Blackboard Vista can be used to facilitate many methods of synchronous and asynchronous communications. This guide covers the following topics:

• Getting Help
• Logging Into Bb Vista
• Mail
• Discussions
• Chat
• Announcements
• Calendar

To send a message to another member of your section:

1. From the Teach tab, click the Mail link in the Course Tools menu.



2. Click the Create Message button.



3. Click the Browse for Recipients button.



4. Check the box(es) next to the recipient(s).
   • NOTE: The All Students option does not include the Demo student account
5. Click the Save button.
6. Enter the subject and message content in the appropriate fields.
7. If you would like the message to be marked as urgent, you can click the checkbox next to High priority. An exclamation mark will appear next to the message title in the recipient's mail box.
8. If you would like to attach a file to the message, click the Add Attachments button and select the desired file using the Content Browser.
9. Click the Send button.
   

To create a new Discussion:

1. Click the Discussions link from the Course Tools menu.



2. Click the Create Topic button.



3. Select Threaded topic, a Blog topic, or Journal topic and click the Next button.
   • A Threaded topic is a collection of posts and replies organized chronologically, forming topic threads.
   • A Blog topic is a chronological collection of posts which users can append comments.
   • A Journal topic is a notepad, which may be made visible only to the user and instructor, where users can write about a given topic.
4. Enter a Title and a brief description, if desired.
5. Select Show Item if you want the discussion to be visible or Hide Item if you want the discussion to be hidden.
6. In the Category section, if you have created categories for your Discussions, select the category into which you would like to put this Discussion.
7. In the Grading section, you may select if and how the topic will be graded.
8. If you chose to grade this topic, a new column will automatically be created in your Grade Book. If you would like to assign a title to this column, enter the title into the Grade Book column title field.
9. If you would like the topic grade to be released to your students, check Release grade to Students in My Grades.
10. The Peer Review section offers choices for allowing students to review each others' writings; click Peer Review to view your options. Three options are available to you:
    • Do not enable peer review on this topic to disable peer reviews.
    • Allow Students to review messages using a simple rating scale, with the option to use the default rating scale or to create your own rating scale.
    • Allow Students to review messages using a grading form to choose a previously created form.
11. The Topic Behavior Options section allows you to specify rules for posting to the new Discussion and to choose whether to include author identification information in posted messages.
12. Click the Save button.
    

To create a new Chat Room:

1. Click the Chat link from the Course Tools menu.



2. Click the Create Chat or Whiteboard Room button.



3. Enter a title and, if desired, a brief description into the appropriate fields.
4. Select Show Item if you want the chat room to be visible or Hide Item if you want the chat room to be hidden.
5. In the Maximum Users field, enter the maximum number of simultaneous users you would like to be able to use the room.
6. In the Type section, select if you would like the room to include Chat and Whiteboard functionality, chat only functionality, or Whiteboard-only functionality.
7. If you would like to associate Goals with this course, you may do so by clicking Select Goals, selecting a goal from the list of available items, and clicking Add Selected. This option will not be available if no goals exist.
8. Clicking More Options will allow you to grant user permissions to hide or show the Chat in a combined room, allow private Chat messages, and show user aliases. You can also enable Chat logging here.
9. Click the Save button.
   

To create an Announcement:

1. Click the Announcements link from the Course Tools menu.



2. Click the Create Announcement button.



3. Enter a title and a message into the appropriate fields.
4. In the Recipients section, click the checkboxes of the user types that should receive this Announcement. If you would like all user types to receive this announcement, check Select All Roles.
5. In the Delivery Dates section, select a start date and time for the announcement.
6. Choose the date and time to stop displaying the announcement. Alternatively, you can select Unlimited to leave the announcement on display indefinitely.
7. To make the Announcement also appear in a pop-up window when users log in, select the Also deliver as a pop-up message checkbox.
   • NOTE: As the creator of the announcement, you will not receive the announcement as a pop-up since only new announcements pop up.
     

To add an entry to your calendar:

1. Click the Calendar link from the Course Tools menu.



2. Click Add Entry.



3. Enter a title and brief description (optional) into the appropriate fields.
4. Choose the start and end date and time for the item.
5. Select the entry type to choose whether the event is personal or course related.
6. If you would like this entry to repeat, click the More Options link to access the Recurrence section.
7. To add a link to a file or course tool click Add File in the Links section.
8. Click the Save button.
   

Author:

Jason Polubinsky, 2007

Contributor:

Mandi Witkovsky, 2007

Editors:

Han Fei, 2007
Scott Vitz, 2007
Mandi Witkovsky, 2007

Last Updated:

October 16, 2007