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Blackboard Collaborate

Score9.8 out of 10

117 Reviews and Ratings

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What is Blackboard Collaborate?

Blackboard Collaborate is an online, collaborative learning platform well-suited for the education industry and corporate learning needs. It includes features such as screen and application sharing, web conferencing, and integration with Blackboard Learn.

Categories & Use Cases

Reviews

What users are saying about Blackboard Collaborate.
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Engage Learners & Support Online Teaching with Blackboard Collaborate

Incentivized
Mariann HawkenView profile
Acting Director, Instructional Director in Information Technology at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (1001-5000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Blackboard Collaborate is primarily used as a web conferencing tool for teaching & learning in higher education, but we have also used it for technical support, academic success, conferences, presentations, training, virtual office hours, and more. Collaborate is a dynamic platform that supports learner engagement and content sharing. Faculty use it for online instruction as well as hybrid learning. In some cases, it's also been used for hyperflex teaching where students can choose whether to attend in person or online.

Pros

  • Support learner engagement via breakout rooms.
  • Facilitate participant engagement via polls and chat.
  • Share content via browser sharing or file sharing.
  • Seamlessly integrate with Blackboard learning management system.

Cons

  • Needs to support digital backgrounds for user privacy.
  • Needs live transcription support for users with disabilities.
  • Needs preloading option for poll questions, especially for large scaled sessions.

Return on Investment

  • Increased support for online/hybrid learning.
  • Increased support for online training & professional development.
  • Increased support for technical support.
  • Increased virtual office hours for student courses & learning.
  • Increased recording views for training & meetings.

Alternatives Considered

Webex App and Zoom

Other Software Used

Webex App, Slack, Panopto

Usability

Solid solution for activity-based learning

Incentivized
Akhilesh AryaView profile
Assistant Professor at Geetanjali Institute of Technical Studies, Udaipur (51-200 employees employees)

Pros

  • Live Poll is an amazing option to engage students during live sessions
  • Breakout groups allow you to interact with students one on one or to interact with them by making small groups
  • Live captions
  • Chat option

Cons

  • Delay in audio/video especially when you have more students in class
  • Requires very high bandwidth

Return on Investment

  • ROI is high, as most of the teachers are using same credential for class

Alternatives Considered

Google Hangouts Meet

Usability

Amazing educational platform! Would not use exclusively, but in tandem it's great!

Incentivized
Verified User
Employee (1001-5000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Blackboard Collaborate to provide students with digital spaces for online classes. Often times we pair Blackboard Collaborate with other platforms in order to provide an in-depth classroom experience for students. We started using Blackboard Collaborate early since the beginning of the pandemic, and after we entered normal classes we kept on using it for online collaborations with other schools, and for certain school meetings.

Pros

  • It allows you to manage your teams very efficiently.
  • The platform is very good for maintaining a well coordinated environment for workshops.
  • It allows the organizer of events program a schedule for meetings, or set up a permanent meeting space.

Cons

  • I think there is room for improvement when it comes to the share-screen function. While I prefer it to some other online meeting platforms, videos do have a distinct drop in video and audio quality when buffering in a different computer.
  • The connection display does not always reflect an accurate image of guest's internet connection. I love the feature that allows you to see which participants are struggling with their internet, so as to avoid involving them as much until their issue is solved; yet it doesn't always reflect their status.
  • I would love it if they implemented more reactions for participants in the platform.
  • An area that I see with a lot of potential is related to how many users can display their video on the main event screen.

Most Important Features

  • Programming meetings.
  • Group/team management.
  • Quick roll assignment.
  • Group/private chat.

Return on Investment

  • Improved communication.
  • Urged us into looking for collaborative platforms with participation history for accountability purposes.
  • Provided a digital meeting space.

Alternatives Considered

Miro, Skype and Zoom

Other Software Used

Miro, Zoom, Skype, Google Authenticator, WhatsApp Business, Google Hangouts (Classic), Google Drive, Pixabay, Canva, Google Slides

Blackboard Collaborate for Education

Incentivized
Rita Wheeler
Instructional Technology Coordinator in Information Technology at Moberly Area Community College (501-1000 employees employees)

Pros

  • Breakout rooms for group work
  • Polling tools for classrooms and meetings
  • Recording unlimited

Cons

  • Cost
  • Stability of video feed
  • Sharing computer audio for online videos

Return on Investment

  • Able to broadcast classes to remote areas of the state.
  • We are able to have meetings across our campuses without traveling to the home campus.
  • Students are more successful in the classrooms because they can review recorded live lectures.

Other Software Used

Zoom, Canvas, McGraw-Hill Connect

Blackboard Collaborate for Virtual Classrooms

Incentivized
Rita WheelerView profile
Instructional Technology Specialist and Adjunct Instructor in Professional Services at Moberly Area Community College (201-500 employees employees)

Pros

  • The ability to break students out into smaller groups and then bring them back to the main room
  • Having all tools (chat, participant management) all on one page

Cons

  • Quality of video in large meetings
  • Price is high compared to competitors

Return on Investment

  • Positive in that its easy to use and integrates with our LMS well
  • Negative in that it is more expensive than competitors

Alternatives Considered

Zoom

Other Software Used

Zoom, McGraw-Hill Connect, Google Drive