A Guide to the use of:
Blackboard
Version 6
Developed by:
Customer Support
Information Technology
4/6/2015 i
Table of Contents
1 OVERVIEW ... 1-1 1.1 INTRODUCTION ... 1-1 1.2 PRIORITIES ... 1-1 1.3 CALL WINDOW ... 1-2 1.4 MESSAGE PROTOCOL ... 1-2 1.4.1 General ... 1-2 1.4.2 Guidelines for School-Based Staff ... 1-3 1.4.3 Guidelines for Non-School-Based District Management ... 1-32 ACCESS ... 2-1 2.1 LOGIN ... 2-1 2.1.1 Portal ... 2-1 2.1.2 URL ... 2-1 2.2 NAVIGATION ... 2-2 2.3 BANNERS ... 2-2 2.4 HOME TAB ... 2-3 2.5 ACCOUNTS TAB ... 2-3 2.6 MY ACCOUNT TAB ... 2-4 3 MESSAGES ... 3-1 3.1 SAVED MESSAGES ... 3-1 3.1.1 Blackboard Messages ... 3-2 3.1.2 User Messages ... 3-3 3.2 NEW MESSAGES ... 3-3 3.2.1 Create Message ... 3-3 3.2.1.1 Subject ... 3-4 3.2.1.2 Text/Template ... 3-4 3.2.1.3 Phone ... 3-5 3.2.1.4 Email Message ... 3-6 3.2.1.5 Text/SMS... 3-7 3.3 MULTI-LANGUAGE MESSAGES ... 3-7 3.4 COPY A MESSAGE ... 3-8 3.5 DRAFT MESSAGES ... 3-9 3.5.1 Save a Draft ... 3-9 3.5.2 Retrieve a Draft ... 3-9 3.6 SELECT RECIPIENTS ... 3-10 3.7 OPTIONS (DELIVERY OPTIONS) ... 3-10 3.8 SEND MESSAGE ... 3-12
4 GROUPS ... 4-1
4.1.1 Dynamic Groups... 4-1 4.1.2 Static Groups ... 4-3
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5 REPORTS ... 5-1 5.1 MESSAGE TRACKING ... 5-1 5.2 RECIPIENT TRACKING ... 5-4 5.3 CONTACT REPORT ... 5-5 5.4 BAD PHONE NUMBERS ... 5-6 5.4.1 Report ... 5-6 5.4.2 Search ... 5-76 BLACKBOARD MOBILE APPS ... 6-1
6.1 GETTING THE BLACKBOARD ADMIN APP ... 6-1 6.1.1 iPhone ... 6-1 6.1.2 Android ... 6-2 6.2 LOGGING IN ... 6-2 6.3 SENDING A NEW MESSAGE... 6-3 6.4 DELETE A MESSAGE ... 6-4 6.5 INCLUDE EMAIL ... 6-4 6.6 DELIVERY OPTIONS ... 6-5 6.7 SEND MESSAGE ... 6-7 6.8 SENDING A SAVED MESSAGE ... 6-7 6.9 MESSAGE TRACKING ... 6-7 6.10 SEARCHING THE MOBILE DIRECTORY... 6-8 6.11 LOG OUT ... 6-9
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1
Overview
1.1 Introduction
ParentLink/Blackboard is the web-based notification service
that is used by all schools throughout the Palm Beach County School District. Blackboard is capable of delivering messages via telephone, e-mail, and printed letters to the students, parents, and staff in the district. Types of messages that can be sent include absence notifications, reminders, and general
information. The title Blackboard will be used throughout this document. The title ParentLink is still applicable and may be more appropriate in some instances.
In emergency situations, Blackboard can prioritize and rapidly send messages containing important information from the district to school staff and parents.
1.2 Priorities
There are two levels of priority for use of the system as detailed below:
1. Normal 2. Emergency
“Normal” - refers to messages that are not considered critical and that are related to
normal school events and issues.
“Emergency” - includes, but are not limited to, weather related emergencies and/or
incidents and events that jeopardize the health and safety of students and/or employees.
The Communications Office and/or Superintendent’s Office should be the source for
disseminating all district-wide emergency messages.
Note – Caution needs to be
used to avoid employing the system
in inappropriate ways to
disseminate information that should be issued by other communications vehicles.
