Blogs and Journals

Creating and managing blogs and journals in duo

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Introduction

Blogs and journals allow students to create sequential posts in duo. Students can use text, images and video in their posts, and other students and instructors can comment on posts. There is also the option to assign marks.

Blog

An individual or group space that all students and instructors can see.

Journal

An individual space that can be restricted to a single student and instructors only.

Creating blogs and journals

Course-wide blogs and journals
  1. On your duo site, go to Control PanelCourse ToolsBlogs or Journals
  2. Click Create Blog/Journal
  3. Name: enter a name

  4. Include instructions and choose availability settings as needed
  5. Blog Participation:
  6. Individual to All Students: each student gets their own blog
  7. Course: there is one blog for everyone to post to
  8. Allow Anonymous Comments: comments on the blog appear without names
  9. Blog/Journal Settings:
  10. Index Entries:organises posts by week or month
  11. Allow Users to Edit and Delete Entries: users can change and delete entries after they have been posted
  12. Allow Users to Delete Comments: users can delete comments after posting
  13. Permit Course Users to View Journal: all students can view an individual’s journal
  14. Grade settings: if you will be marking the blog/journal…
  15. Grade: Points possible: enter total points for the blog/journal
  16. Show participants in “needs grading” status…: choose how often new blog entries should appear in Control PanelGrade CentreNeeds Marking
  17. Due Date: enter a deadline if applicable
  18. Associated Rubrics: choose or create a marking rubric if applicable
  19. Click Submit
Group blogs and journals
  1. See the guidance on creating duo groups on the Digital Learning & Teaching site
  2. Make sure that you give groups access to Blogs or Journals

 Tip: A group blog is always a single blog for all group members. To create individual spaces, use the journal and allow all students to see each other’s (‘Permit Members to View Journal’).

  1. To customise the group blog or journal, go to Control PanelCourse ToolsBlogs or Journals
  2. Hover over the item you would like to change, click the chevron and choose Edit
  3. See steps 4-8 above for more detail

 Tip: If you are using Group Sets, you will need to edit each group’s blog/journal individually.

Student access

Students can access blogs and journals in a number of ways.

 Tip: If you are using Groups anddo not wish students to see other groups’ blogs or shared journals, it is recommended that you do NOT use the next three solutions. Use the default My Groups links only.

Site menu

You can create a link to the blog or journal page on the module site menu:

  1. Hover over the + button at the top left of the site menu
  1. Click Tool Link
  1. Name: type the name you would like to appear on the menu (e.g. ‘Your Journal’)
  2. Type: choose Blogs or Journals
  3. Available to Users: tick to allow access to students
  4. Click Submit
Content area link

You can also link to the blog or journal pagein any content area:

  1. Go to the content area on your duo site
  1. Hover over Tools and choose Blogs or Journals
  2. Choose to link to the Blogs or Journals page

 Tip: You can also create a new whole-site blog or journal from here.

  1. Click Next
  2. Link Name: include a name for the link to the blog or journal

  3. Choose any other options as necessary and click Submit
/Tools area

If you choose to make the Tools area available on the duo site menu, students can access the Blogs or Journals link to see the blog and journal page.

My Groups

If you are using group blogs or journals, every group member will see a link to their group’s blog/journal under My Groups (below the site menu) and on their Group Homepage.

Using blog and journals

Here are a few things to keep in mind when using blogs and journals on duo.

You can access blogs and journals anywhere the students can, and via Course Tools.

To view individuals’ posts, clickAll Group Membersor use the navigation arrows.

If you are marking the blog or journal, an area for the mark, feedback and your own notes will appear for each student or group. This will also be captured in the Grade Centre and, if the column is visible to students, will alert them when a mark has been entered.

The Blackboard Help site offers more detailed information about Blogs and Journals. It also includes guidance and videos for students: Blogs for Students, Journals for Students. See the Digital Learning & Teaching site for information on how students can use Kaltura to create videos on duo.

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