What are Collaborative Tools?

Collaborative tools are any tools that allow people to work together on something. In this case, Blackboard has created a collection of tools to help you and your students enhance their learning. Specifically, Blackboard has provided tools for you to communicate with your students; for your students communicate with each other; to share information with you and your students; and to have real-time conversations outside the classroom. Blackboard does this through the Discussion Board, E-mail, Groups, Assignment Manager, Digital Drop Box, Lightweight Chat and the Virtual Classroom.

Various research studies have been done in support of using collaborative tools in an online environment. Read this article for more information. Using Collaborative Tools

More information on the Assignment Manager and the Digital Drop Box can found in the section on Electronic Submissions.

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What is the Discussion Board?

The Discussion Board is an asynchronous communication tool that allows faculty and students to share thoughts and ideas on a chosen topic. The Blackboard Discussion Board is broken down into discussion forums where each forum is a particular discussion topic. Each discussion forum is made of any number of threads of discussion and related replies. For example, if you were teaching a course on world religions, you might have a discussion forum created for each of the religions to be covered. Within each forum, you may have a discussion thread that explores rituals, beliefs, and history. These discussions may be continuations of discussions from class, or discussions held completely outside of the classroom.

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How do I create a Discussion Board forum?

For a video demonstration on how to create and use a Discussion Board forum, click here. (Courtesy of Blackboard Inc.)

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How do I use the Discussion Board in my course?

There are a variety of ways that you can use the Discussion Board in your class. For example, you can use it to continue discussions that began in class or to move the discussion outside of class to make time for other things. Some faculty use a Discussion Board as a means of answering frequently asked questions.

Read the article that is linked to at the top of the page for more ideas.

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How do I use Blackboard e-mail?

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Groups are smaller collaborative units. This tool allows you to create an online space for group projects, presentations, or socratic dialogs.

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For a video demonstration on creating and managing Groups click here. (Courtesy of Blackboard Inc.)

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The Groups tool includes many of the same tools that are available to the whole class (e.g., e-mail, Discussion Board) and you can use these tools the same way you use the others, except that you access them from within your Group Page. In addition, the Groups tool includes a File Exchange feature. Similar to the digital drop box, it allows members of the group to post a file, but any member of the group can download the file, unlike in the digital drop box. A file that has been uploaded can not be deleted except by the Instructor and the original poster. In addition, if changes are made to the original document, the new version must be uploaded. You can not overwrite a file that has been posted to the Exchange.

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What are Collaborations?

Collaborations is the overarching term used to describe the Virtual Classroom and Lightweight Chat tools. Before you can use either of these tools you must create a Collaboration Session.

The Collaborations are Java applications and will take a few minutes to load in your browser. Before you can use this tool with your students you must make sure that all participants have installed the latest version of Java which can be found at http://www.java.com.

FAQs:

Q: I only see the Lecture Hall and Office Hour sessions.
A: If you have not yet created a session these are the default sessions for the course. You can sort sessions, filter them, and search by criteria.

Q: While creating my sessions, how can I organize them (date, time, alphabetical)?
A: Sessions are sorted alphabetically by default, so if you want the session to appear in a particular place, name it accordingly (of course, you could also use the sorting tools)

Q: I would like to set the release date of the session for my students to view.
A: By default, the session will become available immediately and will never expire. You can also choose to make the session unavailable (without using a trigger date) by choosing the No radio button in the Available area.

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What is the Virtual Classroom?

The Virtual Classroom is a synchronous chat room, similar to instant messaging programs, with the added bonus of interactive tools like a white board, presentation space, and group browser. This feature can be used for virtual office hours, real time class meetings, and guest speakers. It can also be used to display PowerPoint slides, videos of course content and any file you have uploaded to your course.

If you plan to use this tool, there are a few things you should know:

1. Due to the fact that the Virtual Classroom is a synchronous (real time) feature, be sure to notify your students well in advance of any activities involving this feature to ensure maximum attendance.
2. With too many users, the Virtual Classroom experience can become overwhelming and difficult to manage. You may want to consider grouping students into smaller groups.

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Download the PDF Tutorial at the top of the page.

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What is the Lightweight Chat?

The Lightweight Chat is Blackboard's version of instant messaging. It allows the class to have synchronous discussions without the extra tools found in the Virtual Classroom.

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How do I use the Lightweight Chat?

Download the PDF at the top of the page..

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