Note – The Communications Office and/or Superintendent’s Office
should be the source for disseminating all district-wide emergency messages.
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1.3 Call Window
The window for calls on week days is from 5 PM to 9:30 PM, weekends from noon to 9:30 PM. Absence calls for elementary schools will commence at 11 AM. All other phone calls should adhere to the 5 PM start time unless it is s true emergency situation. Text messages and emails may be included with phone messages or they can be sent separately. When sent separately the call window restrictions no longer apply. The default start time is 5:00 PM. The user must change the start time to meet the prescribed time limits.
It is recommended that the start time for all phone messages be 5 PM.
In that
way, if more than one message is going to a home, they will be grouped into
one phone call with multiple messages instead of multiple calls.
1.4 Message Protocol
1.4.1 General
Use of the system for the dissemination of messages to large audiences of external and/or
internal recipients shall not be made without the approval of the Superintendent or his designee. The district’s Blackboard system administrator would normally be involved in decisions involving large numbers of recipients as well as in developing the specific messages to be disseminated to large audiences.
All messages or groups that you create must start with your school or department
number and a space. Then enter the title or group name. (For Example – 0101 FCAT
Reminder)
System use is not permitted for the dissemination of information on behalf of political
candidates or parties, religious organizations or to advertise commercial events or products.
Care should be taken by all levels of District management to eliminate duplicate messages
sent to the same recipients containing the same or similar information.
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1.4.2 Guidelines for School-Based Staff
.
Elementary school attendance must be reported by 10 AM. Absence calls will commence
at 11:00 AM.
Secondary attendance must be reported by 4:00 PM. Absence calls will commence at 5
PM.
School-based staff are encouraged to utilize the features made available in the system to
keep all student information records current and complete. Phone numbers should be updated in TERMS.
The system should only be used with the approval of the principal or his/her designee.
Only Principal, Assistant Principal and designated support staff members should have access to making outgoing calls.
Care should be taken to avoid overuse of the system for the dissemination of non-essential
messages that could potentially overburden or irritate recipients.
School-based staff should safeguard their callout databases to avoid misuse of the
telephone numbers and email addresses by outside organizations. Only Principal, Assistant Principal and designated support staff members should have access to view all phone numbers at a location and create additional users.
Messages should be limited to 30 seconds/call.
1.4.3 Guidelines for Non-School-Based District Management
Use of the system should be limited to emergency, compliance, and priority messages.
Management should consider all of the communications vehicles available prior to
selecting this system to disseminate information.
The system should be used sparingly, especially for dissemination of messages to large
groups (mass audiences) of internal and/or external recipients, keeping in mind the large volume of so-called “junk” email and solicitor telephone messages that many recipients regularly receive.
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2
Access
2.1 Login
2.1.1 Portal
Access to the Portal can be made from the District web page either from a District computer or from a remote (home) location.
Click on the Blackboard tile.
If the Blackboard tile is not displayed, it must be added.
Click on the Non-Instructional tab at the bottom of your portal.
Right click on the Blackboard tile.
Click on Add to Favorites.
The title will now be on your Home tab.
2.1.2 URL
Access to Blackboard can be made from the District web page either from a District computer or from a remote (home) location.
Log on to Blackboard by entering the address on the URL line. Note that the address does not include the www entry.
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Enter your Login ID and
Password
Click on Log In
2.2 Navigation
Each of the main options is visible as screen tabs across the top of the page. When selected, each of the tabs displays a group of associated sub-tabs. Click on a tab to move to that section, and click on a sub-tab to access a desired screen.
2.3 Banners
Blackboard uses banners to alert the user when an action takes place. They are used to identify errors, cautions and successful completion of an action.
Green Banner - The action (such as SAVE) has been successfully completed.
Yellow Banner - The action entered may have a problem. It is not sufficient to stop
the action, but it is intended as a warning.
Red Banner –The action has a major error and the system cannot progress to the
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2.4 Home Tab
The Home tab does not have associated sub-tabs. It provides the ability do a Quick Send of a message as well as displaying any messages or news. The Reports option permits selection of the Contact Report or Message Tracking report.
The Account Search option permits the entry of a name, phone number or id. It will return the corresponding student, parent record that relates to the entry.
2.5 Accounts Tab
The Accounts tab provides the ability to view your own account as well as the accounts of others in your school. . The
Generate Password tab is not used by our District at present.
