TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Blog and Journal Comparison
• What is a Blog?
• Creating a Blog
• Linking to Your Blog
  • Creating a Link from the Course Menu
  • Creating a Link from Within a Content Area
• Viewing Individual Student Blogs
• Commenting on Blogs
• Enter your (text) comment and click Add to post your comment.
• Creating and Editing a Blog Entry
• Editing and Managing Blogs
• Grading Blogs
• Creating a Journal
• Linking to the Journal
  • Creating a Link from the Course Menu
  • Creating a Link from Within a Content Area
• Viewing Students’ Journals
• Commenting
• Editing and Managing Journals
• Grading Journals

You may also select whether to allow anonymous entries and comments and whether you wish to allow students to edit or delete entries or comments.

See Blogs for more information on the myLesley Blog tool. 

Linking to Your Blog

Once you have created a blog you will need to create a link for students to access the blog. You may create a link directly from the Course Menu or from within a Content Area.

Creating a Link from the Course Menu

To create a link to the blog directly from the Course Menu, click the Add Menu Item (+) button at the top of the course menu. 

Select Tool Link.

Enter a name for your link. In the Type area, select Blogs. Check the box to make the item available and click Submit.

Your link will be added to the Course Menu. Click the link to navigate to the Blogs area of your course. All of your blogs should be visible. You may also create a new blog from this page by clicking the Create Blog button.

Creating a Link from Within a Content Area

To link to the blog from within a Content Area, navigate to the content area. Click the Tools button at the top of the page and select Blog.

Select whether you wish to link to the Blogs Page or link to a specific blog. Or, to create a new blog, click Create New Blog.

Click Submit.

Viewing Individual Student Blogs

By default, when you navigate to the individual blog you will see only your content. To locate your students' blogs, locate the Blog Details area on the right side of the blog page. Click the chevron under your name to expand the selection.

You should see a list of your students' blogs under your name. Click on a student's name to open their blog.

Commenting on Blogs

Enter your (text) comment and click Add to post your comment.

Creating and Editing a Blog Entry

You may create a blog entry, add an image, save your entry to edit later, and post comments on other blog entries. See Using myLesley Blogs and Journals for instructions or view the Blogs video tutorial tutorial below.

Editing and Managing Blogs

You can edit the basic properties of a blog topic, including the name, instructions, availability, and other custom settings. See Edit and Manage Blogs for more information. 

Grading Blogs

You can grade the quality of blog posts and the number of entries and comments. See Grading Blogs to learn more. 

Creating a Journal

To create a journal for your course, select Tools from the Course Menu.

This will bring you into the Tools Area of your course. Select Journals.

This will bring you into the Journals area. Click Create Journal to create a new journal.

Enter a name for the journal and enter a description.

Select Yes to make the journal available. If you would like your journal viewable after a certain date or within a date range, set the Date and Time Restrictions.

Select whether to allow students to edit or delete entries or comments and whether to permit course users to view the journal.

Once you have finished, click Submit. 

View Blackboard Journals or watch the How To Create a Journal tutorial video for more information.

Linking to the Journal

Once you have created a journal you will need to create a link for students to access the journal. You may create a link directly from the Course Menu or from within a Content Area.

Creating a Link from the Course Menu

To create a link to the blog directly from the Course Menu, click the Add Menu Item (+) button at the top of the course menu.

Select Tool Link.

Enter a name for your link. In the Type area, select Journals. Check the box to make the item available and click Submit.

Your link will be added to the Course Menu. Click the link to navigate to the Journals area of your course. All of your journals should be visible. You may also create a new journal from this page by clicking the Create Journal button.

Creating a Link from Within a Content Area

To link to the journal from within a Content Area, navigate to the content area. Click the Tools button at the top of the page and select Journal.

Select whether you wish to link to the Journals Page or link to a specific journal. Or, to create a new journal, click Create New Journal.

Click Submit.

See Create a Journal for more information.

Viewing Students’ Journals

By default, when you navigate to the journal you will see only your content. To locate your students' journals, locate the Journal Details area on the right side of the blog page. Click the chevron under your name to expand the selection.

You should see a list of your students' journals under your name. Click on a student's name to open their journal.

Commenting

To comment on a blog entry, click the Comment button below the entry.

Editing and Managing Journals

You can edit the basic properties of a journal, including the name, instructions, availability, and other custom settings. See Edit and Manage Journals for more information.

Grading Journals

You can grade the quality of blog posts and the number of entries and comments. See Grading Journals to learn more.