blog.torontomu

A blog is a frequently updated publication of thoughts and comments in the form of a website. A blog site has journal-type entries displayed in reverse chronological order.

Most people use a blog as:

• A journal or diary, where content is added or updated regularly.
• A static website, where changes are not made regularly, but can be easily made, without having to know the nitty-gritty of website design. A blog typically has a simplistic way of adding (and modifying) content, which makes it ideal for general users and quick updates.

Blogging assignments are great for increasing class collaboration and discussion. Students have the opportunity to create posts, as well as provide feedback on others' posts by commenting. Instructors can choose to create one blog with all students in the course as authors.

Several key considerations must be addressed when using educational technology tools in your course. It is your responsibility to ensure that students are fully informed about the tool, its costs, and other details to align with University policy and Provincial acts. Don’t assume that the students fully understand the implications of posting to the course blog – it needs to be expressly stated in the syllabus.

Here are a few items to include in that statement: 

• Who will be able to see the posts? (Just the Instructor?TA? The whole class? The public?)
• How long will the content be available? By default, course blogs are archived soon after the term has completed. If you need the blog to exist for longer than the term, you need to include that information in your course syllabus AND in your initial blog request.
• Will the content be used in any other context? The assumption is that this content will only be viewed in this blog for the purpose of completing course activities. If you intend to copy the content elsewhere or use it in another format, you must include the information in the syllabus. 

We strongly encourage you to include all of this essential information in your course outline, to ensure students are aware of how it impacts them.

Refer to the TMU course outline template for some ways to incorporate this information into your course outline and to the Senate Course Outline Policies for guidance on what needs to be included in your course outlines.

Sample course outline content

This course utilizes TMU’s WordPress Blog system, an external educational technology tool in addition to D2L Brightspace. This tool is used to enhance your course learning experience by creating various content formats, allowing and encouraging learners to collaborate by showcasing projects, ideas, and reflections.

• Costs: The tool does not result in additional costs to you.
  
• Other requirements: Some additional technical requirements for its usage include:
  
  • You will only be able to access the course blog on the network if you have an account and have been added to the blog site. 
  • Use your TMU credentials to login to the blog network.
  • Login directly to the admin dashboard of your course blog by adding /wp-admin to the end of your blog’s address.
    
• Account creation: An account is automatically created through your enrollment in this D2L Brightspace course.
  
• Data privacy and usage: This tool will have access to your name, TMU email address, and any content, media, or academic work posted to the blog site.
  
  Typically, student work is only visible to the members of the blog site unless noted by the instructor that the blog will be made public.
  
  The course blog site with all students' work will be retained within TMU's WordPress system for 1 year after the end of the term, in case of potential appeals or FIPPA requests.
  
  An exception will apply to the data retention of the blog site should the instructor choose to use the site in the following ways: 

1. Make the blog (and the students' work) public, or
2. Run the blog site beyond the duration of the course and past the end of the term, or
3. Use the blog site and/or student work in another context.

For all the above listed options, it is required to obtain written consent from each student of the course to proceed.

• Opt-out options: This tool does have an opt-out policy, and you may inquire with your instructor regarding alternative assessment options, if available. 

For technical support regarding Blogs at TMU, please visit TMU’s blog.torontomu.ca Student Guide.

Opinions expressed in this weblog system do not necessarily represent those of Toronto Metropolitan University. 

It is the responsibility of each blogger and participant on blog.torontomu.ca to ensure that their conduct is ethical, in which it does not violate the terms of FIPPA. By using this system, you have agreed with the terms of the Computing Guidelines regarding use of a Toronto Metropolitan resource.

Access to blog.torontomu.ca is provided on an as-is basis. If your site requires special plugins, themes or code, it may be best to look into hosting your WordPress site (where you have more control over its features).

Note that all features of blog.torontomu.ca are subject to change, as the WordPress application and available plugins and themes may be modified by their respective developers. We will do our best to maintain the features you rely on ,but this may not be within our control.

Space is limited on blog.torontomu.ca. All blogs begin with 200 MB of space, which may be upgraded to 500 MB by request, provided you have taken steps to ensure only web-appropriate content is hosted on your site.

To get a blog on our system, you will have to submit a request form (external link) . You will be contacted by email once your blog has been set up. 

*Please Note: we can only add user accounts to the system, so we cannot add a group email username as a user to your blog.

If this blog is for a course, the blog prefix will be based on the course code and term. Blog prefix selection is not available for course blog.

Can’t access the blog request form? You may be logged into your personal Gmail account. To access the form: logout of your personal Gmail account; or use a different browser you typically don’t use for Gmail. 

You will be prompted to login using your university login.

Course Blogs will be archived once the course has ended, but will remain on the system for 1 year after the end of the term. After this time, they will be permanently deleted, without notice. This timeline is in line with TMU’s course retention policies. 

All other blogs must be renewed every two years. Each blog owner will be contacted to renew their blog, or allow it to be retired.

Course Blog Archiving Schedule

• Winter term blogs – archiving begins in June.
• Spring/Summer term blogs – archiving begins in October. 
• Fall term blogs – archiving begins in February.