Blackboard Collaborate Reviews

Pros

Blackboard Collaborate is a simple and powerful tool. Features like creating groups and file sharing allow users to improve their user experience while using the software. I appreciate that the video quality would be stable despite of the difficulties in connectivity we could experience. What I like the most is the fact that you do not need to download any additional app to use this software on your phone.

Cons

I have not had any problems while using the app however I think that some additional functions can be implemented such as a button to control the level of audio, annotations and a video speed controller.

Pros

The software is suited for online classes.

The software has what is described as two factors authentication prior to sharing sound and video

Cons

The bandwidth needed to participate on this platform is high therefore a strong network connection is needed to actively participate.

Alternatives Considered

Zoom Meetings

Reasons for Switching to Blackboard Collaborate

Functionality of the software is more suited than the other softwares

Pros

I like that it has the basic features needed for this type of software, such as the ability to administer and grade quizzes online. It is pretty intuitive to use, but it could be better.

Cons

The whole program looks and feels very dated. Because it looks so dated, it feels like it has not been upgraded in a while and could be difficult to use. It surprisingly is pretty intuitive to use however, but there are still ways that it could be improved upon. For example, grading assignments can be made an easier task that does not need to be featured on a separate page.

Pros

Easy to use, worked everytime we used it

Cons

it cost much more than our other webinar software

Alternatives Considered

LiveWebinar

Reasons for Switching to Blackboard Collaborate

we did switch from Blackboard to Livewebinar because of the price

Pros

As background information, this was used for online classes - so my experiences is limited and based only on that. With that said, though, I was pleased with my interactions with Blackboard Collaborate. Here are the pros:
- It has an Interactive Whiteboard feature that is quite helpful. Teachers can add their slide deck or presentation here. The students can then "interact" with the presentation using some nice features (type words, underline texts, even highlight).
- Similar to other programs, you can share your device's screen with the class or you can allow other students to share their screen if they need to show a presentation or something. This comes in very handy if used well.
- If you've never used Blackboard before, I think it's pretty easy to get the hang of. It's well organized and has a nice user interface.
- Without Blackboard, managing the workflow in an online class would be extremely difficult. However, Blackboard does a phenomenal job of allowing information, assignments, quizzes, etc. to be assigned and returned/collected in an organized fashion.
- If a student is unable to attend a live session, Blackboard includes a record option so they can go back and watch the lesson whenever possible. This can also be used for remediation and review.
- They have some nice little features that often go overlooked, like the quick response or thumbs up/thumbs down features. It's helpful when quickly checking for understanding.
- Breakout/small group feature.

Cons

Here are some concerns:
- While it works well with Chrome, this platform does not seem to work with Safari or Edge. (This could be user error, though.)
- This may be user error, too, but I found the audio to be a little off. It seems like they could do some updates here to help it sound a little more smooth and less choppy. Sometimes you don't always hear everything.
- Even though the record feature is awesome - it can be annoying because the video and the audio are sometimes off.
- I guess this could be based on the WiFi connectivity, but video quality is inconsistent.

Pros

It has the aspect of blackboard ultra, so if you paid blackboard ultra 7000 euros per year, then you can benefit paying 3000 euros more for the collaborate and have it all in one.

Cons

There are not good features in it, other newer platforms have more features, configurations, options and the price is a lot less.

Alternatives Considered

Google Meet and Loom

Reasons for Choosing Blackboard Collaborate

Because we need high quality software and lower price, that is why we stop paying blackboard collaborate and ultra.

Switched From

Zoom Meetings

Reasons for Switching to Blackboard Collaborate

I did not choose Blackboard Collaborate because of the low features and high price.

Pros

Blackboard Collaborate has a broad range of features and comes along with high customizability. The video conferencing is very good, also in comparison with competitors, such as "ZOOM" and "Microsoft Teams".

Cons

Ease of use and ease of development is lacking. Moreover, the then even more necessary customer support is not always as available as needed and responses solving an issue can take a while. A clearer and simplified design of the overlays could tremendously benefit these issues.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Teams

Reasons for Switching to Blackboard Collaborate

We were more aware of Blackboard Collaborate. Later, we switched to Microsoft Teams.

Pros

Easy to useUser friendly interfaceAllows full collaboration between students and teachersDynamic material managementVideo call rooms availableAllows constant communication

Cons

The search for the material is time-consumingGroups are often not closed correctly

Pros

I can easily log into my account and see all courses that I got. Also, nice interface make this software special because I use it daily. I can download or upload materials without any problems.

Cons

I am actually using it in education purpose only and I have not faced with any problems yet.

Pros

What i like most with blackboard Collaborate is the video conferencing. Aside the the LMS feature, data storage and assessment feature, the video conferencing is already there. Students will be reminded of the schedule of class and when the teacher is already in the virtual classroom. Conferences can lso be recorded ang uploaded in BB.

Cons

I dont have anything against this software, i love how it can be easily manage by the teacher as well as the students.

