User Guide for Campus Pack

Configuring your Central Course Blog

By default, the Central Course Blog is set up such that the instructor is the only user who can edit and create pages.

To change settings for this blog, navigate to the Control Panel for your course or organization and select Configure Blog Tool.

1. Navigate to the Control Panel for your course or organization.
2. Click the Configure Blog Tool link.

 

 

Each of the configuration options is explained below.

 

 

Do you want to allow students to create blog entries?

Choose the No option if the instructor will be the only person posting entries. Chose the Yes option if students can post as well.

 

Do you want to allow users to view posts by other users?  

Choose the Yes option if students should see posts created by other students. Choose the No option if students should only see their own posts.

 

Do you want to enable a public (unauthenticated) RSS feed?  

Choose the Yes option to enable a public RSS feed for this blog. Choose the No option to disable RSS. If RSS is enabled, you will find an orange RSS button ()with the URL in the bottom right corner of the blog. Be sure that you do not turn this feature on if there is sensitive information in the blog. If you don't know exactly what this option means, then please leave the option off.

 

Do you want to allow students to permanently delete blog entries?

Choose the Yes option if students are allowed to permanently delete entries in the blog. If the No option is selected, then students will not be given the option to permanently delete when they are deleting a blog entry.

 

Do you want to allow students to export the blog?

Choose the Yes option if the export site link should appear for students in the blog sidebar. This link will always be available to instructors regardless of what is selected for this setting.

 

Do you want to allow students to view comments on blog entries?

Select the Yes option to allow students to view comments made on blog entries. This does not allow students to add comments. That is controlled through a separate setting. The instructor, however, can view and add comments to any blog entry.

 

Do you want to allow students to add comments to blog entries?

Select the Yes option to allows students to add comments to blog entries. Note that you cannot select the Yes option for this option unless you have also enabled students to view comments on blog entries.

 

When can members post to the blog?

Use the date ranges to specify when students are allowed to edit pages. By default there are no date restrictions placed on editing, if enabled.

 

 

Choose the dates and times for which students will be allowed to edit the blog tool.

Use the date range fields to specify the date/time range in which students can add and edit content in the course blog tool. By default there are no date restrictions placed on editing. However, you may choose to place restrictions editing the blog if you want to prevent students from editing the blog while you are grading or after an assignment is due, for example.

 

Choose the dates and times for which the blog tool can be viewed by students.

Use the date range fields to specify the time range in which students can view pages. By default there are no date restrictions placed on viewing, if viewing is enabled for the user.

 

How shall public references to students be displayed?

Users' names appear in a number of locations throughout the blog:

• At the top of each blog entry, if they are the author of the entry or the last person to modify the entry
• In the history for an entry, for every revision made by that user
• As the author of any comments added by the user

 

In all of these locations, the user will be referenced with the name value selected for this field. The options are as follows:

• User Name: If selected, the user's username will be displayed. Since usernames are generally a field kept private to each user, this option should only be selected if necessary (e.g., jdoe).
• Person Name: If selected, the user's first name and last name will be displayed (e.g., John Doe).
• Person Name and User Name: If selected the user's first name, last name, and username will be displayed (e.g., John Doe and jdoe).
• Given Name: If selected, the user's first name, or given name, will be displayed (e.g., John).

 

Note: If your institution includes sensitive information in usernames, do not select the User Name or Both options.

 

 

Choose Alternate Language

If you are building your blog in a language that is read right-to-left, such as Arabic, you can set the primary text direction. If no option is selected, all text in the blog will be displayed left-to-right by default.

 

Once you have made your selections, click the OK button to save your changes.