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Blogs, Journals, & Wikis

Blogs and Journals - 1. What are Blogs and Journals?

Blogs are personal, online journals that are frequently updated and intended for general student consumption. Other students can read and comment on a blog. Blogs can be used to add information to a specific subject over multiple weeks. Journals are intended for private communication between students and instructors. Journals can be

used to submit shorter assignments. An instructor can provide feedback to the student in the

comment box directly below the journal posting, rather than making changes to an attached

document. Journal entries cannot be submitted through SafeAssign.

2. Creating Blogs and Journals

On the Control Panel, expand the Course Tools section and select Blogs or Journals.

On the Blogs or Journals listing page, click Create Blog or Create Journal on the Action Bar.

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Type a Name and provide instructions.

Select the appropriate options for your course.

Click Submit.

Your Blog or Journal should appear.

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3. Grading Blogs and Journals

You can grade participation in blogs and journals for individuals and groups. If a blog or journal is set to be graded (option 6 when creating a blog or journal), a new grade column is automatically created in the Grade Center.

Access the Blog to be graded. Select the student’s name. Click Edit Grade.

Type a point total in the Current Grade Value text box.

Note: Information written in the Feedback

textbox is visible to the student.

Grading Notes: are for the instructor only

to see.

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Add Feedback for the student and Grading Notes. o You may click Text Editor to access all the Text Editor functions for formatting text and

adding URLs, attachments, images, etc.

Click Save Grade.

You can also grade Blogs and Journals by going through the Grade Center.

4. Grading a Group Blog or Journal

A group blog or journal is graded using the same steps as for grading individuals by accessing the group blog to be graded.

When a grade is added for a group blog or journal, the grade is automatically given to all the members of the group. However, this can be overridden.

5. Overriding an Individual’s Group Grade

The individual’s new grade will not be visible to the other group members.

In the grade center, select the student’s grade to be changed.

Click the drop down arrow. Choose View Grade Details.

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Choose Edit User Grade

Change Current Grade Value to the desired grade. Edit feedback and Grading Notes. Click Save.

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Click Return to Grade Center. You will be taken back to you full grade center page.

Wikis

1. What are Wikis?

A Wiki is a collaboration tool. They allow students to build upon each other’s entries. You have the option to choose if wikis are graded or ungraded.

2. Creating a Wiki

In the Control Panel, choose Course Tools, click Wikis.

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Click Create Wiki on the Action Bar.

Type a Name and instructions.

Select the appropriate options for your course. Option 4 is where you choose whether or not you want

your wiki to be graded. Click Submit.

o A graded wiki cannot be later changed to ungraded. The only way to revert to an ungraded

wiki is to delete the graded wiki and create a new ungraded wiki.

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o Or, if you do not want to delete the Wiki, you can choose to exclude this wiki column in Grade

Center calculations. Note: You would want to delete this wiki and recreate it before this

course is taught again in future terms.

3. Editing Wikis

Any student can edit a course wiki page and any group member can edit a group wiki page, unless

you disabled this function when you created the wiki. You might choose to disable editing when it

is time to grade the wiki pages; however, you will still be able to edit student pages. Instructors and

students edit wikis the same way. See below.

When a wiki page is being edited by one user, it is locked to prevent others from editing the same

page. If a user tries to edit a page someone else is editing, he or she is informed that the page is

currently being edited by another user.

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In the Control Panel, Go to Course Tools, then Wikis. Select and open the wiki to review and edit.

Click Edit Wiki Content next to the page’s title in the content frame.

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On the Edit Wiki Page, changes can be made to the name and content of the page. Additional

content can be added also. Click Submit.

4. Grading Wikis

Access the wiki to be graded.

Click Participation and Grading.

Select the student's name.

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A list of the student’s pages will open. Click a page’s title to review it.

Click Edit Grade.

Type a numeric grade in the Current Grade Value text box.

Add Feedback for the student and Grading Notes.

o You may click Text Editor to access all the Text Editor functions for formatting text and adding URLs, attachments, images, etc.

Click Save Grade.

Note: Information written in the Feedback

textbox is visible to the student.

Grading Notes: are for the instructor only

to see.

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5. Grading a Group Wiki

A group wiki is graded using the same steps as for grading individuals by accessing the group wiki to be graded. When a grade is added for a group wiki on the Participation Summary page, the grade is automatically given to all the members of the group. An individual group member can be assigned a different grade than the group by editing the grade for that member. (The individual’s new grade will not appear to the other group members.)

To Change an Individual’s grade: Select the student from the View Contributions By section. Click Edit Grade.