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Blackboard Collaborate

Blackboard Collaborate

Overview

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.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

Synchronous Environment: Users appreciate the software's synchronous environment, with many reviewers stating that it allows for real-time …
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TrustRadius Insights
TrustRadius Insights

Collaborate with Ease

8 out of 10
October 03, 2016
Incentivized
We use Blackboard Collaborate for meetings and for tutoring students, one-on-one or in groups. Our department, the instructional …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

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Pricing

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Classroom

$300.00

Cloud
per year

Department

$9000.00

Cloud
per year

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Details

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 to provide a complete learning management system (LMS).

Blackboard Collaborate offers a browser-based web conferencing tool to facilitate interaction between instructors and students. It has a classroom chat feature that offers a messaging platform for students to share images, text, audio, and video. It also supports live captioning to meet the accessibility needs for deaf and hard of hearing students with its Blackboard Live Closed Captioning Service feature.

Its interactive Whiteboard feature is used for conducting presentations using PowerPoint slides for engaging multiple participants with a single presentation. However, Whiteboard content can be added or edited directly from Blackboard Collaborate without opening PowerPoint. And despite being browser-based, Blackboard Collaborate does offer some features through its Blackboard Collaborate ™ Mobile app.

Blackboard Collaborate Video

Blackboard Collaborate: A one click virtual classroom

Blackboard Collaborate Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 8.9.

The most common users of Blackboard Collaborate are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(118)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

Synchronous Environment: Users appreciate the software's synchronous environment, with many reviewers stating that it allows for real-time interaction and feedback. This feature is particularly beneficial in online and hybrid courses where students can ask questions and receive immediate responses from instructors.

Video Option: The video option is highly regarded by users, who believe it adds a personal touch to the learning experience. Many reviewers mentioned that seeing their professors' faces humanizes the online course and makes it more engaging, especially for 100% online courses.

Record Option: The record option is praised for its usefulness in accommodating various needs such as students who cannot attend classes, those with special needs, enrichment/supplement sessions, and content reviews. Several users found this feature valuable for creating training materials or reviewing sessions at a later time.

Challenging Login Process: Several users have found the login process of Blackboard Collaborate to be challenging, particularly for those who are not computer literate. They mention that it is time-consuming and requires several steps, leading to frustration.

Compatibility Issues with Java: Some users have experienced compatibility issues with Blackboard Collaborate due to its reliance on an updated version of Java. This has caused difficulties for students and parents, as well as frustrations related to browser and operating system compatibility.

Cumbersome Access to Recorded Sessions: Users have reported that accessing recorded sessions in Blackboard Collaborate can be cumbersome, especially for professors who are not proficient with computers. They suggest the need for more customizable options on professors' webpages and expanding the range of acceptable file formats for presentations.

Users commonly recommend Blackboard Collaborate for the following reasons:

  1. Users find the platform easy to use and convenient due to its user-friendly interface and lack of software installation requirements.

  2. Many reviewers praise Blackboard Collaborate for its effectiveness in facilitating web conferencing or virtual classrooms, highlighting its seamless experience for online meetings, presentations, and interactive discussions.

  3. Users appreciate the range of features and functionality offered by Blackboard Collaborate, including screen sharing, chat capabilities, breakout rooms, and collaborative whiteboarding. These features enhance collaboration and engagement during virtual sessions.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-8 of 8)
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November 23, 2021

Engage Learners & Support Online Teaching with Blackboard Collaborate

Mariann Hawken | TrustRadius Reviewer
Mariann Hawken
Acting Director, Instructional Director
University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Higher Education, 1001-5000 employees)
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Usability
9
Blackboard Collaborate is reliable and feature-rich. It's a great web conferencing tool for teaching & learning, offering polls, chat, video and audio, whiteboard, content sharing, and breakout rooms. Blackboard Collaborate can be used for virtual office hours, lectures, guest speakers, training, professional development, conferences, technical support, academic advising, and so much more. Blackboard Collaborate can be used separately from the learning management system or it can be integrated for a single sign-on experience. It supports recordings, playbacks, private sharing, and MP4 downloads. Overall, it's a solid tool and very reliable.
June 01, 2021

Blackboard for Universities

Verified User
Analyst in Other
E-Learning Company, 10,001+ employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Usability
8
I feel that Blackboard Collaborate does a lot of things right. It’s great for educational purposes and may be better for some age levels than others. I feel that they may benefit from making features that distinguish the types of learning environments there are. Primary schools won’t be operating the same as high schools or universities and may need completely different options and features. As well as private schools and public schools. As they continue to improve and add more features the platform will be even better and more tailored to each of the end users.
February 13, 2021

Good product for online instruction

Verified User
Professional in Other
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employees
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Usability
8
It's good but could use some improvement in the ease-of-use category. The interface is not bad, but not always the most intuitive, which makes it a bit more difficult to learn. Performance is very good, limited mainly by the quality of the internet connection. Having the ability to use the phone for audio helps with that.
June 03, 2016

Blackboard Collaborate

Verified User
Project Manager in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employees
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Usability
9
Collaborate is a easy to use, easy to learn, and a well supported product. It is not overly complex yet it is quite feature rich. I think that most users (both instructors and students) should find it easy to use without much outside help.
February 05, 2016

Stop! COLLABORATE and Listen!

Laura Abercrombie | TrustRadius Reviewer
Laura Abercrombie
Adjunct English Professor
Polk State College (Higher Education, 201-500 employees)
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Usability
8
Blackboard collaborate, is very easy to use, in my opinion. However, I consider myself fairly computer and technologically literate. Some professors, students, and parents I know who try to use the software have a difficult time with it.

Some suggestions for improvement--I think there should be an autostart tutorial for participants (and session leaders, if I'm being honest) with an checkbox option to "never see this again" if you find yourself to be an expert. It should cover the basics such as: the raise hand feature (or the other polling features), the chatbox feature, the whiteboard feature, and the mic/camera. This way, we don't have students freaking out when they enter the session and us having to calm them down every single time. It may make the program a little less "lightweight" which I know is what you're going for--but it makes the workflow more challenging for those of us actually using the software regularly.
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