Class for Web (formerly Blackboard Collaborate)

Pros

I love that one can teach, create and manage sessions, get grades and have online training and seminars.

Cons

I don't like that sometimes the number of people who can attend an online session is limited (it was 250 personnel) and that it crashes.

Pros

The integration of Blackboard Collaborate with the Blackboard LMS makes it very easy to conduct video chat sessions with course participants for the sake of online lecturing, tutorial sessions, or office hours. Collaborate has more or less all the features available in dedicated video conferencing tools such as Zoom or MS Teams with the ease and flexibility of using it from within the Blackboard LMS.

Cons

Some performance lagging in voice has been experienced on slow network connections. The number of participants is not the cause of this but probably the media tuning algorithms to smooth the lags cause by intermittent Internet connections.

Pros

Black board was one of the first web based learning for me. It was very basic and straight forward.

Cons

Blackboard was not as comprehensive as canvas. The collaboration was lacking and how assignments were submitted caused confusion at times

Pros

Blackboard Collaborate is an easy to use tool.
The capabilities of Blackboard Collaborate are superb.
It makes work easier for us.

Cons

I do not dislike Blackboard Collaborate at all.
Blackboard Collaborate has great features.

Pros

Going and forth between assignments was seamless, grading was quick and easy, easy to comment on classmates’ blog posts

Cons

I wish Blackboard would save your work more accurately. It doesn’t always save

Pros

I like the fact that it makes things much easier you can attend a class, or give a class anytime any place.

Cons

Nothing much other than the fact that it is very expensive.

Pros

The ability to have class discussions via a discussion board forum.

Cons

The software was not advanced. Very hard to format posts.

Pros

I utilized Blackboard for school. It is a great resource for online learning as it is easy for professors to post assignments and information. It is also a great tool to collaboratively work with your peers. I was utilizing Blackboard at the peak of COVID when everything shut down. Blackboard allowed me to continue my education and still obtain the necessary information to succeed in my academic journey.

Cons

Blackboard is a bit more confusing to utilize than Canvas. It does take some getting used to however, the more you log on and explore, the easier it gets.

Pros

The software is a more complete and efficient way to connect with students than Zoom.

Cons

Like much of Blackboard, it can be cumbersome. Once that is figured out it is an effective tool.

Pros

I enjoy how easy it for my professor to navigate our classes.

Cons

I would say the audio gets tricky when two people are speaking.

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

Blackboard has a pretty 'easy to understand and use' design for end users. I was a pretty big fan of little to no handholding required.

Cons

When things go wrong in Blackboard due to API or active directory sync, there is no way for you to tell that is what happened. You have to follow a trail of breadcrumbs to hopefully resolve the issue in a timely manner for your user.

Pros

I can share documents or websites with workshop participants and simultaneously chat with them for added instruction.

Cons

It times out rather quickly which means logging in again.

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

One of the best ways to conduct lectures/tutorials, all students were able to easily interact with the facilitator and the learning materials, the white board is an amazing feature that makes the entire experience the best

Cons

Optimisation of bandwidth, anyone with weak internet connection has a hard time catching up with the sessions

Pros

Build your course page easily, upload the needed documents, scheduling, conduct your sessions, attendance report, assignments, quizzes..etc

Cons

Special prices for STARTups should be taken into consideration to be used as a training tool not only for universities...

Pros

The creation of work groups is very satisfactory, it allows the creation of blogs and forums that are qualified in a fluid way. After understanding the dynamics of the course and the location of buttons and features, it is easy for students to interact and take different courses.

Cons

Integration with other platforms could be simplified. For taste or for ease of use, sometimes it is preferable to use applications such as those belonging to the Google suite. An integration with the google suite would be amazing.

Pros

Collaborate is easy to set up initially, and it allows online collaboration - hence the title - between students and both their peers in the virtual classroom and their professor.

Cons

For short-term use, the program excels. For long-term users, there are too many bugs in the program for it to be viable for higher education use. We expect our students to be tech savvy, and it is embarrassing when our software does not hold up to this same standard. I frequently got "unavailable" or "error: contact your program administrator" messages, costing me valuable time with my students. There were also times when the whiteboard would freeze, and I'd have to reboot my entire computer while my students waited.

Pros

A feature that I absolutely love about this software is the breakout rooms for group projects. I love that professors can break us into groups and it is not difficult to see in Blackboard. I love how easy it is to use this software. I also love that I get to see my professors feedback on any assignments that have been graded. I love seeing the exact percentage as well instead of it saying "B+". I absolutely love Blackboard!

