Blackboard Collaborate

Where will I find Collaborate on my Blackboard site?

All Blackboard sites have a dedicated menu link that will take you to the Collaborate area of the site:

To see upcoming sessions and to access previous recordings of sessions click the three dots at the side of the Class Collaborate area. Click ‘View all sessions’ to see upcoming sessions.

Accessing a Collaborate Room

When you arrive at the Collaborate area of your Blackboard site, you should see a ‘Course Room’, and potentially one or more sessions.

Simply click on the room or session name and you will be taken directly into the Collaborate Room.

You can also use the 'Filter by' to view upcoming sessions or past sessions.

Help and support

You can access online help from the icon at the right of the ‘sessions’ bar:

There are a few possible reasons for not being able to connect to a Collaborate session. These are the most common:

Has the session started yet?

It might seem obvious, but please check that you have the right day and time for the session you are trying to attend as the room might not be open yet.

Has the session ended?

You should still be able to enter the room for a session that has already ended, but it is possible that your tutor has closed the room.

Does it look like your web browser is trying to connect?

You may see a purple spinning wheel or a message about trying to connect.

This is usually caused by web cookies - if you are trying to enter the room via a link you were sent, then you may not have had the opportunity to accept cookies for Blackboard. Google Chrome seems to be affected most, but it is quite easy to fix using one or more of the following options:

a. Open a new web browser tab and login to Blackboard. Accept Blackboard cookies and then retry the Collaborate link.

b. If you are unable to join a Blackboard Collaborate session in Google Chrome and you are just getting the loading page with the purple circle, you need to allow cookies first in Google Chrome.  See the information here on how to change this in the Chrome settings: https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647. Once you have allowed cookies you may need to refresh your webpage.

c. Switch to another web browser (Microsoft Edge, Firefox or other) and copy the Collaborate room link into this browser. If prompted, accept cookies for Blackboard.

I'm using a web browser on a work or placement computer/laptop.

Students on a work / placement / school device (who can’t change cookie settings) may need to open an Incognito or InPrivate window to be able to sign into their student account first before opening Blackboard and accessing Collaborate. See the following information to open a private browsing window:

Incognito / Private Browsing

I get a 404 error page.

This is usually because of a bad link which may have been caused by one of the following:

• You were sent a bad link (maybe the sender missed one or more characters off the end when they copied it)
• Your email account has broken the link by wrapping it over more than one line of text
• The Collaborate room has been amended or deleted since the link was sent

Just to check it is not at your end - you can try copying the whole link you were sent and pasting it into your web browser (rather than clicking on the link in your email).

If it still produces an error - please go back to the person who sent the original link and ask for a new one.

Something else?

Contact the IT Service Desk for further support and guidance.

Switch your webcam on, and your microphone on or off (you will usually only need the microphone on during introductions and when speaking) and raise your virtual hand to ask a question:

You can show your instant reaction to an idea, comment or tutor question, by clicking on your profile button and selecting an option: 

Finding help or leaving a session: 

Join in the session chat to ask questions, make comments or respond to other participants. Tutors will be monitoring Chat during the session and will attempt to respond to questions when they appear: 

Your tutor(s) may record a Collaborate session to make it available to anyone who could not attend and to enable you to review the session content at a later date. The following instructions show you how to locate and access these recordings.

1. Go to a Blackboard module site (FINE5080 in this example).

2. Select Class Collaborate and then View all recordings:

3. On the black banner strip labelled Sessions, click on the 3-bar waffle menu at the left:

4. This will give the following options. Choose Recordings: 

5. In the Recordings area, you will automatically see any Recordings that were made in the past 30 days. If you are looking for Recordings before the last 30 days, set the Filter By option to Recordings in a Range by using the drop down options on the far right of the page:

6. On the left side of the page, use the calendar options to set the date range you want, e.g. you can go back to start of the current module:

7. You should now see the recordings available to you and be able to watch them by clicking on the titles. In most cases these titles will reflect the session that was recorded, but some may simply be the module name and the date of the recording:

8. As well as clicking on the title to watch now, you may have other options through clicking the 3 dots menu (to the right of each recording). Click on this menu to select other options such as Download to keep a copy for watching offline:

Guidance and support for students

Getting Started with Blackboard Collaborate including:

• Session best practice
• Chat
• Audio & video
• and more...

Presenting your screen in a session