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• Communication & Collaboration

Your default menu will have an Email link. You may select the following categories to send email to:

• All Users
• All Groups
• All Teaching Assistant Users
• All Instructor Users
• Select User
• Select Groups

Emails can be sent to individual users or to Groups of users within the course.

1. Select the Email link from the course menu.
2. Select the Select Users link.

   

3. Place a check in the box to the left of a course participant.
4. Enter the Subject.
5. Enter a Message.

   

6. Select on the Add button to attach a file.
7. Click the Submit button when finished.

   

8. You will receive a Success message which includes the list of recipients.
   To go back to the SEND EMAIL page, click the OK button.
9. You may also click any of the navigational links at the top of the display page.

The Discussion Board is a communication medium for posting and responding to messages. Conversations are grouped as threads that contain a main posting and all related replies. An advantage of the Discussion Board is that threads are logged and organized. As an instructor, you can add/modify Forums from the main menu.

1. Select the Discussion Board link from your menu.
2. Select the + Add Forum button.

   

3. Type in the name of your forum. Forums are often organized by topic or date for ease of reading.
4. Provide a description of your forum. This generally contains information on the topics to be discussed as well as any guidelines for discussion.

   

5. Select your forum settings:
   • Allow anonymous posts – allows students to post anonymously. This may encourage contribution where students might feel uncomfortable sharing their options, but decreases accountability.
   • Allow author to modify message after posting – allows students to edit messages once posting (warning: this can render the remaining discussion incomprehensible)
   • Allow author to remove own posted messages – Not recommended because this deletes the author’s message AND all messages following the deleted message
   • Allow file attachments – allows students to attach files to discussion postings. This can be a good way for students to share papers.
   • Allow new threads – allows students to start their own discussion threads.
     
6. Decide whether you would like to have a moderator for the forum. The moderator has editorial rights in a forum so that they can create threads, edit postings or remove messages and threads. A moderator may be a student, TA or the instructor. To select a moderator, highlight the moderator’s name in the list at the bottom of the forum and click on “moderate.”
7. You may also choose to block certain users from participating in the forum. Blocked users may view and read postings, but may not contribute. To create a discussion board that can only be seen by selected students in the class, use the Groups function.
8. Click the Submit button.

   

Blackboard has a feature that makes it easier for the instructor to view all messages in a forum. The “Collect” function places all postings into a single page view so that you can scroll to read messages.

1. Select the Control Panel button from the Tools section below your course menu.

   

2. On the left side of the Control Panel page in the Course Tools section, select the Discussion Board link.

   

3. Click on a Forum title to view its content.

   

4. If the toolbar is not visible, click on the Show Options tab on the right side of the
   page above the time and date listing. This is a toggle button that is named Show Options or Hide Options, depending on which is visible.
5. Select the Select All button from the toolbar.
6. Select the Collect button.
7. To return to the threaded view, click the OK button.

   

Blackboard allows you to divide your students into one or more study or project groups.
Groups members can send files and email among the group , hold online group meetings, and participate in group discussion boards.

Only group members have access to their group area, and that area can function as a course within
a course. Groups can be very useful for collaborative work and assignments.

1. Select the Control Panel button from the Tools section below your course menu.

   

2. On the right side of the Control Panel page in the User Management section, select the Manage Groups link.

   

3. Select the Add Group button.

   

4. A name for the group is required.
5. A description of the group is optional.

   

6. Select features to make available to the group by checking the appropriate check boxes.
   • Group Discussion Board Available
   • Group Virtual Classroom Available
   • Group File Exchange Available
   • Group Email Available

7. Click the Submit button.

   

8. You will receive a Success message.
   To go back to Manage Groups click the OK button.

   

9. To add students, click on Modify to the right of the group title.

   

10. Click on the link to Add Users to Group.

    

11. Click on the Search button to display participants in the course.
12. Under the Add column, click in the check box next to the participant names
    who will be in this group.
13. Click the Submit button.

