Blackboard Tools > Blogs and Wikis
Blogs and Wikis (Campus Pack 3.0.x) now includes a variety of new features, feature enhancements, and bug fixes including:
- Spell-checking capabilities
- Equation editor
- Content change notifications via email
- Easier options for embedding videos and other content
- RSS feed subscription capabilities for wikis
What is a Blog (Journal)?
Blog (Journal) is an online diary, or a personal chronological log of thoughts published on a Web page. Within Blackboard the Blog feature is referred to as “Journal”.
The Blog tool in Blackboard provides you with the ability to add links to other websites, upload documents, upload images and comment on the journal entries.
Blog can be used to provide a forum for students to reflect on course topics or projects, can be used as an online filing cabinet where assignments and course reference material are stored, collaborative writing spaces where students can give feedback to one another or create student research logs.
There are two types of Blogs in Blackboard
1) A Course Blog
- Post Class Assignments
- Comment on Lectures
- Provide background reading for lessons
2) Group Blog
- Group Blogs only allow specific individuals, or groups, to have access
What is a Wiki?
A Wiki (Teams Site) is a collaborative Web site set up to allow user editing and adding of content. Through Blackboard the Wiki feature is referred to as “Teams Site”.
What can be added to a Wiki?
- Multiple pages linked together
- Add links to other websites
- Upload images
n HTML formatting
- Comment on the entries of journal entries
Wiki sites allow both instructors and students to collaboratively build a shared knowledge base associated with a course.
You can also build an up-to-date resource to accompany your course, create a course “document” that can be edited online or allow for a report of a group's collaborative work.
There are two types of Wiki Sites in Blackboard
1) A Course Wiki Site
- Post Class Assignments
- Comment on Lectures
- Provide background reading for lessons
- Create knowledge base or shared resources
2) Group Wiki Site
- Group Wiki sites only allows specific individuals, or groups, to have access
Support
At anytime you can click the Help "?" Button in the upper right hand corner for detailed support information, here are direct links to those support pages:
return to top
Related FAQ's
Q: How many Blogs or Wiki's can I create in my course?
You can create as many as you need. Campus Pack places no limits on the number of wikis or blogs that can be created in a course or Expo site.
Q: Can students create individual blogs or wiki's?
Yes, student's can create an individual blog or wiki separate from a course site by clicking on "My Expo Sites" from the tools menu at the UIC tab. Q: What is the difference between a website and a wiki?
Wikis are easier to create and edit than websites, and they allow collaborative content creation. Unlike websites, wikis allow multiple users to easily create and edit pages without learning HTML or any programming languages. Many wiki applications, including those in Campus Pack, allow users to create content using a rich text editor which is as easy to use as a word processor.
Links between pages are also created much more easily in a wiki than in a website. In a wiki, links are created with just the title of the page to which the current page is being linked. Creation of new pages is as simple -- creating a link to a new page that does not yet exist will not only create the link, but it will create the new page, as well.
In addition to being quicker and easier to create and edit, wikis allow collaboration. Multiple users can work on a wiki at once, and they can monitor and manage changes through the page history which displays the details of all changes made to each page and allows some management of those changes. While collaborating on a wiki, users can typically discuss their work by posting comments to other site contributors on any page in the wiki. Q: How do I create a Group Blog?
Login to your course site and click on Control Panel. Under Content Areas choose where you want the Blog to reside (assignments for example). Within the Content Area select from the drop down menu on the right Blog. If you already have groups assigned for the class you can select the individual group you want associated with this Blog and select your options. (If you do not have students enrolled into groups yet create these first). The Group Blog can now be accessed through the Content Area you selected.
Q: How do I create a Group Wiki?
Login to your course site and click on Control Panel. Under Content Areas choose where you want the Wiki Site to reside (assignments for example). Within the Content Area select from the drop down menu on the right > Wiki. If you already have groups assigned for the class you can select the individual group you want associated with this Journal and select your options. (If you do not have students enrolled into groups yet create these first). The Wiki Site can now be accessed through the Content Area you selected.
return to top |
