A wiki is a group of web pages which can be edited quickly, and normally without needing to know any web language like HTML.  It can be worked on by multiple people collaboratively. The wiki tool in Blackboard allows you to set up wikis which either all your Blackboard site users can access or that are limited to specific groups of users. This wiki tool helps facilitate a student-centred Blackboard site by allowing students to build content in your site and comment on others’ wikis. 

A blog allows the user to write messages called posts using the blog editing tool. These posts are then published to a web page which can be read by the blog audience, which can be everyone or restricted to authorised readers. The blog tool in Blackboard allows you to set up three types of blogs: a site level blogs, which everyone on the site can contribute to, an individual blog, which only an individual can post to, but which everyone in the site can view and comment on, and a group blog, which is only available to users in a specific Blackboard group.

A journal is a private blog, which only the owner can post to. It can either be private, which means only the owner and instructors on the site can view it, or it can be made available to the other students enrolled on the site. 

If you want to set up a private area for students to post information or reflections, you need to use a journal. Wikis and blogs can’t be restricted for individual use – even if you add a rule to restrict who can see the link, other students may still be able to view the wiki or blog through a different route.

For further advice on setting up wikis, blogs and journals, contact your faculty e-learning team.