Brightspace – Solutions to Blackboard Tools: Journals, Blogs, and Wikis

1. Journals

Brightspace does not have a Journal tool, so Journals in Blackboard do not migrate to Brightspace.  It may appear that the Journals were migrated, as you may see the title of the journals in Brightspace.  However, if you click on the name of the Journal, it will bring you to a blank page. It may look like this. There is a title above a broken link and exclamation icon.

The above example shows a how a Blackboard Journal named  Week 6 Risk Communication Journal displays in the Brightspace Table of Contents.  Some faculty may not have used the word “journal” in title, but still  used Blackboard’s Journal tool. If this is the case for you, please review all your assignments carefully and find all instances of references to this tool.

Finding your Journal links in Brightspace

You may need to look in multiple places for broken Journal links in Brightspace, depending on where they were in your Blackboard course. In Brightspace make sure you:

• Look in Course Tools > Assignments.  If you use the word “Journal” in your assignment title, they should be easy to find.
• Look in the Table of Contents. If you had Journals directly linked from the the left menu of your course in Blackboard or linked from within a Content Area that was called Assignments, you will find references to these Journals linked from the Brightspace course Table of Contents. Find the broken journal links, and delete them.
• Look in Modules. If your Journals were linked within Blackboard folders, you will need to check the corresponding Module in Brightspace to locate the broken links and delete them.

Deleting Journals in Brightspace

Once you locate a Journal, click the small arrow next to the title, then click Delete Topic.  A pop-up message appears on the screen: we recommend choosing the second option to “permanently delete both the topic from Content and the associated file or activity from the course”.

Rebuilding journal assignments in Brightspace

Before rebuilding your journals assignments, we suggest going back to your Blackboard course to retrieve the journal details, such as titles, descriptions, instructions, etc. Put this information into a MS word document to make it easier to rebuild in Brightspace.

There are two tool options that can be used in Brightspace to recreate a journal-like experience.

Option 1: Discussion Tool with Single-Member Groups

This option is most appropriate if the journal assignment may elicit a dialogue between the instructor (or TA) and the student. This is a multi-step process:

1. The first step is to create single-member groups with the group tool (that is, one group for each student). Every student will be in a group in which they’re the only member. This allows you to offer a private discussion that can be read by only the group of students – in this case, a single member – and the instructor(s) and TAs. Students will not see each other’s groups.
   1. Go to Course Tools > Groups
   2. Click on New Category
   3. Give it the name, for example, “Private Groups”
   4. Under Enrollment Type, choose “Single user, member-specific groups”
   5. Click Save (and your groups will be created
2. Create a forum for the assignment. See Brightspace – Discussions for full directions to create a forum in the Discussions tool. Your forum might be called “Reading Journals,” for example.
3. Within the forum you’ve created, make topics for each journal entry and restrict them to private groups, separated by threads.
   1. Add topic to forum
   2. At right, select Availability Dates & Conditions
   3. Select Manage Restrictions
   4. Select Restrict Topic and Separate Threads
   5. Click Add
   6. Confirm that the restriction is properly displayed on right

Option 2: Use the Assignment tool

1. If you don’t expect to have back and forth dialogue with students about their posts, a simpler option is just using the Assignment tool. Go to the Brightspace Assignment page here.

2. Blogs

Brightspace does not have a blog tool, so Blackboard Blogs do not migrate.  It may appear that the blogs were migrated. You may see the title of the blogs in the Brightspace Table of Contents if you had blogs linked from your left menu in Blackboard.  However, navigating to that title and then clicking on the name, it will bring you to a blank page.

Your Table of Contents may look like this. You may see “hidden” beneath the title.

Finding your Blog links in Brightspace

The broken Blog links can appear in several areas in Brightspace: You may need to look in multiple places to delete the references to blogs in Brightspace, depending on where they were located in your Blackboard course. For example,

• Look in Course Tools > Assignments.  If you use the word “Blog” in your assignment title, they should be easy to find.
• Look in the Table of Contents. If you had Blogs directly linked from the the left menu of your course in Blackboard or linked from within a Content Area that was called Assignments, you will find references to these Blogs linked from the Brightspace Table of Contents. Find the broken blogs links, and delete them.
• Look in Modules. If your Blogs were linked within Blackboard folders, you will need to check the corresponding Module in Brightspace to locate the broken links and delete them.

