Managing Course Blogs

From Academic Computing

This is the end-user help documentation for Journal LX™ (AKA Blog Tool). Journal is an application that allows users to create and share blogs and reflective journals within a learning management system.

This documentation is based off the official help documents

Contents 1 Finding a Blog or Journal Site 1.1 Accessing the Central Course Blog 1.2 Accessing Individual or Group Blogs 2 Creating Blogs and Journals 2.1 Create the Blog 2.2 Configure the Blog 2.2.1 Step 1: Blog Information 2.2.2 Step 2: Select Members 2.2.3 Step 3: Options 2.2.4 Step 4: Create Gradebook Entry 2.2.5 Step 5: Text Direction 3 Creating a Private Journal 4 Creating a Group Blog 5 Configuring your Central Course Blog 6 How to use Blogs

[edit] Finding a Blog or Journal Site

There are a two main places where you can access a blog from within your online course or organization:

• The Central Course Blog site is found within the Tools area of your course or organization.
• Individual or group blog sites can be found in any content area where the instructor has created them.

Each course or organization has one Central Course Blog but can have many individual or group blog sites.

[edit] Accessing the Central Course Blog

1. Go to your course home page.
2. Click on the Tools link within the course menu.
3. Click on the Blog Tool.

[edit] Accessing Individual or Group Blogs

1. Go to your course home page.
2. Click on the content area (Course Documents, Assignments, etc.) in the course menu.
3. Browse the sub-folders, if any.
4. Click on the "View" link for a blog.

[edit] Creating Blogs and Journals

This sections explains the how to create blogs or private journals in your course or organization. The options allow you to create different kinds of assignments and learning activities. The most common types are:

• Private Journals
• Individual Blogs
• Group Blogs

Follow the links above to find out more about each type.

[edit] Create the Blog

You can create a blog by adding a special kind of content type within a course or organization Content Area, such as Assignments or Course Documents.

To create a blog:

1. Access the Control Panel.
2. Choose the Content Area (i.e. Course Documents, Assignments, etc.) where you wish to create the blog.
3. Select "Blog" from the drop down list in the right corner of the action bar.
4. Click the Go button to create the blog.

[edit] Configure the Blog

[edit] Step 1: Blog Information

Once you have accessed the Create Blog page, you need to complete some information to configure it.

Enter a name for your blog and briefly describe this assignment.

[edit] Step 2: Select Members

Next, pick the participants (or members) for this blog. This will be the list of authors who will post entries into this blog. You can mix and match individuals and existing groups or pick "All Students".

Note: The group option will only appear if groups have already been defined within the course.

Note: Journals can be made individual by selecting a single user as the only team member and setting the view dates for other users to dates outside of the course duration.

[edit] Step 3: Options

The next section allows you to set various options for this blog. These options allow you to configure this blog for different types of learning activities.

Do you want to make this content visible?

Choose "No" if this blog should be hidden from all students. Chose "Yes" if the link should be visible.

Do you want to allow users to view posts by other users?

Choose "Yes" if students can see other students' entries. Choose "No" if students should only see their own entries.

Do you want to enable a public (unauthenticated) RSS feed?

Choose "Yes" to enable public RSS feed for this blog. Choose "No" to disable RSS. If RSS is enabled, you will find a red RSS button ()with the URL in the bottom right corner of the blog.

Be sure that you do not turn this feature on if there is sensitive information in the blog. If you don't know exactly what this option means, then please leave the option off.

Allow students to purge blog entries?

Choose "Yes" if students are allowed to permanently delete entries in the blog.

Who do you want to allow to comment on blog entries?

Select "Nobody" to turn off the comments function, "Instructor Only" if the instructors is the only person who should add comments, or "Everyone in Course" if students can also participate.

When can members post to the blog?

Use the date ranges to specify the time range within which students can edit pages. By default there are no date restrictions placed on editing, if editing is enabled for students.

When can other course users view the blog?

Use the date ranges to specify the time range within which students can view pages. By default there are no date restrictions placed on viewing, if viewing is enabled for students.

How shall public references to students be displayed?