Pros

I used Blackboard Collaborate for several years in graduate school. What I liked most about this software was the simplicity of utilizing the conversation threads. There was nothing too "fancy" and the layout provided simple 'reply' and 'reply all' buttons. Each week we were required to answer questions about a scenario, and reply to other students' remarks as well. It was easy to see which posts did not have replies yet so that we each student got a change to have a reply. I think if this information wasn't provided on the main screen many posts would be overlooked, and I liked that the layout was clear on who posted and who replied, especially when professors emphasized replying to posts that had fewer or no replies already. I also liked that there was a messaging system built in, so we could communicate with our fellow students and professor within the website while working on assignments.

Cons

What I liked least about Blackboard Collaborate was that if I wanted to message my entire class, I would have to individually click every student's name, and then click the "To" button in order to add them as recipients. It was honestly time consuming and extremely frustrating as a graduate student because it wasted so many minutes every time, especially because I would often forget to actually click "To" after I manually clicked a student's name, so I wouldn't realize they weren't added into the message and would have to start over. This was unfriendly for users, especially for graduate students who need to focus on their assignments and communicating to their peers rather than trying to remember if they did the two-step clicking process for every single student rather than having a simple "select all" option! I don't know why there was no select all option to add the entire class when this is a platform universities often use for online classes and assignments. One more thing I did not like about Blackboard was that the layout was a bit confusing and not user friendly. It took me a while to get used to the flow of the website which felt unorganized and a bit scattered. I could see this being more of a problem for older graduate students who aren't used to adapting to various website layouts with many links to each class and each assignment stacked upon each other in an overwhelming way.

Pros

As a student the software is easy to use and has an easy to use dashboard. It is nice to be able to email other students or teachers, especially when you get to the university level. I like how there are different options to view your grades and when you submit your assignments there is a confirmation code that is generated. There is also a variety of tools besides email in which communication can take place, like discussion boards, videos, or links to other websites. I also found it handy to keep track of important announcements from campus organizations and professors. As an Administrator I like how the software can keep me organized and track the progress of the students.

Cons

I did not have many issues as a student, but as an administrator I found a few places with room for improvement. At times it was difficult to upload assignments, I would always get an error message. I know I am completing the correct steps because I have uploaded many assignments. Another issue I had was that this software always seemed to go down at the most in opportune times, like right before finals and then an extension had to be given to the students to be fair. I can't say if it was the fault of the school or the software, all I know is it is frustrating.

Pros

A great software for large class groups with features geared towards teaching and learning.

The option to record meetings and save to the cloud makes it a great platform for creating pre-recordings for classes.

The breakout room feature makes it easy to manage large groups by separating them and visiting each group individually.

The amount of control provided to the host over the features is great for class management.

Cons

For sessions to run smoothly the internet connection has to be extremely fast.

The bandwidth requirement for use of this software is very high and causes students to disconnect frequently.

The platform can glitch at times and may require a restart before normal use can be resumed.

Pros

Blackboard Collaborate makes e-learning interactive and hassle-free. I am a university student and the administration decided, when the lockdown started in March, to use this platform to facilitate online learning. When I was introduced to the interface in the beginning, I found that it was very easy to navigate. It offers a tour of the interface which proved to be quite helpful. However, Blackboard is so simple and easy to use that you won't have difficulty using it without the tour/tutorial. The labels are accurate, and everything is easy to find and well organized. The e-classroom features include options to use video, audio and the chat, where everyone can type and interact throughout class time with the use of emoticons/emojis. Teachers can share their screens, record sessions, create polls, create break out groups for group work and more. Blackboard Collaborate can be used on tablets, laptops and phones. It is perfect for online learning.

Cons

There is really nothing to dislike about Blackboard Collaborate. It ticks all the boxes and really does take much of the dreariness out of the virtual learning platform. Although e-learning is definitely not comparable to face-to-face learning, Blackboard Collaborate makes it much easier to adapt.

Pros

This program is used for all of our training, mentoring, Advisor meetings, and round tables; as such, I appreciate the versatility of the program in my organization.

Screensharing is easy to use, as are video and audio chats.

Creating a test in Blackboard is a very cool feature I learned about recently and I’ve been trying it out to make tests for my mentors.

Moderator tools, such as turning off chat, audio and video help prevent any possibility of cheating amongst Advisors.

I really like the whiteboard feature as well, and myself and my mentors and team mates alike enjoy making silly messages or posting clip art from the internet.

Cons

Blackboard has crashed on me quite a bit, as it has on many others in my organization.

Connections errors happen quite often.

Sometimes, the collaborate file we download gets randomly corrupted and we have to figure that out on our own and re-download a fresh copy.

There isn’t much troubleshooting on their website for the issues we face, and sometimes IT is as clueless as we are on how to fix it.

The interface for Collaborate is severely outdated, and needs a fine tuneup.

We were excited to learn of an iPhone application for Blackboard, and then we downloaded it and not only has it not been updated in years, it was extremely dated and lacked basic functionality like screen sharing, video, whiteboard and moderator tools.

Pros

Blackboard is sufficient when it comes to completing assignments, taking exams and posting on discussion forms. It is simple to see what your grade is in the class and what assignments you have to complete.

