This guide provides a brief description of blogs, jounrals and wikis.
Blogs and Journals
Blogs and Journals are very similar features available in Blackboard. The biggest difference is that journals will be private; only the instructor and the student can see the journal. Blogs, on the other hand, are visible by everyone. However, you have two different options for blogs. You can create a class blog to which everyone can contribute; or, you can create individual blogs to which each student contributes.
Individual blogs are NOT the same as private journals. While individual blogs are composed by one student, all users in the class can see the student's entries.
Wikis
You can add wikis to content areas and group projects to facilitate collaboration among your students. For information on adding wikis to groups see the
How to Create a Group page.
Key Characteristics of a Wiki
- Owned by a community of users
- Contextual organization; by links in and links out or categories of content
- Members can create and edit content without knowing HTML or special software
- Can be edited instantly using a WYSIWYG text editor
- Focus is on content not on format of pages
- Content is never finished
- Collaboration versus discussion mode
Use of Wikis in Education
- Group Projects: students can work together in one location to research, outline, draft, and create a project within a wiki.
- Learning Community: facilitate communication and increase student engagement.
- Portfolios: students can create a personal e-portfolio of projects and learning.
- Peer Review: post questions for student brainstorming or have students post papers for peer feedback.
- Resource Collection: organize articles, websites, media, and other resources for students.
- Online Publication: students can create a student published resource manual, course text, or online newspaper.
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