Cons

One feature that I hope that this software improves is sharing the computer audio. It would be really helpful to get audio instead of text because I feel like it is easier to communicate faster and a lot more easier than text. Either way I highly recommend this software because It has helped me be more organized. There are no features that are difficult.

Pros

Overall Blackboard Collaborate is a multifunctional software that allows bigger businesses and corporations, particularly higher education communities to engage with each other in a variety of ways, including web conferences for courses and meetings, virtual office hours, and training. The user board is pretty user-friendly and is not difficult to pick up.

Cons

there were some difficulties with professors trying to do the poll options, and not being able to load them up prior to the instruction. In addition, I would recommend some additional features to be added that may increase the functionality of the software. Specifically being user friendly with apple pencil.

Pros

Menu layouts are designed well. Student have never complained about that they couldn’t locate anything.

Cons

The interface looks very old and archaic.

Pros

The software works well and has some nice features. Unfortunately users require more training to take advantage of these products. The roll out of the product worked very well for a large organization and may be a reliable option for large organizations seeking a central solution.

Cons

Product features / integration with third party products reduced usability compared to products that offer these options out of box.

Pros

I love the overall functionality of this software as you can post grades, assignments, video tutorials, and various educational-based resources. The ease of usage with this software is comfortable as it is easy to comprehend.

Cons

I honestly don't have any cons from usage associated with this product. The overall learning curve and navigation of this product are easy to comprehend.

Pros

The way our Blackboard Collaborate was set up meant that the layout was well organised and it was very clear how to navigate all the different menus. It did help that I only had 2 courses per trimester, but still the layout is very good.
Module content was easy to find.
I liked how you could leave questions in the discussion group and either the lecturer or other students would answer and it felt like you were not completely studying on your own.
I think the way the class tests were set up is very good, also the questions are randomly allocated to every student to try and prevent cheating, which I think is a very clever thing to do.

Cons

The uploading of documents was not always straightforward and sometimes I wouldn't be sure if the work was submitted.
Joining a course room to join a live lecture would not always work.
Also I tried joining a course room on my phone a few times, but not very successful, audio would be there, but the visual (slides usually) could not be seen.

Pros

It is reliable and hardly ever crashes. Once the material has been uploaded it a very dependable piece of software.

Cons

The interface and the naming of the different features are confusing. There should be examples given and maybe a mouse over info given

Pros

It allows for a variety of events such as meetings, virtual classrooms and conferences with larger audiences.

Cons

The table of contents in the module object does not have active links that allow students to seamlessly jump from one item to another. Students are required to use the forward and backward arrows to get to a section in the module. This situation wastes time and can be frustrating on a slow internet connection.

Pros

The integration of collaborate within the Blackboard LMS means that a third-party program, such as Zoom, is not required.

Cons

It can, at times, require more resources than what older systems might be able to handle.

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

1. User friendly application.
2. Easy to access and navigate.
3. Accommodates students learning needs.
4. Video and audio clarity.
5. Easy sharing of files and documents.
6. Best communication channel.
7. Fast updates.
8. Sharing presentations, using a whiteboard, notifications, announcements, and instant chatting are all interesting features.
9. All in one platform for distance education.
10. Easy to organize conference and manage participants.

Cons

1. Strong internet connection is required.
2. It is not possible to trace student participation.

Pros

Chat and private chat are useful, hand raising tool is useful

Cons

It takes forever to connect, audio is delayed. Mics randomly come on.

Pros

The clarity of the data and expisure level .

Cons

It was a little tricky to navigate around.

Pros

We are a small local language school and we really loved how Blackboard Collaborate brought us together in a virtual classroom. I find the live chat features along with the ability to share screens and easily exchange files in the classroom to be really helpful.

Cons

Since we are a small group of learners, the paid plans felt overpriced for our needs . I wish there is a plan catering to small learning groups at a lower price point than the ones currently available.

