The Blackboard Admin application allows an administrator to use an iPhone or Android phone as a tool to send Blackboard messages to their organizations quickly and easily. This user-friendly application includes all the features that the Simple Send interface on the web has: recording a message, email, text/SMS capabilities, and even the option to customize delivery.
6.1 Getting the Blackboard Admin App
6.1.1 iPhone
Version 6 Blackboard
6.1.2 Android
6.2 Logging In
Select the PL Admin icon on your device.
Enter the school or district’s Blackboard web address. If this has not been provided before or has been forgotten, contact a school or district administrator. Then type in the correct login ID and password for your Blackboard account (these are case sensitive). Press the GO button
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6.3 Sending a New Message
The user can send a message, send saved messages, view the status of messages previously delivered, and search the school/district directory as seen on the Home screen.
To create a new message, click on the New Message icon, and the send message page will be displayed.
The Send Message page will be displayed
Enter a Title in the Title line.
Select recipients by touching the Recipients box.
Tap on the group(s) that you wish to send to, and a red check mark will confirm the selection.
Select Done to go back to the Send Message page.
To record audio for the message, select the Phone icon.
The Phone page will be displayed, and Phone Delivery will be turned on.
Select Start Recording and the device will immediately begin to record audio without pause.
Record the message and select Done when you are finished.
After the recording is done, you may listen to the audio by selecting the Play Message icon. This also displays how long the recording is.
Version 6 Blackboard
Also, you can make a test call to any phone number to hear what the message will sound like by selecting the Test Call icon.
From here, type in a 10 digit phone number that has a direct line, and press “Call”. A call will go to the designated number and will deliver the message.
6.4 Delete a Message
If you select “Delete Message”, the current audio will be deleted and you can re-record the message.
Select Done to go back to the Send Message page.
6.5 Include Email
If you would like to include an email with the message, select the Email icon.
The Email page will be displayed, and Email Delivery will be turned on.
Type in the desired text using the iPhone keyboard in the text box provided.
Select Done to go back to the Send Message page.
NOTE: An email will only be sent if the recipients have an email delivery address in their Blackboard account.
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6.6 Delivery Options
The Mobile Admin application allows the user to customize when and how the message can be delivered.
To send the message as an Emergency from the Send Message screen, tap the Emergency OFF/ON button to “ON”.
A warning will come up stating that the message will send immediately, ignore the recipient delivery schedule and will deliver to all recipient numbers.
Press OK if this is the desired setting.
To customize delivery options such as date/time, priority and schedules, select the Options button at the top-right corner of the Send Message page.
This will bring up the Options page.
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To change the Start date/time, select the Start button and scroll to the desired date and time for delivery. Do the same steps for selecting an End date/time.
To change the priority of the message (low, normal, high, urgent or Emergency), select the Priority button scroll to the desired priority level.
Tap Deliver to all phones and Generate translations to
“ON” if you wish to deliver to all recipient phone numbers and/or generate your message in all available languages at your organization.
NOTE: Your message will only be translated into the available languages within your organization. The audio and text will be translated automatically if those are the delivery methods selected.
To edit the delivery schedule, select the Schedule button and scroll to the desired delivery schedule for the message in the drop-down list.
When finished with the Options page, select the Done button in the top-right corner to go back to the Send Message page.
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6.7 Send Message
If there is a title, recipients chosen, audio recorded, text and delivery options set, press the SEND button to deliver the message.
6.8 Sending a Saved Message
To send a message you have already used, go to the Home screen and select the Send Saved Message icon.
A list of your previous messages will be displayed.
Select the one you wish to use.
Your message will appear with the same audio recorded under the Phone section.
You will need to reselect your recipients by tapping on the Recipients button and selecting the desired group(s) like the instructions in Sending a New Message above.
Also, you will need to reselect your delivery options if needed by selecting the Options button in the top right-hand corner. Press the SEND button when finished.
6.9 Message Tracking
To view the status of message you have sent, go to the Home page and select Message Tracking.
All previously sent messages will be displayed on the Message Tracking page. It will show how many have been delivered successfully out of the total attempted recipients.
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The green bar shows the successful deliveries. Red shows future messages, and blue displays undelivered messages.
6.10 Searching the Mobile Directory
Users can search for staff, parent, student and school information by selecting the Mobile Directory icon from the Home page.
The “Search” bar near the top can be used to search for staff, student and parents by name. Just tap the account type wished to be viewed and type in the first or last name.
Select the account information to view
from the search results. Their
information will then be displayed. Note that it cannot be edited from this page by the user.
To search for a school within the district, or to view your own school information, go back to the Mobile Directory and select the Schools category. Type the name of the school to be viewed.
Select the school name to view the contact information. All the information pertaining to that school will be displayed.
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To call, email or map out the school’s information, simply tap on the Phone, Email or Address and the mobile device will open the needed application.
Note that this information cannot be edited from this page.
To make changes, log into the Blackboard web interface.
6.11 Log Out
To log out of Blackboard, tap on the information icon at the bottom-left corner of the Home page.
The Blackboard page will be displayed, and you can select Log out to sign out of your Blackboard account.
Select Log out sign out of your Blackboard account, or Cancel to stay signed in.
To contact the Support Department, select
Contact support on the Blackboard page above.
You will be given the choice to call or email. If you select Email, it will open up your email application within your device. If you select Call, it will automatically begin calling the Customer Support number.