This article contains example of journal activities an instructor might choose to use in a Canvas course. These instructions are provided as examples only. They are not meant to address every potential scenario. Feel free to use them as a guide and edit them for your own course needs. If your course is a part of a fully online program, please refer to the program specifications and activity directions.
Uses
Journal activities are often private between a student and instructor. They are used in a variety of ways to provide reflection, inspire creative approaches, act as reading notes, and more. The university’s LMS does not include a specific journal function. Just as personal journals have multiple potential formats, so can journal assignments. The examples below show options you may consider trying. You may also want to explore some of the References and Related Content at the bottom of the page.
Examples
Google Doc Journal Assignment
Each student creates their own Google document using headers to identify each journal activity or date. The document is shared for viewing with the instructor only, then a link to the journal is submitted as an assignment in the LMS. This example assumes the option for “Website URL” submission is selected in the assignment settings.
Your journal entry assignment this week is to _____.
You will complete this “journal entry” in a Google Document, so you can continue to use it for future entries. After you write your entry, you will submit the link for grading.
To share the link to your document
Click on the Share button.
Click Copy link to copy the URL. Then, add my email address (found in the syllabus) in the “Share with people and groups” space. To the right of my name, select “Commenter” from the drop-down menu, then click Share. The window should close when you click Share.
After closing the Share box, click Submit Assignment, and check that you are in the “Website URL” tab of the assignment submission. Paste the URL you copied in Step 2 in the space provided.
Click Submit Assignment to complete your submission.
Discussion Board Journal
This method utilizes the discussion board function in Canvas. Students are organized into Groups of 1, then a journal discussion is assigned to the groups. To create a running list of entries to the “journal,” students are directed back to their “group” where there is a discussion thread assigned for each journal entry. The instructor created a discussion activity for each entry and assigned it to the groups. For this method, a rubric can be used to assess a journal as a whole or it can include a row of criteria for each entry to assign unique points to each entry.
Your journal entry assignment this week is to _____.
Click Reply below to submit your journal entry.
References and Related Content
Canvas Tip of the Week: Journals (video)
Blogs and Journals from Boise State eCampus Center Toolbox for Designing Learning Activities