Pros

One of the things that I like most about Blackboard Collaborate is that it is a great tool for teaching a course online. It has made it easier to teacher an online course compared to other services

Cons

One of the things I like the least about Blackboard Collaborate is the video feed. The video feed is unstable along with video audio when screen sharing a video during class

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 loved its collaboration tools. We also used it in combination with Zoom during the pandemic, which was cool as a concept. In practice, it was overwhelming because of hybrid classes and older professors who struggle with technology. At times, it could be frustrating to work with so much depending on online material but there was a security in Blackboard, that when we figured it out, solved small technical issues, the end result was reliable and optimized in some way or another for any kind of educational activity. Zoom is arguably faster paced, more live, but working with the two together, offered really unique and creative new collaborative experiences. I appreciated the versatility and accessibility of Blackboard greatly.

Cons

I disliked the inconsistent technical demands and the lack of transparency about the differences between what professors view and what students view. Some of this could be fixed with our own research but some of this could have been helped with a little more technical support on the user side. I also found the inconsistent email notifications annoying. It might seem redundant to other users but for all email notifications and correspondence, I would have preferred matching formatting and styles of notification. It would have helped me find things more quickly and it would have made skimming fifty or so emails every morning for important communications more fruitful.

Pros

Overall, the software was easy to use for the purposes of my courses that opted to use this.

Cons

I don't have any complaints about Blackboard.

Pros

I really like the virtual classroom and the various tools it has to manage the sessions and interact with the participants, and know the internet connection that each participant has.

Cons

It is not a very easy platform to use, you have to understand it first or practice to master it. There are some tools that can be improved, such as screen sharing, permissions to record and manage the session (which others can't easily do), and fast connection to sessions.

Pros

What makes collaborate stand out is its stability when it comes to virtual meetings, of course depending on your network is what determines your experience during the meeting of course. Another thing is that in my case, being still a student, the collaborate is already integrated into the class in a section where either the teacher creates the icon on the left bar, or you simply go to the blackboard tools and you can find there the meeting you want to enter the entire course you have. The platform is designed for you to join immediately so if you are in a hurry, the software will take care of that and help you with that.

Cons

I didn't see many disadvantages of blackboard collaborate when it comes to taking classes or having meetings with my team when planning projects, since it is a virtual meeting software that complies but is quite simple, which does not have many differentiators out of the market. It is quite reliable, but for some reason, my teachers prefer to take better classes in Microsoft Teams because they feel it has better and more features than blacboard collaborate.

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 easy to use Bb Collaborate helps keep an online class alive. The recording options allows teachers to teach an online course, have the experience recorded, and then uploaded for later viewing for those students unable to attend live. For asynchronous classes, setting up individual meetings, or sessions for coaching students (especially for speech communication courses) is so helpful, easy to use, and very easy for students to simply click on a link to join the meeting. I feel it is a safer version than zoom, and the file-sharing, and screen-sharing options make it versatile and user-friendly for teaches and students alike. My favorite feature is the scheduling set-up: you can easily invite individuals or an entire class by sending the link to them via an email, and creating a time-frame for entering the meeting. The icons on the meeting page are also easy to navigate for first-time users (most of my students are using this for the first time) .

Cons

Some of the "how to" features when searching for help in using the application were not as clearly presented (there's a lot to navigate through on those help pages), but this is the only aspect of this teaching tool that I would re-visit. The rest of the software hasn't show to be difficult to use, in any way.

Pros

In a time when classrooms look like our living rooms and bedrooms, a service like Blackboard Collaborate rises to the occasion and delivers that bedroom class experience like few others can. Not only does it allow instructors and students to “collaborate” via traditional video, audio, and screen-share methods (how many services do that now?), but it also comes with multiple rooms, a place to list course directives, and a place for students to leave messages, including assignments. As a provider of supplemental instructions (as in, I’m not the instructor but the support member), I could join in the conversation and offer advice in a place where students would read it and even respond. It’s like group text messaging, but better. If I could narrow this down to one “pro,” it’s that Blackboard Collaborate considers all the communication angles and makes them available to all who are assigned to use it.

Cons

Other than the convoluted way some features are put together, the biggest issue I had was with the occasional connection problem. On one notoriously hilarious day, the instructor asked me to share some information about the department I work for (a student service), then interrupted me halfway into my speech with, “Well, I guess that’s our answer.” It seemed like she was getting impatient. But the reality was that she couldn’t hear me, and she thought I’d left the class. And she was the only one. All the students and her dean could hear me just fine. Things like that happened every so often. Not exactly great. Definitely not consistent.

Pros

Features like private chat, breakout rooms, screen sharing, polling, and file transfer are critical to maximizing learning and engagement in a virtual classroom. The capacity to monitor student work and communication is also vital.

