WolfBlogs: Information for Faculty

An increasing number of faculty are using blogs not only to publish new ideas and track areas of research interest but also to communicate with their students. This page provides answers to some basic questions about using WolfBlogs in a course setting. If you have additional questions, please consult the FAQ or User Guide. For assistance with setting up WolfBlogs for instructional purposes, please contact Kim Duckett, Principal Librarian for Distance Learning and Educational Technology Services, 513-3653, or the Learning Technology Service. For technical support, please contact the NC State Help Desk.

1. How can I use WolfBlogs in my courses?

WolfBlogs are an excellent way to stimulate discussion among your students, convey course announcements, or explain assignments. See the Examples of Use page for further suggestions.

2. What privacy-related laws and policies apply to the instructional use of WolfBlogs?

Under the federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and NC State's FERPA regulation, a student's "education records" are protected from disclosure to third parties. As described in the Rule for the Use of NCSU Libraries "WolfBlogs" Service, because of the inherently public nature of blogs, students must provide written consent for any required blog participation in a course setting. For required course blog participation, please ask your students to download, fill in and submit the FERPA Consent Form for Course Blog Participation to you before adding them as an "author" of the course blog or linking to their personally authored blog from the course blog.

3. Is a FERPA Consent Form ever unnecessary?

WolfBlogs authors cannot post anonymously since author posts are always identified by Unity ID. However, anyone can add anonymous comments to previously created posts. If you author a WolfBlog for your course and students post response comments under a pseudonym of their choosing, the FERPA Consent Form is not needed.

Currently, WolfBlogs cannot automatically limit the posting of comments to students enrolled in a course. However, if you enable "comment moderation" when you create a WolfBlog, you will have the opportunity to preview comments and choose whether or not to accept them. (See how...)

4. Can I restrict who can view my WolfBlog?

No. WolfBlogs can be read by anyone, anywhere. Viewing rights cannot be restricted to any individual or specific group. Because WolfBlogs are public, they may also be indexed by search engines like Google.

However, you can make specific WolfBlog posts private and viewable only by the blog's author(s) by selecting "Save as Draft" rather than "Post to Weblog.". Draft posts will not appear on the blog itself, but are accessible under "Entries" when you log into "My Blogs." (See how...)

5. Can I restrict who can contribute to my WolfBlog?

There are two ways to contribute to a WolfBlog: by creating new posts, or by adding comments to existing posts. Only users designated as "authors" can create new posts. When you first create a blog, you are the only "author" who can contribute posts. If you want to ensure that students enrolled in a given course are also able to post to the blog, you must add all of them as "authors." (See how...) Keep in mind that anyone will still be able to view the blog. It is precisely because of this public nature of WolfBlogs that students must provide written consent for any required WolfBlog participation in the context of a course.

To add comments to an existing post, "author" status is not required. By default, anyone can add comments to existing blog posts. To restrict comments, you can either disable the comments functionality entirely (uncheck option "allow comments for your weblog" under "Settings") or you can enable comment moderation (select "Moderate Comments" under "Settings"). (See how...) When comment moderation is enabled, you will be prompted to review comments one-by-one before they appear and choose whether or not to accept them. There is no way to automatically limit the posting of comments to students enrolled in a particular course or any other sub-set of individuals.

If you disable the "comments" functionality entirely, there will be no interchange on individual posts. For the purpose of tracking and organizing discussions, it may be a better idea to allow comments and moderate them, deleting any unsolicited submissions.

6. How are WolfBlogs different from the Discussions tool in WebCT Vista?

The main difference between the two is the public nature of WolfBlogs. While some classes may be better conducted within the protected environment offered by WebCT Vista, a WolfBlog may be ideal for a class in which public viewing and participation can contribute to the learning experience. Examples of course blogs can be found here. A table comparing WolfBlogs and Web CT Vista is also available.

7. Where can I get help using WolfBlogs?

For assistance with setting up a blog for instructional purposes, please contact Kim Duckett, Principal Librarian for Distance Learning and Educational Technology Services, 513-3653, or the Learning Technology Service. For technical support, please contact the NC State Help Desk.

8. Where can I get additional questions answered?

Please consult the WolfBlogs FAQ or User Guide to the Roller blog application.