A step-by-step instructions on how to schedule a Blackboard Collaborate Session.
If this is your first time to schedule a session and you need to find the Blackboard Collaborate Scheduling tool visit: Locate the Bb Collaborate Scheduling tool in a Course
If you would like a quick overview of the complete Blackboard Collaborate tool page visit: Bb Collaborate Scheduling Tool Overview.
Contents
Session Information
- The Session Title defaults to the course name. It is recommended that the title be changed to something that is more meaningful to the students, e.g. PSYC 2001 – Dr. Smith – Week 3 – Discussion on Freud.
- Choose the start and end date and time for your session. The end time is not a strict cut off; the session will remain open until all of the participants have left the session.
- If you check Repeat Session, an addition panel opens and let you configure when and how often to repeat the session. It can be a time saver if you plan on having several sessions on the same day and time over the duration of the semester.
- Early session entry defaults to 30 minutes. This is the amount of time that students can join the session before the start time you set. This time allows them to run the Audio Set-up Wizard and make sure their speakers, microphone, and webcam are configured properly.
Room Options
While the first section, Session Information, allows you to quickly set up a basic Collaborate session; the second section of the Create Session screen, Room Options, provides finer control over your session.
- The Session Type defaults to Course, meaning that only students enrolled in this course will have access to the Collaborate session. If you select Shared that will make the Collaborate session available to all students in all of Blackboard Learn courses that you teach. Or alternately in the Courses field, you can select which courses (that you teach) that will have access to the session.
- Teleconferencing can provide better audio quality than voice over IP (VoIP). Blackboard Collaborate provides a built-in teleconferencing option as well as a third-party teleconferencing option. To allow only VoIP audio connections, select “Do not use teleconference.” Learn more about Blackboard Collaborate’s teleconferencing capabilities.
Note: When you select the third party or built-in teleconference options, Blackboard Collaborate cannot visually indicate who in the participant list is speaking. - The Room Attributes section offers control over various elements of the session. For attribute details, hover over the
icon next to the attribute title.
- Selecting ON under Grade Center Integration will automatically add a Grade Center column when the session ends and lets you to award points for attendance.
- Assign Roles allows you to assign participant or moderator status to all users; or to assign each participant’s status individually with “Assign access.”
Click Save and the session will be created and ready for use.
Additional Information:
- Detailed information about all of the available options for creating Collaborate sessions view the PDF: Creating Bb Collaborate session within a Bb Learn course.
- Advanced settings please see the Blackboard Collaborate document: Scheduling a Blackboard Collaborate Session Building Block 3-0