About student eJournal
Keeping a journal is an excellent way to build writing skills. eJournal, which looks like a page from a spiral notebook, carries journal-writing into the 21st Century with an intuitive screen for writers to key their journals and augment them with pictures, sounds and movies. Teachers, peers, mentors and other guests may review journal entries.
eJournal supports a range of journal-based projects including cross-curricular work, lab notes, advisory exercises, service learning, college assignments, and reflections by interns and by professional practitioners.
eJournal fosters a reflective culture: there are no cartoons or raucous noises to jar the writing process and distract writers.
Journal writing is often an integral part of the curriculum in the upper elementary and middle school grades. However, since introspection, reflection, and self- development are important at any age, journals can be useful in High School, College, Staff Development, and wherever ongoing reflection is valued.
Basically, anyone who can type can use eJournal; it is probably best for students from 4th or 5th grade and older.
Students may augment their writing by attaching digital movies, sounds, and pictures to a journal entry. Click the videocam, microphone or camera to add media; click the filmstrip, ear or picture icon to see or hear it.
Attachments are displayed in auxiliary windows.
The student can print the current journal entry, selected pages of the journal, or the entire journal.
A printout of the semester's journal (with a personalized cover page) makes an excellent keepsake that students will return to again and again.
Teachers, peers, and parents may comment on a journal entry via text or sound notes.
An important feature of eJournal is that the program respects student authorship. Only the student may change the content of his/her journal; it is read-only to teachers. eJournal provides the notes feature as a mechanism for teachers to comment on each piece of writing.
In eJournal, notes are attached to entries; the program automatically dates them and includes the reviewer's name. When viewing notes, they always open in their own auxiliary windows. Teachers who have spent evenings penning notes in scores of notebooks particularly appreciate the chance to speak and type comments.
Teachers' custom instructions appear on the screen when the cursor moves over the Assignment prompt.
Teachers and the journal's author always have access to all journal entries.
Access by others (guests, peers, etc.) can be allowed on a page-by-page basis.
A red x in the magnifying
glass icon means this journal entry is hidden from guest readers.
When the magnifying glass icon has no x, guest readers may read and attach notes to the entry.
Guest access is prohibited unless explicitly enabled for a journal page.
In addition, journals are password protected. If students forget passwords, teachers can reset them.
The purpose of eJournal is to build writing and reflective skills. eJournal lets students write.
Teachers have a separate eJournal Class Manager program that lets them read and comment on their students’ journals over the network.
From the Class Browser screen, teachers can print students' journals and even place writing assignments into them. When students open their journals, they'll find an empty page with that assignment. Assignments may be the same for all students or customized for individuals or for groups.