Cons

The user experience of this software is subpar. The main course page of the website needs to be redesigned. The design of the page is bland and there is a lot of unused space on the website. The text box that students use on Blackboard is terrible. The autocorrect of the text box is unable to recognize a lot of words and claims that it is not a real word and gives a red line underneath. There are also multiple times where pressing the spacebar does not work and you have to click out of the box and click back in in order for it to work again.

Pros

Blackboard Collaborate has video conference abilities. The program has a 'whiteboard' that can be shared on the screen and interacted with by both administrator and users. (teacher and students)
They make it so you can upload PDF into files, and share those with the users on the screen. This feature is nice as you only have to upload it once.
They allow share screen with any open tabs as well.

Cons

If there are more than 4users on the call, you cannot see more of them. It is impossible to see everyone at once, or to scroll through the other users. There are many connectivity issues with Blackboard Collaborate making it challenging to provide quality interaction with users. It has a lag in timing between what is shown or said and when the other users see it on their screen. The whiteboard feature is nice, but writing on it is challenging as well as when you erase, you have to erase the whole 'whiteboard' rather than controlling what pieces to erase and which to keep.

Pros

I enjoyed using Blackboard as a student of a local community college. I found that it was really easy to use and one of the best programs I had ever encountered! It was so important to me to be able to learn not only in class, but also at home. Being that I had not been in classes in some time it sometimes took me longer than my classmates to understand, and learn things. I was able to use Blackboard at home and they had many different activities that would help you get extra practice from flashcards, quizzes and labs that you could use to help you better understand the curriculum that was being taught that day!

Cons

Sometimes down for scheduled banner maintenance so was not able to access my grades or assignments when I needed to. Thankfully I was always informed of any maintenance beforehand so I was able to see the information needed before it was down! (Not usually very long at all though!)

Pros

Blackboard is the veteran of online course environments for universities. The platform is versatile and offers the integration of many services, such as file upload, grading, assignment submission and interface customization.

Cons

At the beginning, the platform's functionalities can be a bit overwhelming and navigation can be confusing.

Pros

It was easy to set up a virtual classroom within my Blackboard classroom. It is easy to upload your power point presentations to present lectures, it has a polling feature where you can ask live questions and get immediate feedback as the students answer the question. It has a whiteboard feature that you can write and draw on for equations or flow charts.

Cons

The product works only through google chrome so if a student does not open it in Chrome then they will not be able to get into the virtual classroom.

Pros

I like the ease and setup of the course in blackboard. The layout is super-friendly in terms of finding your course materials, your email, instructor information, or accessing discussion boards. As a student in different schools, I found blackboard worked pretty much the same way, no issues in attending my live class sessions or taking my tests.

Cons

No cons regarding blackboard from a student's stance. It is really laid out where anyone can log in and find their way around after a brief tutorial.

Pros

I like the BBC teaching tools and features (drawing tools, image captures, breakout rooms, etc.). This is a great tool for the classroom setting and virtual training events. I also like the teleconference bridge feature.

Cons

There are many frequent technical issues, often making it impossible to access. Audio can be tricky at times as well. It's not great for use as a marketing tool, especially due to the fact that it requires downloads to access. The other major issue is the lack of attendee data or ability to easily capture or store participant engagement data.

Pros

I've used Blackboard Collaborate for years as a higher-education student and appreciate how customizable and flexible the software is. From discussion board capabilities to automatic quiz grading, embeded videos, and easy-to-find tutorials on the way the software operates, using Collaborate has always enhanced my experience in higher education courses.

Cons

I would appreciate it if Blackboard would automatically save discussion board replies that were written, but not pposted, as a draft. Many students I've interacted with, along with myself, have written a lengthy discussion board reply in Blackboard only to lose internet access or be interrupted, and come back later to find that their reply was lost.

Pros

Blackboard Collaborate is accessible from most device types, which is helpful when dealing with larger classrooms, and and technically-challenged professors. The platform is also accessible for students with language and physical needs, which really extends the lecture opportunities in ways not really available in a real classroom. Also, unlike some other LMS programs, Blackboard Collaborate doesn't try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to features and user interaction. Much of the functionality feels similar to existing and common software that users will likely be familiar with, so the learning curve is not steep.

Cons

Blackboard Collaborate can be slow, awkward, and suffers from the same sort of limitations as other digital conferencing tools. Yes, there are features not dependent on real-time, two-way communication, and it can function without all users on board, but it can't replace many normal lecture/class use cases. That means that educators and administrators have to think of new curriculum and instruction plans just to use the software. This is not so much a technical fault as it is just a limitation of the concept.

Pros

the features are very user-friendly and it is very easy to navigate for beginners. The most favorite part of it is the ability to offer remote sessions such as online course room, online join room, and online discussion between the professor and the students. Blackboard Collaborate is absolutely the best option for schools, businesses, or even government meetings during this pandemic when social distancing must be kept.

Cons

Well, I have to say that the connection is quite bad if you are using a cellphone in remote sessions because you would be sometimes cut off in the middle of the lecture with your professor and online classmates. Therefore, I would highly recommend using your desktop computer or laptops for a strong connection. After all, Blackboard is still the best option for delivering online courses.