Create blogs in myCourses

All myCourses users have their own blog in the system that is not associated with a particular course. The Blog tool allows users to create private or public entries on their blog to keep personal journals or make public announcements that all myCourses users can view. All myCourses users can add entries to their blogs, read public blog entries, leave comments if enabled, and follow other users with public entries in the system. Blog updates can also be published as RSS feeds that other users can subscribe to. 

In this article:

Access the blog tool

To give students access the Blog tool, you will need to add the Blog link to your course Navigation Bar. You can also access blogs via the Classlist page, but this option is only available to instructors.

Access blogs using the Blog link

Clicking the Blog link on your course Navigation Bar will take you to the My Blog page. It will also allow you to access the Blog List page with a list of all blog users in the University.

1. Add the Blog link to your course Navigation Bar. See Edit the navigation bar in myCourses for more information.

2. Click the Blog link on your Navigation Bar.

This page will show you a list of your blog entries and if they have any new unread comments.

Access blogs through the Classlist page

This option is not available to students.

Accessing blogs through the Classlist page will only allow you to view your own blog or the blogs of individual students in your course.

1. On the Course Home page, click Classlist on the Navigation Bar.

2. Click the arrow beside your name and select View Blog to go to the My Blog page.

OR

Click the arrow beside a student's name and select View Blog to go to their blog.

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Create a blog entry

There are two types of blog entries you can create:

Private Entries are ONLY visible to you. This is useful for keeping a private journal. Blog entries are private unless you select the Make entry public option when you create or edit an entry. This option will be deselected by default and all new blog entries will be private unless you change your Blog Settings .

Public Entries are visible to ALL users of myCourses. If you enable comments for these entries, ALL users of myCourses will also be able to leave comments on your entry. You can make these entries private at any time by clicking the pencil icon beside the title of the entry and deselecting the Make entry public option. If you are going to make any public entries, please be sure that you are posting announcements or content that you want the entire university to see.

On the My Blog page, you can click the Private Entries or Public Entries tab to filter the list of entries to show only your private or public blog entries respectively.

Create a new blog entry

1. On the My Blog page, click New Entry.

2. Enter a Title.

3. Enter text in the Content field for the body of your entry. See Use textboxes in myCourses for more information on adding images and videos to your posts. 

   

   If you upload an image, it will be uploaded in the Manage Files directory of the course where you accessed the blog tool. If you want users from another course to view an image in your public blog entry, you must upload the image to an external image hosting site and embed it in your entry using a URL.

4. Select any of the following options:

   1. Make entry public: Select this checkbox to make the blog entry visible to everyone who has access to myCourses.

   2. Allow Comments: Select this checkbox to allow everyone who has access to myCourses to comment on the blog entry.

      

      A maximum 500 comments can be added to a blog.

   3. Entry Date: Select a date that will appear beside your blog entry. This is useful for backdating your entries.

      

      The entry will appear on your blog as soon as you post it regardless of this date and time. This is NOT a selective release date.

5. Click Save to post your entry to your blog.

Edit a blog entry

1. On the My Blog page, click the arrow beside an entry and select Edit .

2. Make your changes.

3. Click the Save button.

You can only edit your own blog entries.

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Read and follow other blogs

On the Blog List page, you will see a list of ALL myCourses users with any public blog entries. You can click on any name in the list to view that user's public blog entries. Although you will not see your name on this list, your name will appear on this list to other users if you have any public blog entries.

You can follow other users' blogs within myCourses by adding users from the Blog List page to your Blog Watch page. This will show you a chronological list of public entries from all users you are following with the most recent entry at the top.

Add a blog to your Blog Watch

1. On the main Blog page, click Blog List to view a list of all myCourses users with public blog entries.

2. Enter a user's name in the Search field and press Enter OR sort the list by First Name, Last Name, Total Entries, or Latest Entry date by clicking on the appropriate column heading.

3. Click on a user's name to view a list of their public blog entries.
   OR
   Click on a date in the Latest Entry column to view that user's most recent public blog entry (or the entry they dated furthest in time).
   OR
   Click on a date in the Latest Comment column to view that user's public blog entry with the most recent comment.

4. Click the Add to your Blog Watch link at the top of the blog or entry to follow the blog of the selected user. If this button is not immediately visible, click the arrow beside the user's name and then select Add to your Blog Watch.

Add multiple blogs to your Blog Watch

1. On the Blog List page, select the checkbox beside all users whose blogs you want to follow.

2. Click Add.

A grey star icon will appear in the list beside the name of all users whose blogs you are following.

You can now click Blog Watch to view a chronological list of entries from all the blogs you are following and if any of those entries have new unread comments.

To remove blogs from your Blog Watch, follow the steps in the previous section and click Remove.

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Comment on a blog

You can comment on any myCourses user's blog entry if that user selected the Allow Comments option for an entry. You cannot edit or delete your comments on other users' blogs after clicking the Save Comment button so carefully consider and review your comments before posting. These comments will be visible to all myCourses users.

1. Click Add a comment to this entry at the bottom of a blog entry to open a page where you can comment on that entry. 

   

   This button will not appear if the author did not enable comments for the entry.

    

2. Enter text in the Comment field. See Use textboxes in myCourses for more information on adding images and videos to your comments.

3. Click the Save Comment button to immediately post your comment.

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Delete blog comments and entries

You can delete comments on your own blog entries and delete your own blog entries. You cannot delete comments on other users' blog entries, including your own comments. Similarly, you cannot delete other user's blog entries.

Deleting a comment

1. On the main Blog page, click the title of the entry that contains comments you want to delete.

2. Click the trash can icon beside the comment you want to delete.

3. In the pop-up window that appears, click Yes to permanently delete the comment.

Deleting an entry

1. On the main Blog page, select the checkbox beside each entry you want to delete.

2. Click Delete at the top or bottom of the list of entries.

3. In the pop-up window that appears, click Yes to permanently delete the selected blog entries.
   

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Change blog settings

On your Blog Settings page, you can select a number of options for your blog.

1. On the My Blog page, click the Settings icon in the top right corner of the page.
   

   

2. Select the checkbox beside any of the following:

   1. Show a link to your user profile from your blog to show the View Profile icon beside your entries in the Blog Watch page and a link at the top of your blog. This icon and link will take other users to your myCourses user profile.

   2. Make entries public by default to have the Make entry public option selected by default for all new blog entries.

   3. Allow comments by default to have the Allow Comments option selected by default for all new blog entries.

      

      The Allow Comments option is only available if you selected the Make entries public by default option.

      
      

   4. Receive email when comments are added to receive an email at your McGill address every time someone comments on one of your entries.

   5. Publish your blog as an RSS feed to put an RSS feed link at the top of your blog so that readers can sign up to receive email notifications when you post a new entry. If you select this option, a link will appear for the RSS feed for your blog and you must enter a Feed Title. You can also enter a Feed Description.

   6. Remove entries from Blog Watch after # days to have entries removed from your Blog Watch that are older than the number of days you enter in the box.

3. Click Save.

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