Teacher Discussion Forums

In one of the classroom I've recently observed, the Biology teacher used journals as a form of assessment fo the students. I felt it was a wonderful idea, and I would like to use it in my own classroom eventually. What type of guidelines for each entry should I employ?

Depends on the abilities and work ethic of the students.

I have journals for my high school students but few of them complete any of their writing assignments so, at this point, I'm just giving credit to those who actually completed the assignments....kind of a pass/fail scenario.

Ultimately, as the teacher, it's up to you.