Using Discussions as Private Journals

A journal is a personal writing space where students can reflect on their learning and explore ideas. Examples of journal activities include:

  • Reflecting on an experience in a clinical or lab setting.

  • Identifying confusing or challenging components in a class lecture, chapter, or reading assignment.

  • Answering guided questions about an assignment such as a research paper or a case study.

  • Creating a written record of daily activity for an internship.

  • Exploring creative and artistic ideas.

D2L provides many spaces for journaling: the student blog, assignments, and discussions. Instructors can transform discussions into private journals by creating a group for each student and setting up the journal discussion as a "group topic." This setup allows all students to submit a discussion post, but students cannot see the posts of other students.

This page describes how to create a group for each student in the course and how to setup a discussion as a group topic for each student.

Begin by navigating to the Groups area on D2L:

  • Click the "Instructor Resources" tab in the course navigation bar.

  • Select "Edit Course."

  • Select "Class Progress."

Create a Group for Each Student

In the Groups area, click "New Category" to create a new group.

Assign a name and an optional description for the group category.

Scroll down, and select an Enrollment Type from the drop-down menu. One Enrollment Type option is "Single-user, member-specific groups." This option creates a unique group for each student, and the group is named after the student (as the image on the right shows).

Another Enrollment Type option is "Groups of #," then assign 1 for the Number of Users. In the Advanced Properties, leave the checkmark for "Randomize users in groups" (this is the default setting).

This option also creates a unique group for each student, but the groups are assigned a number.

Further down, the Additional Options section allows you to assign journal groups to existing journal discussion topics or to create new journal discussion topics.


It is easier to leave this section blank and to create journal discussions using the steps in the next section.

Create Journal Discussion Topics

and Assign Individual Student Groups

The next step is to create one or more discussion topics in the D2L Discussions area to use as journals. (Consider also creating a separate forum for journals.)

Begin by creating a new discussion topic as usual.

In the Properties tab, select "Group or Section Topic," then select the Group Category you just created.

Unfortunately, an existing discussion topic that is setup as an "Open Topic" cannot be transformed into a "Group or Section Topic." (You'll have to create a new discussion topic and select "Group or Section Topic.")

Complete the rest of the settings for the journal discussion, and click "Save and Close" when done.

The D2L Discussion area can provide a convenient space for individualized student journals. Journal posts in the discussion area cannot be viewed by other students, but instructors can view and grade the journals.

For more information and support, contact Online Learning.