If students are posting to this blog, use this option to specify how their names will appear on the screen.

Note: If your institution includes sensitive information in usernames, do not select the "User Name" or "Both" option.

[edit] Step 4: Create Gradebook Entry

If the blog is being graded, select the "Create a Gradebook entry" option and specify the information for a Gradebook entry to be created for the blog. To remove this entry from the Gradebook after creating it, do so from the Gradebook.

[edit] Step 5: Text Direction

The last step allows you to set the language options.

If you are building sites in a language that is read right-to-left, such as Arabic, you can set the primary text direction. If you do not select an option in this field, all text in the blog will be displayed left-to-right by default.

Once you have made your selections, click "OK" to create the blog.

[edit] Creating a Private Journal

A Private Journal is a blog which is configured as a private writing space that only an individual student and the instructor can see.

To create a Private Journal follow the directions in the Creating Blogs and Journals section and choose the following options while completing the steps:

1. When selecting members, select "All Students".
2. In the Options section, choose "No" for the “do you want to allow users to view posts by other users?" option.
3. Consider changing other options to suit your particular usage.

Under these settings, students will only see their own entries in the journal and will be unaware that other students are posting into the same space.

The instructor can see all of the students' work in one place. To see everyone's work at once, choose “All Authors.” This will chronologically display all entries by all students in the blog. If you want to view just one student's work, use the select box on the right side of the action bar. It shows a list of all of the people who have posted in the journal, along with the number of entries they have made. To see everyone's work, choose “All Authors.”

[edit] Creating a Group Blog

A Group Blog is a collaborative writing space where multiple people post entries into the same blog. This is not a very common usage of blogs in general, but a more common usage in academic scenarios as it can be a valuable learning activity.

To create a Group Blog follow the directions in the Creating Blogs and Journals section and choose the following options while completing the steps:

1. When selecting members, add multiple members or add one of your preconfigured course groups.
2. Be sure to select "Yes" for the "allow users to view each other's posts" option.
3. Consider changing other options to suit your particular usage.

Repeat these steps for each blog you would like to create.

[edit] Configuring your Central Course Blog

By default, the Central Course Blog is set up such that the instructor is the only user who can edit and create pages.

To change settings for this blog, navigate to the Control Panel for your course or organization and select Configure Blog Tool.

Each of the configuration options is explained below.

Allow student to create blog entries?

Choose "No" if the instructor will be the only person posting entries. Chose "Yes" if students can post as well.

Do you want to allow users to view posts by other users?

Choose "Yes" if students should see posts created by other students. Choose "No" if students should only see their own posts.

Do you want to enable a public (unauthenticated) RSS feed?

Choose "Yes" to enable a public RSS feed for this blog. Choose "No" to disable RSS. If RSS is enabled, you will find an orange RSS button ()with the URL in the bottom right corner of the blog.

Be sure that you do not turn this feature on if there is sensitive information in the blog. If you don't know exactly what this option means, then please leave the option off.

Allow students to purge blog entries?

Choose "Yes" if students are allowed to permanently delete entries in the blog.

Who do you want to allow to comment on blog entries?

Select "Nobody" to turn off the comments function, "Instructor Only" if you will be the only person to add comments, or "Everyone in Course" if students will also participate.

When can members post to the blog?

Use the date ranges to specify when students are allowed to edit pages. By default there are no date restrictions placed on editing, if enabled.

When can other course users view the blog?

Use the date range fields to specify the time range in which students can view pages. By default there are no date restrictions placed on viewing, if viewing is enabled for the user.

How shall public references to students be displayed?

If students are posting to this blog, use this option to specify how their names will appear on the screen. If your institution includes sensitive information in usernames, do not select the "User Name" or "Both" options.

Are you using a right-to-left language?

If you are building your blog in a language that is read right-to-left, such as Arabic, you can set the primary text direction. If no option is selected, all text in the blog will be displayed left-to-right by default.

Once you have made your selections, click "OK" to save your changes.

[edit] How to use Blogs

To learn how to use blogs on Blackboard, please visit this article.