vle gsa - how to use journals

Use Journals

The VLE @ GSA

How to…

Journals are one of the toolsavailable in the VLE that allowstudents to contribute to andcollaborate in a course.

Journals can also be used asprivate, reflective spaces forstudents.

Go to Control Panel > CourseTools > Journals.

Journals can be Private (for eachstudent) or Group (shared betweengroup members). Private Journalscan be created here. GroupJournals are created in ControlPanel > Users and Groups >Groups.(See the How To guide on UsingGroups).

Click Create Journal.

Add a name, descriptive information(such as the purpose of the Journal)and choose whether to make itavailable.

Depending on the purposeof the Journal, it can beentirely private, or you canallow other students toview content.

You can choose how entrieswill be grouped – weekly ormonthly.

The Journal can beassessed if appropriate.

Click Submit.

Set availability of theJournal.

Journal settings can beedited at any time bychoosing clicking the arrowto the right of the Journaltitle and choosing Edit.

Click on the Journal title togo to the Journal content.

Click on Create Journal Entryto add a post.

You can navigate between allstudents’ Journals. Studentsmay be able to view otherstudents’ Journals if you havepermitted this.

There are also update icons,and alerts on new content willalso appear in the GlobalNavigation Menu.

When creating a new Journalentry, add a name, text, links,images or embed video.

You can also add attachments.

Journal entries are indexed byweek or month, as specified.The Index highlights the timeof entry, number of posts andnew content.

Staff and students cancomment on one another’sJournal, if permitted.

Journals are created in theControl Panel and madeavailable in one of thecontent areas (e.g. LearningMaterials). Click the Toolsmenu then choose Journals.

You can either link to theJournal page or directly to aspecified Journal. You canalso create a new Journalhere.

Add a title, descriptive informationand set availability.

A link to the Journal will appear inthe content area, at the bottom ofthe list of resources. You can re-order its position by clicking anddragging. Students can now click onthe Journal title to access it.