Deleting Blogs in Brightspace

Once you locate a blog,

• Click the drop down menu next to the title, then click Delete Topic.
• A pop up message appears on the screen: we recommend choosing the second option to “permanently delete both the topic from Content and the associated file or activity from the course.”

To delete a blog area from the left-hand menu,

• Click on the link
• Click the drop down menu next to the title at the top of the page then click Delete module.
•  A pop-up message appears on the screen: we recommend choosing the second option to “permanently delete both the topic from Content and the associated file or activity from the course.”

Rebuilding blog assignments in Brightspace

Before rebuilding the blog assignments, go back to your Blackboard course to retrieve the details, titles, descriptions, instructions, etc. Put this information into a MS word document and save it with recognizable file names (ie CourseName-Blog-Assignment). When the time comes, think about what Brightspace tool will best meet the assignment’s learning objectives, you will have the information ready.

The tool in Brightspace that is most commonly used for blogging is the Discussion tool. Forums can be set up specifically for students to blog. This article by Vanderbilt University has some helpful ideas.

3. Wikis

Brightspace does not have a wiki tool, and wikis in Blackboard do not migrate to Brightspace.  It may appear that the wikis were migrated, as you may see the title of the wiki in Brightspace.

However, if you or students click on the name of the wiki assignment, it will go to a blank page.

You’ll see the wikis if you labeled them as such (in the above example, Module 5 Wiki). If they are not labeled with the word “wiki” in the title, we suggest carefully reviewing your content and assignments to identify and delete the broken wiki links. Afterwards, you can recreate them using other tools, described below.

Finding your broken Wiki links in Brightspace:

You may need to look in multiple places for your wikis in Brightspace, depending on where they were in your Blackboard course. For example,

• Look in Course Tools > Assignments.  If you use the word “Wiki” in your assignment title, they should be easy to find.
• Look in the Table of Contents. If you had Wikis directly linked from the the left menu of your course in Blackboard or linked from within a Content Area that was called Assignments, you will find references to these Wikis inked from the Brightspace course Table of Contents. Find the broken Wiki links, and delete them.
• Look in Modules. If your Wikis were linked within Blackboard folders, you will need to check the corresponding Module in Brightspace to locate the broken links and delete them.

Deleting broken Wiki links in Brightspace:

Once you locate a Wiki link,

• Click the small arrow next to the title, then click Delete Topic.
• A pop up message appears on the screen: we recommend choosing the second option to “permanently delete both the topic from Content and the associated file or activity from the course.”

Rebuilding your Wiki assignments in Brightspace:

Before rebuilding your wikis, we suggest going back to your Blackboard course to retrieve the Wiki assignment details, titles, descriptions, instructions, etc. Put this information into a MS Word document to make it easier to rebuild in Brightspace.

You can recreate and rebuild a wiki-like experience using a document in your class Team (on Teams):

1. Open Teams and find the current semester’s class team. You’ll need to activate the team for students to see the file you’ll create. This article describes activating a class team.
2. Click on the General channel in the team
3. At top of that page, click “Files.”
4. Click the “+New” button and choose Word Document.
5. If you have previously used text or instructions from your Blackboard Wiki, you can paste text onto this page.
6. Click the “Share” Tab and choose “Copy Link.” A pop up will appear.
7. Click “People in University of Vermont with the link can view.”
8. Important! Underneath Other Settings, click “Can view” and change it to “Can edit.”
9. Click the Apply button.
10. You should see a final pop-up showing the link. Click “Copy” to get the URL.

Next, you’ll need to share the link in Brightspace:

1. In your Brightspace course, open the appropriate module. Click the Upload/Create button and Create a Link.
2.  A pop-up window will appear. Enter a title for your page and paste the URL into the second box. Leave the checkbox checked, then click Create. Students should now be able to access and edit the shared document.