There are a variety of channels available within Blackboard for providing student communications. .
- Aim for consistency, to ensure students know when and where to check for module updates and key messaging.
- Before meeting your student cohort, use Blackboard for start of term communications to help new and returning students orientate themselves with the module and your expectations for engagement.
The following recommendations can be used to inform module, Programme or School approaches to student communications
Announcements
| How is it controlled? | What does it do? | Recommended uses |
| Blackboard module instructors and Organisation leaders can post messages.
Students have read-only access. New posts trigger a notification in the Activity Stream feed. It is not possible for students to disable Announcement notifications. |
This is a simple tool designed for:
If highly important, it is possible to send an email copy to student university Outlook accounts. A record of posts are displayed, they can be edited and updated. |
An active Announcements page helps to foster instructor presence online, provides narrative as the module unfolds and demonstrates common or shared goals and interests. All these help to engage students with asynchronous learning.
Avoid sending email copies unless ‘very important’. At the start of term, speak to students about your intended frequency and purpose of Announcements. Do not ‘attach’ items, instead link to document locations within Blackboard. See TEL toolkit for more Announcement good practice guidance. |
Discussion boards
| How is it controlled? | What does it do? | Recommended uses |
| Module instructors or Organisation leaders can start new forums, make posts and reply to existing posts.
Students can be given authoring permissions. New posts trigger a notification in the Activity Stream feed. |
This is a simple tool designed for staff and/or students to start conversations about a specific topic in a Blackboard module or Organisation.
It is not possible to send an email copy to student university Outlook accounts. A record of posts can be found in one place on the Blackboard module or Organisation. Images and embedded media can be included. Post can be edited and updated. |
Use discussion boards for topic specific conversations that require students to contribute, for example, FAQs or where a chain of replies is needed.
Discussion boards can be used for group work and relevant assessment activities (they can be marked), as well as module and Organisation conversation pieces. See TEL toolkit contains more Discussion Forum good practice guidance. Note: Third-party tools may not be accessible to all students; for example Padlet discussion boards are not compatible with screen-readers. Check with your School DTS business partner if considering using a new technology. |
Blackboard Calendar
| How is it controlled? | What does it do? | Recommended uses |
| System adds Blackboard / Tii assignment deadlines automatically to Blackboard homepage Calendar.
Staff can add events to their module and Organisation Calendars, the Blackboard homepage Calendar will aggregate events from all courses and Organisations in which a student is enrolled. |
The Blackboard Calendar is always available to students via the Blackboard homepage, it cannot be hidden.
Credit and non-credit bearing submission points auto-populate here (if there is a Blackboard or Turnitin ‘due’ date set). Blackboard Calendars do not automatically update Outlook or Teams calendars. Events can be exported as an iCal file. It is possible to set up recurring events. For example, virtual office hours relating to your module. Calendar events can contain hyperlinks. For example, you might consider linking to Microsoft Bookings to allow students to book appointments during virtual office hours. |
Students should be advised not to rely on their Blackboard Calendar as there may be inaccuracies. For example, all assessment deadlines pertaining to their modules will display, even if some deadlines are not relevant to all individuals.
Staff should avoid displaying the Calendar tool link within modules and Organisations. Blackboard homepage Calendar will aggregate events across modules and Organisation Calendars for students to see in one place. |
Messages
| How is it controlled? | What does it do? | Recommended uses |
| Do not use. | Do not use. | Continue using Outlook (central university emailing service) for full email features and support, for example, archiving, message retrieval etc. Students cannot send communications via ‘Messages’. |
Microsoft Teams for asynchronous student collaboration
| How is it controlled? | What does it do? | Recommended uses |
| Staff can request a Microsoft Team for student collaboration or project work. Staff need to manually set permissions for student Microsoft Team members.
Students will not receive Activity Stream notifications about Microsoft Teams activity. |
Teams is an online collaboration tool from Microsoft; staff and students are permitted to use Teams in conjunction with Blackboard, for projects or group work that require:
Before using a Microsoft Team for student collaboration, please check guidance about: |
Core teaching and learning content, including essential communications, must be provided via university email or Blackboard (such as an Announcement or within a content area).
Before using Microsoft Teams with your students, please check guidance: Note; remember to create a link to the Team and display in Blackboard, so that all students can access. Upon clicking, they will be prompted to view on the web or download the Teams app. |
Blogs, Wikis and Journals
| How is it controlled? | What does it do? | Recommended uses |
| Staff moderate and set permission preferences for students to interact.
Students can make new posts or reply to existing posts. New posts trigger a notification in the Activity Stream feed. |
These are simple tools designed for staff and students to write articles within the Blackboard module or Organisation. Articles can be co-authored by students.
It is not possible to send an email copy to student university Outlook accounts. A record of posts can be found in one place on the Blackboard module or Organisation. Images and embedded media can be included. Posts can be edited and updated. |
Not recommended for general communications to students.
Blogs, Wikis and Journals can be used for group work and assessment activities. See TEL toolkit for Blogs, Wikis and Journals good practice guidance. Note: third-party tools may not be accessible to all students, Check with your School DTS business partner if considering using a new technology. |
Social media feeds
| How is it controlled? | What does it do? | Recommended uses |
| If needing to post social media messages, staff must create a social media account.
Speak to your DTS business partner for information about DAG approved platforms and setting up an account. |
Some social media platforms may require users to have an account in order to view posts.
Most social media feeds can be embedded into Blackboard module or Organisation pages. Students are not required to engage with social media platforms, however, students are required to make use of Blackboard in their studies. Students are not notified of social media activity via the Blackboard homepage ‘Activity Stream’. |
Use to enhance student engagement; note, core teaching and learning content, including essential communications, must be provided via university email or in Blackboard, for example via an Announcement or menu content area.
Be mindful students are not required to engage with social media platforms and there are a variety of reasons why they may not be able (or willing) to use social media. Check the accessibility of your social media posts and provide alternative formats for students who cannot use the embedded platform (for example, sight impaired students will not be able to access image-based feeds from Instagram). The university Disability Advisory Service provides information about registered access needs. Please direct social media accessibility questions to: webaccessibilityteam@reading.ac.uk |