Cons

The inability to see all students at the same time is a distinct disadvantage for teachers and students. The degree of resources required for screen sharing makes this an inaccessible feature for many students.

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

As a university student in the COVID-19 pandemic, blackboard collaborate was a complete necessity. I used this app everyday for at least 2 years while navigating through classes, webinars and even exams. It is a great app that is geared toward hosting larger groups. This software is easy to use and the interface is very interactive. It allows for screen sharing and even fantastic features that allow the host to give attendees impromptu multiple choice quizzes. The break out room feature is also beneficial in managing larger groups. One of my favorite features is the promotion of asynchronous learning by providing recordings of meetings and classes. The icons are also very easy to use, even for first time users.

Cons

Blackboard collaborate needs an extremely strong internet connection to run smoothly. Other than that, the app is quite reliable.

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

Ease of Navigation
User friendly
Multiple avenues of communication (video, audio and live chat)
Break out rooms options for group collaboration during classes
Ability to schedule and create multiple classes that can be conducted simultaneously without disrupting each other
Hands up feature
Polls
Recordings available

Cons

Initial learning curve as the platform is not similar to others that’s i’ve used before.

Pros

Blackboard Collaborate is such a great option for online teachers. We use it to meet with students and present lessons live on the computer. I use it weekly. It is seamlessly integrated with PowerPoint.

The features are neat - you have lots of controls as a moderator. You can allow students to speak, use video cameras, type, draw, add pictures to the whiteboard, etc. You can set how many students can be speaking at once. You can mute them by taking away tools. You can create breakout rooms. You can play all sorts of media. You can remove students who are not behaving. You can lock the room or allow attendees in late. I've met with anywhere from 1 to 700 participants.

You can make permanent forcing slides and make sure that students can't do anything without a teacher being present, but there are downsides to those functionalities as well.

The app is really great. It is limited, and simple, but I've never had a problem with it.

Cons

The major thing I dislike is the "exception error" that I get CONSTANTLY. Basically, BBC can only handle so much data. Because it can't tell which participant needs what, it actually has to save and stream anything within a certain time period and send that out to everyone in the room. So, it really bogs the room down. It is just saving a TON of data at any given time. We've had to create separate rooms for back to back sessions instead of hosting them in the same room for this reason. It'll give an exception error if you try to do too much with too many people in too small a timeframe.

Don't try to host a session over a wireless hotspot unless you have unlimited data. One session cost me like 2 gigs of data.

Recording can only be done in the main room. If you need to record in a breakout session, you'll have to figure something else out. We use Snagit for breakout room recordings.

The administrator panel is very confusing. I'm really tech savvy and I have a hard time navigating. It is definitely not intuitive when it comes to setting up new rooms and adding moderators.

The permanent forcing slides are good. No issues there. However, what a pain to set up -- it just makes no sense. I wish it was easier to figure out how to do that.

Pros

Blackboard has been around for a long time and they certainly have a handle on online educational resources. I used Blackbaord as a student and then as an educator. Customization of courses and assignments is clean looking. There are a few different way to organize lessons, modules and the like to fit your teaching and training preferences, or virtual conferences. Assessing assignments and the built-in grading is a really fluid and offers a few different modes for categorizing activities. I usually use weighted system with some extra credit and compared to other platforms I've used like D2L or Canvas, Blackboard is much easier to work with. I Personally prefer Canvas, but Blackboard is really solid.

*My institution recently switched from Blackboard to D2L.

Cons

Blackboard comes with themes and font styles, but the over all look is kinda of boring, despite the various backgrounds it offers.
Blackboard also offers some embedded applications like Wikis, and other educational resources from publishers like Pearson, and while most of them seem to function, I've had many issues with these connected resources being broken.
Hyper links seemed to constantly break in my announcements after some time, this could be me or an issue with one of my student's browser though, but I thought I'd put it here for people new to this software.

Pros

The ease of use, intuitive user interface and ability to see the entire picture of university life in one place is what makes it very versatile and powerful tool. The very best thing I love about it is that I can access it from my computer, iPad or the iPhone.

Cons

Not too many flaws to be honest. Just a bit more file storage space would work wonders.

Pros

It's somewhat intuitive, and if you use it with Blackboard it integrates marvelously. The recording process is easy and it uploads automatically, a breeze.

Cons

It uses a ton of resources and it doesn't play well with computers with low RAM or bad internet connection, which makes collaboration difficult.