Using Blog (OU) in Coursesite

OU blog provides user blogs (everyone has their own blog) and course blogs (students in the course can all contribute to a shared blog); full support for comments (can be turned off or restricted to logged-in users only); four access control levels (private/user only, course members, logged-in users, or worldwide) and other features.  For more information, please visit http://docs.moodle.org/401/en/OU_blog

1. Log in to Coursesite and turn editing on

2. Select "Blog (OU)" from the drop-down menu of "Add an activity or resource"

3. Enter your blog name and a brief description

4. Choose whether other people are allowed to add comments

1) "Comments not allowed": Nobody will be able to comment;
2) "Yes, from logged-in users": People who have access and can log in to the system can comment;
3) "Yes, from everybody (even if not logged in)": This option allows comments from signed-on users and from the general public. When anonymous users add a comment, the comment doesn't appear immediately; an email is sent to the person who wrote the post for approval or rejection. Don't choose this option for your post unless you are willing to handle these emails.

5. Choose individual blogs setting

The following screenshots are examples of what students will see under each of the three individual blogs setting (click to view larger image):

1) No (blog together or in groups): No individual blogs set. Everyone is part of a bigger community (depending on "Group mode" setting).

2) Separate individual blogs: Individual users can only post to and see their own blogs, unless they have permission("viewindividual") to view other individual blogs. Instructor has access to all students' blogs.

3) Visible individual blogs: Individual users can only post to their own blogs, but they can view other individual blog posts.

6. Set maximum visibility

Blog posts have an option that controls who is allowed to see the post. There are up to three choices, in increasing order of visibility.

7. Choose common module settings

1) The group mode can be of three levels: No groups (everyone is part of a big community), Separate groups (each group can only see their own group, others are invisible) and Visible groups (each group works in their own group, but can also see other groups).

2) Setting an ID number provides a way of identifying the activity for grade calculation purposes. If the activity is not included in any grade calculation then the ID number field can be left blank. The ID number can also be set on the edit grade calculation page in the gradebook, though it can only be edited on the update activity page.