Wikis, blogs and Journals

Every Blackboard site can have a Wiki, Blog or Journal added.

Definitions

A wiki is an area for students either in groups or as one group to collaborate on producing a knowledge artefact that is representative of all their knowledge combined on a specific topic. Wikis can be a powerful learning tool and can help students learn to navigate group dynamics.

A blog on Bb is a powerful online tool that is designed for individual students to share their ideas on a topic with classmates. The blogs on Bb have a commenting feature so that fellow students can respond to one another’s thoughts on the activity blogged about. The purpose of pedagogic blog activities is to encourage students to learn to clearly express their ideas. Blogs are a social learning tool. In Blackboard, instructors create and manage blogs, and only enrolled users can view and create entries and comments in them. Blogs can be used for graded assignments or to gather opinions without assigning a grade.

In contrast to Bb Blogs which are intended to be public in nature, Bb’s Journals tool are a personal space for students to communicate their learning privately with the module team. Students can also use journals as a self-reflective tool to post their ideas, and discuss course-related materials. You can create journal assignments that are broad and student-directed as your students reflect on changes in their perceptions and attitudes. You can also create instructor-directed journal entries that are more formal in nature and list topics for discussion

Adding a Wiki

1. Go to the relevant Weekly Folder in Content Area on the site (e.g. the ‘Week 1’ folder in the ‘Module Content’ area)
2. On the top menu bar, click Tools and Wiki.
3. Click on the Create a New Wiki button.
4. Enter a Name and Instructions for the wiki. These should give a clear indication of the purpose of the activity.
5. Set the availability to Yes and select time and date restrictions if required.
6. Review the Wiki Participation Settings and adjust these from the default if required (the default should suffice in most cases).
7. If a formal assessed activity or you wish to give a mark for an informal assessed activity, enter 100 into the Mark: Points Possible box. After you enable grading, a column is created automatically in the Grade Center.
8. Set the Due Date and the frequency you want entries to show in Needs Marking (1 is recommended).
9. Click Submit.
10. On the next screen, click Next.
11. On the next screen, click Submit.
12. If you are grading this activity, go to Grade Centre, click the chevron next to the column for this activity, and select Hide from Students (On/Off). The column is then marked with a red line.
13. You are now ready to run this activity.
14. When ready to release marks, click the chevron next to the column for this activity, and select Hide from Students (On/Off) so that the column no longer is marked with a red line.

Further information on wikis can be found on the Blackboard website.

Adding a Blog

1. Go to the relevant Weekly Folder in Content Area on the site (e.g. the ‘Week 1’ folder in the ‘Module Content’ area)
2. On the top menu bar, click Tools and Blog.
3. Click on the Create a New Blog button.
4. Enter a Name and Instructions for the Blog. These should give a clear indication of the purpose of the activity.
5. Set the availability to Yes and select time and date restrictions if required.
6. Review the Blog Participation Settings and adjust these from the default if required (the default should suffice in most cases).
7. Review the Index Entries settings.
   • Default is Monthly but Weekly is optimum.
   • Decide whether you want to allow students to delete and edit entries after posting (recommended).
   • Decide whether to allow students to delete their comments after posting (recommended).
   • If grading for quality of participation, enter 100 into the Mark: Points Possible box. After you enable grading, a column is created automatically in the Grade Center.
   • Set the Due Date and the frequency you want entries to show in Needs Marking (1 is recommended).
8. Click Submit.
9. On the next screen, click Next.
10. On the next screen, click Submit.
11. If you are grading this activity, go to Grade Centre, click the chevron next to the column for this activity, and select Hide from Students (On/Off). The column is then marked with a red line.
12. You are now ready to run this activity.
13. When ready to release marks, click the chevron next to the column for this activity, and select Hide from Students (On/Off) so that the column no longer is marked with a red line.

Further information on blogs can be found on the Blackboard website.

Adding a Journal

1. Go to the relevant Weekly Folder in Content Area on the site (e.g. the ‘Week 1’ folder in the ‘Module Content’ area)
2. On the top menu bar, click Tools and Journals.
3. Click on the Create a New Journal button.
4. Enter a Name and Instructions for the Journal These should give a clear indication of the purpose of the activity.
5. Set the availability to Yes and select time and date restrictions if required.
6. Review the Journal Settings. You may want to adjust these from the default.
   • Default for Index Entries is Monthly but Weekly is optimum.
   • Decide whether you want to allow students to delete and edit entries after posting (recommended).
   • Decide whether to allow students to delete their comments after posting (recommended).
   • Do not tick Permit Users to View Journal (as Journals are meant to be private – the Blog tool is better when the learning activity requires postings to be public)
   • If grading for quality of participation, enter 100 into the Mark: Points Possible box. After you enable grading, a column is created automatically in the Grade Center.
   • Set the Due Date and the frequency you want entries to show in Needs Marking (1 is recommended).
7. Click Submit.
8. On the next screen, click Next.
9. On the next screen, click Submit.
10. If you are grading this activity, go to Grade Centre, click the chevron next to the column for this activity, and select Hide from Students (On/Off). The column is then marked with a red line.
11. You are now ready to run this activity.
12. When ready to release marks, click the chevron next to the column for this activity, and select Hide from Students (On/Off) so that the column no longer is marked with a red line.