    

14. Click the OK button twice to return to Manage Groups.
15. You may also click any of the navigational links at the top of the display page.

    

If you are going to use groups in your class, consider adding a Group link to the Course Menu.

To enable a discussion board for a group, you must choose the Discussion Board as one
of the options for the group.   If you haven't already set this option for the group, use the Modify button
for the group on the Manage Groups page and select Group Properties to open the original
Add Group form.

To utilize a group discussion board, you must create a Forum for the group.

1. Select the Communication link from the Tools section below your Course Menu.
2. Select the Group Pages link.

   

3. Select the group link where you would like to add a discussion forum.
4. Select the Group Discussion Board link.
5. Click the Add Forum button to create a forum.

   

Through Chat, students and faculty in a course can participate in real-time discussions. Archives of previous discussions are available for review if recorded during the session. Chat may be accessed alone or in conjunction with the Virtual Classroom. Like the Virtual Classroom, Chat requires a java
plug-in, available at http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/index.html.

All courses come with a default Virtual Classroom (Lecture Hall) and default Chat session (Office Hours) already created. These default sessions can be removed, but it easier to use the Manage button to change the name and availability.  Once removed a session cannot be restored.

To create a Chat session

1. Select the Control Panel button from the Tools section below your course menu.
2. On the left side of the Control Panel page in the Course Tools section, select the Collaboration link.

   

3. Click the + Collaboration Session at the top of the page to add a new session

   

4. Enter the Session Name. The Default will be the current date and time.
5. Select dates and times of availability, if known or choose whether to make it available for use now.
6. Choose Chat as your Collaboration Tool.
7. Click the Submit button.



8. You receive a message that the Session has been added.

1. Select the Control Panel button from the Tools section below your course menu.
2. On the left side of the Control Panel page in the Course Tools section, select the Collaboration link.

   

3. Click Join to start the session.

   

4. The Launching Chat Tool page opens with the message, Leaving this page will close the Chat window.



5. During the session, you may change the features available to participants by clicking the Controls button.
6. Private Messaging allows participants to send messages to you that other Chat participants cannot see.



7. You may also change the roles available to participants. Active users can chat or ask questions during a session while passive users cannot. To change the role, select the icon next to the student name and change the student designation by selecting the bold or gray icon at the bottom of the chat screen.
8. Students who are active, but would like to become passive, can signal the administrator by clicking on the hand icon.
9. To send a message to the entire group, type the message in the Compose field.
To record a chat session, click on the record button during the session.



11. To end the chat session, select the Controls button and click in the End Session check box.
12. Click the OK button.



13. Click the OK button to end the session and expel all users.
14. Click the OK button to close the chat window.

In the Blackboard Virtual Classroom, users can engage in real-time discussion with other users, access the Web, and engage in Q&A sessions. Users may also draw on the Whiteboard to display text and images and participate in breakout sessions.

1. Select the Control Panel button from the Tools section below your course menu.
2. On the left side of the Control Panel page in the Course Tools section, select the Collaboration link.

   

3. Click the + Collaboration Session at the top of the page to add a new session

   

4. Enter the Session Name. The Default will be the current date and time.
5. Select dates and times of availability, if known or choose whether to make it available for use now.
6. Choose Virtual Classroom as your Collaboration Tool.
7. Click the Submit button.



8. Click the Join button to open the Virtual Classroom.



The Virtual Classroom is managed from the Menu Bar at the top of the page.

9. Select View to choose an option for viewing personal messages.
10. By selecting Controls, the Instructor can choose which tools participants can access during the classroom session.
11. Select clear to erase the chat display.
12. Select Breakouts to select the users who will participate in a breakout session.
13. The Classroom Tool Box provides the means to search web sites, ask and answer questions and display areas of your course in the Whiteboard.



14. To end the Virtual Classroom session, select the Controls button and click in the End Session check box.
15. Click the OK button.



16. Click the OK button to end the session and expel all users.
17. Click the OK button to close the Virtual Classroom window.