Creating Private Journals in FREDLearn

Owned by Laura Shrader, created
Last updated: Jan 19, 2024
4 min read

This documentation walks users through creating groups of one to be used as private journals in FREDLearn.

Need more help? Watch this video guide for Creating Private Journals in FREDLearn.

 Instructions

Step 1: Create a Forum first

  1. Navigate to Course Activities and choose Discussions from the drop down menu.

    Discussions

  2. Press the New button and select New Forum.

    New Forum

  3. Give the Forum a Title. It is helpful to name it something relevant to the type of discussion the Forum holds. In this example, I named it Camp Journals.

  4. Fill in the description. This is a good place to let students know that they are in a group of one, and only the instructor and student can see what is shared.

  5. Press Save and Close.

Highlight important information in a panel like this one. To edit this panel's color or style, select one of the options in the menu.

Step 2: Set up Groups

  1. Navigate to Course Tools and select Course Admin.

2. Scroll down and under Learner Management, select the Groups link.

  1. Press New Category. Categories are used to organize Groups.

  2. Give the Category a name. It is helpful to name it something relevant. In this example, I named it Private Camp Journals.

  3. Use the Description to give the students information about private journals and who has access. For example, students are placed in groups of one, and only the instructor and student can see what is written in the private journal.

  4. For Enrollment Type, select Single user, member specific groups.

  5. Under Advanced Properties, check the box for “Make Category and Group Descriptions visible to group members.”

  6. Under Additional Options, check the box for set up discussion areas. Then, select the applicable Forum from the drop down menu. This will be the Forum you created in Step 1 of this documentation.

  7. Fill in the bubble for Create a New Topic.

  8. Press Save.

  9. On the next screen, users will see Create Restricted Topics. Fill in the bubble for “Create one topic with threads separated by group.”

     

  10. Users should see a message that reads “Forum topics will be created.” Press Done.

  11. Users will be brought back to the Manage Groups page.

Step 3: Add a Private Journal Grade Item to the Gradebook

 

For a video version of Step 3 instructions, navigate to Video: Use Discussions for Journaling created by D2L.

  1. Navigate to Course Activities > Discussions.

  2. Scroll down and locate the Discussion you’ve set up to use as the private journal and locate the relevant Topic.

  3. Press the drop down arrow next to the Topic and then select Edit Topic.

4. In the “Grade Out Of” field, enter the Max points.

  1. Set your Availability Dates.

  2. Next, press the Manage Restrictions link.

  3. Select Restrict Topic and Separate the Threads. From the drop down menu, select your Group Category.

  4. Press the Add button.

  5. In the Groups and Restrictions menu, you should see a message indicating you have set up Threads separated by Group for the Group category you selected.

  6. In the Evaluation & Feedback menu, check the box for “Allow evaluation of individual posts” and choose your calculation method.

  7. Press Save and Close.