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The Blackboard Manual


Blackboard TEL Guides

The Blackboard Manual

Wikis

Wikis are a series of editable web pages - which can be set up and used by staff and students in a Blackboard course or organisation. They can be used individually as a way for an entire course to collaborate together, or individual wikis can be assigned to Blackboard Groups for the group members to edit.

There are 4 stages to using Wikis in Blackboard:

  1. Setting up the Wiki tool
  2. Adding pages to the Wiki for users to edit
  3. Users edit the pages (and add new pages if required)
  4. Participation is reviewed and grades applied if desired
Configure a tool

Create a Wiki

Step 1 - Setting up the Wiki tool

  1. Navigate to the page where you want to add your new Wiki
  2. Click the Tools button
  3. Select Wikis
  4. Click the Create New Wiki button
  5. Provide a Name for your Wiki
  6. Add instructions for the users
  7. Click the Submit button
  8. Make sure the Link to Wiki option is selected, and the Wiki you have just created is also selected
  9. Click the Next button
  10. Select your tracking options if required and then click Submit to save all changes

The Wiki has now been created, but currently has no content. If you want to structure your Wiki by pre-populating the pages for students to use, you can set this up next.

Step 2 - Add new pages

  1. Click on the link the Wiki you have just created
  2. You will be prompted to create the first Wiki page (the Home page)
  3. Enter a Name for the page
  4. Add some content / instructions on the page if you wish
  5. Click Submit
  6. To create another page, click the Create Wiki Page button
  7. Again, add a Name for the page, and some content if desired
  8. Click Submit
  9. Carry on creating new pages until your Wiki structure is complete

See the example video below:

Watch the video
Creating a Wiki

* You can always edit any Wiki page by selecting the page in the Wiki Content panel on the right, and then clicking the Edit Wiki Content button to update your pages.

Step 3 - Editing Wiki Pages (Students)

Students can update content and add pages in the same way as tutors:

  1. Click on the link to the Wiki
  2. Click the Edit Wiki Content button to add or remove content. This can include text, web links, documents, Panopto videos and uploaded images
  3. Click the Submit button to save changes to the page

See the example video below:

Watch the video
Editing pages

Step 4 - Reviewing Participation

You can easily see which students have added content, removed content - and you can compare different versions of the Wiki pages to monitor engagement. This especially important for assessing group work, as you can tell which users have been most active. To access the Wiki participation tool:

  1. Click on the link to the Wiki
  2. Click the Participation Summary button to the top right
  3. Click on the name of the user you wish to review
  4. You can now select any of the pages that user has contributed to
  5. In the User's Modifications section, choose a version to compare
  6. You will be presented with a record of the changes made between versions

See the example video below:

Watch the video
Reviewing Participation