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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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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

(1-1 of 1)
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Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Collaborate is a excellent online and remote classroom training tool that allows students to connect to class via a remote session. Features like: whiteboard, sync across devices, ability to make timed quizzes, and the ability to upload assignments and docs are some nice features.
  • Its ability to share the presenter's desktop to distance learning classrooms/students.
  • Its ability to share the presenter's video feeds to distance learning classrooms/students.
  • A particularly nice feature is the ability for an instructor to be able to share his notes with the class.
  • It is nice that students can participate in the class as if in the classroom using a chat session.
  • Students can actually see the instructor which makes them have a more personal experience.
  • Whiteboard feature.
  • The ability to upload assignments and docs is a nice features.
  • Synchronization across devices and quick syncing time.
  • Ability to make timed quizzes.
  • Easy to learn interface for instructors and from what feedback I have heard it is easy for students to use.
  • Loading of presenter slides is not as intuitive as it could be.
It is best suited for classroom presentation and less for online meetings. However, I think the goal of Collaborate is to allow those students not in the physical classroom to be able to better participate and to feel more a part of the class. This is what Collaborate does best. And of course the integration with other Blackboard features makes it a quite seamless tool.
  • Collaborate is not an inexpensive tool. However, integration into the Blackboard environment is excellent. If you are already a Blackboard school it is easier to integrate and use than other solutions. So, you may save money and time on learning a totally new environment and you will be more familiar with getting support from Blackboard. As a side note, Blackboard provides really good training documentation for Collaborate.
Blackboard LMS and Collaborate's integration as well as support from one vendor makes it a first choice if you are already using Blackboard as your LMS.
80
Faculty: Professors and Adjunct Instructors
5
We have one Blackboard Administrator, one trainer, and 3 end user technicians that support Blackboard. We also have help desk personnel that do 1st line of support.
  • Fully Online Classes
  • Blended Classes: Part Online and Part in-Class
  • Mixed Classes: In Classroom classes that have some student that are online students.
  • We have been able to reach out to students that cannot attend on site classes.
  • Training of other faculty and staff can be done across campus without having to physically meet to have a conference or training.
  • We have several remote (satellite) campuses. So, I can see us in the future possibly having a dual location class where students in a classroom at more than one location can attend the same class. Multiple students in separate classrooms in separate locations.
  • Collaboration and communication between faculty members.
It is a tool that faculty likes to use. It has so much flexibility to allow students to see a class even if they happen to not be available in the classroom.
Blackboard support is quite knowledgeable and quick to respond to requests.
No
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.
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