

Read the final cards and any warnings before asking attendees to move. You can exchange two names or move a participant manually. Compare the resulting sizes with the equipment constraint again after those adjustments. If someone arrives late, decide how they join without leaving half the room following an earlier printed version.

Choose “Use this round” for the arrangement actually used. Rejected previews should not become fictional previous partnerships. Export a class file if another organiser needs to continue the same attendance and history in a different browser. For the room itself, “Present” or “Print” may be sufficient. Give each audience the output needed for the job rather than automatically forwarding the entire working file.

• Open Group Generator