Journal and Teams Site
OverviewBlogs and Wikis are updated Blackboard learning tools. These new types of tools can be effective for a variety of class projects and group work.
Though "Blog" and "Wiki" may be visible in your "Tools" menu item in your Blackboard course web site, students are unable to post content or edit any entry by default. Instructors must configure the tools and make some features available to an entire class or groups.
Blog Tool is a tool similar to a web log (blog), which provides an online forum, diary, or blog. An entire class or groups can access, add new entries and comments when these settings are enabled.
Wiki Tool is a tool similar to a Wiki, which provides an interactive and collaborative website. An entire class or groups can add text, graphics, files, and links to build the content of the site when if these settings are enabled.
The Blog Tool demo and the Wiki Tool demo will briefly demonstrate the features of each tool. (Flash plugin required.)
For technical assistance, please call the OIT Help Desk at 684-2200 or submit a help request.
For questions about how the Blog Tool and Teams Site tools can support your teaching efforts, contact the Center for Instructional Technology by calling 660-5806 or sending an e-mail tocit@duke.edu.
Planning
Blogs and Wikis do not appear, at this time, to work with the Blackboard features that allow for an instructor to copy content between Blackboard course web sites. Therefore they could potentially be unavailable in the future, it would be best to utilize these tools for current term assignments rather than assignments that would span across multiple terms and different groups of students.
Key Known Issues
- On the Macintosh, use Mozilla Firefox instead of Safari.
- None of the following processes retain the content produced by the use of the Course Journal or Teams Site tools:
- Blackboard Archive/Restore
- Blackboard Export/Import
- the Duke "Request a Course" process for copying content between courses.