BBB

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BBB

• Biscuits, Beer and Bulbs
• Blackboard Blogs are Brilliant!

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What is a Blog?

• Blogs allow people to quickly and easily publish
  their thoughts/ideas on the web without needing
  to know HTML or web design software.

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What is a Blackboard Blog?

• BB course blogs can be created by lecturers to be
  used by an entire course, or a group of students
  or individual students.(3 types of course blogs)
• BB blogs are automatically dated and listed in
  reverse date order. Newest first.
• Can allow the reader to add comments.
• BB blogs allow images and other media to be
  inserted or linked to.
• There is also a personal blog for every user of
  Blackboard that sits outside of their courses

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What is a Blackboard Blog?

• BB blogs now have the ability to have RSS feeds
  so you or your students can see if new entries
  have been added without logging in to Blackboard.
• Can be used, for example, as a reflective journal
  which only the student and the lecturer(s) can
  see or as a collaboration tool for a group of
  students working on a project.

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Course blog
3 types of BB Blogs

• A Blackboard course can have a single central
  course blog. This can be set so that only
  instructors may post entries, or allow for
  entries by both instructors and students who may
  also be allowed to write comments on blog
  entries.
• To set enable and set up the central course blog
  select

The complete guide is at http//www.tvu.ac.uk/bla
ckboard/tutorials/course_blog.pdf
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Group blogs
3 types of BB Blogs
Blogs can also be set up for use by a group of
students.

• Students within the group may post entries.
• Entries may be viewed by or hidden from other
  students not in that group according to your
  preference.
• Instructors and/or students within the group
  and/or students not in the group may add comments
  to blog entries according to your preference.

To add a group blog you must add it to a Content
area using the Edit View button and the select
Blog from the Select Menu. For further help and
instructions see http//www.tvu.ac.uk/blackboard/
tutorials/course_blog.pdf
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Personal blog
3 types of BB Blogs

• Private Blogs are ideal for maintaining a
  reflective journal, as they can be set up to be
  visible only to the blogger (i.e. the student)
  and course Instructors.

As with a group blog to add a personal blog you
must add it to a Content area using the Edit View
button and the select Blog from the Select
Menu. For further help and instructions see
http//www.tvu.ac.uk/blackboard/tutorials/Using_a_
Blog_as_Reflective_Journal.pdf
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How to get students to actually use a blog?
The best way we have found to get students to
actually use blogs effectively is

• Make it part of the lesson every week(requires a
  room with computers obviously)
• Make it part of a graded assignment

Coming soon Templates for blog entries!
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Wikis

• And when you think you have mastered blogs try
  wikis!

(Wikis in Blackboard are very similar to blogs
but rather than being linear the posts are
connected to a home page and can be edited by any
members of a group)