Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit: Updated August 2007 Creating a blog in Blackboard Overview Get Blogging What are Blogs? Navigating your Blog Adding a Blog Getting further help Creating a blog in your Blackboard area. Overview The new blogs and wiki tools in Blackboard will be available to all users from September 2007. The blog and wiki tools in Blackboard allow users to create and share material they have created with other users at any time. This means that you can create and publish material for people to read, to comment upon or even add new material to. Both blogs and wikis enable users to share and work collaboratively on ideas, research or group assignments. A blog takes the form of a chronological record, and a wiki is a document which can be worked on by a number of users, and which tracks and records all changes made. Blogs can be created by users in their Blackboard home area. This is a new feature which allows users to create personal content and either keep it private or share it with others. Instructors can create blogs for use by students in a Blackboard course. This might be used to record a group project, to capture information to be used later, or for planning. For more information for staff on how you might use a blog, please contact your Faculty Learning Technologist. This tutorial covers how users would create a blog for their own use in their personal Blackboard space. What are blogs? A blog, a contraction of the word weblog, is a type of website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order. A typical blog can combine text, images and hypertext links to other blogs, web pages or other online resources. Furthermore, the reader can be given the ability to leave comments against a particular blog entry or topic. What can blogs be used for? Blogs can be used for a wide variety of purposes including: • Collaborating with colleagues on research projects; field trips; teaching & learning materials; peer review; etc. • Developing a reflective journal which can assist with continuing professional development and personal development planning. • The sharing and dissemination of knowledge, ideas, and best practices with your peers or with other experts within your field on interest. • Developing a forum for debate and discussion. • Facilitating the building of social networks based on shared interests; goals and aims. • A tool for creative or journalistic writing. Getting started Log on to Blackboard in the normal way. NOTE: The blogs and wikis will only work properly in Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox and if the tools have been activated in your Blackboard account. If you cannot see the blog and wikki tool, please contact the Blackboard administrator at blackboard@canterbury.ac.uk Adding a blog • Go to the Tools home page, • click on the My Blogs and Wikis link. Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit: Updated August 2007 Creating a blog in Blackboard You are taken to your home page, which is a contents page listing your personal details, and all of the blogs and wikis that you have created. • In the right-hand side bar, under toolbox, click on the add new site link. • The Add New Site screen will be displayed. • Give your blog a name. • Select “Blog: Create a new blog” • Give a brief (optional) description of what your blog is about. Note: The RSS feed is currently not available on Blackboard. It is hoped that this feature will be fully operational in the near future. Click on the OK button to create your site. You will then be taken to the Manage My Sites screen. Get blogging Creating a new entry From the Manage my Sites page • From the actions area in the sidebar on the right, • click on new entry. • You will be taken to a blog entry form screen. • Replace the default heading in the Blog Entry Title box with one of your own, something that is going to describe or encapsulate the nature of your blog entry or posting. • Start typing your entry (or posting) inside the editing box. • You can use the Microsoft Word-like toolbar to format the presentation of your entry. You can change the font style and Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit: Updated August 2007 Creating a blog in Blackboard size; use different forms of page justification; italicise text or make it bold; add links to pages or web sites; upload files or pictures; create tables; insert or embed different types of media such as sound or video etc. Note: Please read the tutorial entitled: “Using the text editor” to find out more how to use some of the text editing features within your blog. • Once you are satisfied with your blog entry, click on the Save button to save and publish your work. Editing an existing entry You can return to a blog entry to change or delete it by: • Clicking on the blog title on the right of the My Blogs and Wikis home page, or • Clicking on the title of the blog on the My Blogs and Wikis home page. • Click the edit link that appears next to the entry's title. The edit screen is identical to the screen for creating a new entry. It contains a graphical editor that allows you to write text, format it, add images, and add links to files or other pages. Again, please refer to the tutorial entitled: “Using the text editor” to find out more how to use some of the text editing features. Deleting an existing entry Blog entries or postings can be deleted at any point. • Click on the delete link next to the title of the entry. • You will be taken to a confirmation page. • Choose YES to delete the entry and keep the version history, PURGE to permanently delete the entry and all of the associated history, or NO to cancel. When you delete an entry, the existing text is replaced with a message about who deleted it and when. That message will be invisible to users who do not have the ability to edit the journal. • Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit: Updated August 2007 Creating a blog in Blackboard Deleted entries are still visible to the blog owner(s) and can be recovered at any time by viewing the entry history and choosing the "revert" option for a previous version of the post. Navigating your blog Your blog is displayed as a continuous list of entries. You can see these on the left-hand side of the screen, along with the history of any changes which have been made. Comments can be read by clicking the “comments” link at the bottom of each entry. If you have permission to comment on a blog, this can be done by clicking the “Comment” link. On the right-hand side of the screen.. 1. Privacy: this tells you whether the blog is shared or private. 2. Actions: Add new blog entries or print the blog. 3. Filters: choose the number of blog entries to display at one time. 4. Calender: the dates on which blog entries have been made are shown underlined. 5. Archives: old blog entries are listed under archives. 6. Recent posts: most recent posts are listed here. 7. Stats: this shows how many blog entries there are and how many people have viewed them. 8. Toolbox: export the blog as a web site, modify the blog or share it with others. You can also do this from the “Manage my Sites” screen, below. Modifying, Deleting or Sharing a blog If you are using a blog to keep records or to work with other people, then you will want to share it. Often blogs are kept as a personal journal or reflective log of actions and experiences. In this case, you will want to keep it private so that only you can see and alter it. • Go to your Blogs and Wikis home page, by clicking the Tools tab • Your home page is a contents page listing your personal details, and all of the blogs that you have created. • Go to the toolbox on the right-hand side • Click on the manage sites link • You will then be taken to the Manage My Sites screen. Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit: Updated August 2007 Creating a blog in Blackboard Changing the name or description of your blog • Find the blog you want to modify • Click the Modify button • Change the name and /or the description of your blog • Click on the OK button to save changes. • Click on the OK button again to take you back to your personal Blogs and Wikis home page. Sharing your blog Go to the Manage My Sites screen. Blogs can only be shared with all other members of a course. • Click on the Sharing button of the blog you wish to share. • As Blog Owner, under Standard Roles, you have full permissions to view, edit, comment on and export your own site. • Tick the appropriate boxes against Everyone, under Standard Roles, with those permissions that you feel is appropriate for them. Note: You can always revisit this section if you wish to modify or change the permissions. • Click on the OK button to confirm changes. • You will be taken back to the Manage My Sites page. Note: You will see under the Roles a list of Portal and System Roles. These should not be changed. Further help If you want to find out more about Entry history, Recovering entries and Exporting your blog please refer to the online help that accompanies the blog tool by clicking on the question mark icon.