The Role window provides options where you may select Parent, Student, Staff, Teachers, School Administrators. Many of the roles shown here are for District users and will not appear on most school admin screens.
Remember that School Administrators are those at the school that have Blackboard access.
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2.6 My Account Tab
The MY ACCOUNT tab can be used to view or modify your personal information, and add contact information.
Click on the MY ACCOUNT tab to go to your
ACCOUNT INFORMATION page. This page
displays your login ID, first and last names, gender, preferred language, and other components related to sending and receiving messages. If desired, edit your first and last names.
Phone numbers and additional personal data can be added by selecting the ADD button and then type the appropriate information. All
phone numbers must be 10 digits including the area code. (No dashes in the phone number are required) Then press the SAVE button in the lower right corner of the screen. After clicking SAVE, a green banner will appear indicating the save was successful.
An Email address can be entered in the same manner by using the ADD button, entering the information and clicking the SAVE button.
NOTE:
Once assigned, your Login and Password is the same as your District Login and Password.DO NOT use the Blackboard ‘EDIT LOGIN/PASSWORD’ block to make changes
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3
Messages
Blackboard allows the user to create and send messages using the web interface. There are two kinds of messages that you can send through Blackboard: system-recorded and user-system-recorded.
System-recorded messages are pre-existing messages that have been recorded by Blackboard in each of the languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese and Haitian-Creole). They permit the entry of dates and times as needed.
User-recorded messages are custom messages that are created by the user to meet a specific situation. The user must record the message in each language as needed.
To send a message,
Click the
MESSAGES tab.
The tab opens to
the Send
Message screen.
At this point, the choice is made to use an existing message or to create a new message.
3.1 Saved Messages
The Saved Messages area contains messages that were developed by Blackboard as well as user messages that were saved and can be used again. The Drafts entry permits the user to save a message that is being worked on and will be discussed in the new message section.
Blackboard developed a series of messages that cover a wide spectrum of school calling needs. Where possible, these messages should be used. They provide the advantage of being recorded in each of the languages. Calls will go to the parents in the appropriate format.
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3.1.1 Blackboard Messages
For this example, the Reminder entry was clicked. The entry opens another list of messages that were created by Blackboard.
In the second example, the Miscellaneous entry was clicked. This view displays a number of
messages that were
created by District staff with a school number of 0000. Otherwise, the
entry would contain the school number. In this example the
PTO Meeting
message was selected. The message is displayed in English. By clicking on Spanish, the translated message can be seen. This same action could be done for the
Portuguese tab or the Haitian Creole tab.
The message displayed states a date that needs to be changed. The actual date and time must be entered into the appropriate block.
The date and time must now be entered.
Once the date is entered, the preview changes to show the entire message with the date of the event format to one that contains the selected date and time.
The remaining steps required before the message can be sent out are included in the New Messages section..
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3.1.2 User Messages
When a user creates a message, it is saved for future activation. These messages can be seen in the saved messages section. They are saved by category or within the
Drafts group if they have not been sent out and are identified
by title.
The Saved Message window
displays a list of message categories that includes groups such as; Draft, Miscellaneous, and
Reminder.
3.2 New Messages
This section contains the simple, fundamental steps for creating and sending new or custom, user-recorded messages. The ability to record and send messages in multiple languages will be discussed in a later section.The message screen permits the user to create the message, select recipients and send the message all from the same screen.
3.2.1 Create Message
For this example, a message will be created for a SAC meeting reminder for Allamanda Elementary.
The message screen displays a number of steps to be completed for the message as shown here.
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3.2.1.1 Subject
The first entry is the subject of the message. A clear simple title is sufficient. However a subject like ‘Custom Message’ does not convey any information to the audience or other system users,
All message subjects should start with the school or department number.
3.2.1.2 Text/Template
A group of symbols are at the bottom of the screen. They represent access to the ability to enter the text of the message, and to select phone, email and/or text as the method(s) of transmission..
Click on the first item to begin
with the text.
The message can be typed into the
Template area. Even though the
message may be recorded and sent as an audio message, it is very helpful to have a copy of what was said displayed in this area. This entry can be typed or pasted from another document such as a MS Word document.
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3.2.1.3 Phone
Several options are available for recording a message and are identified in the
Phone: section of the message
screen. Just click on the arrow at the right side of the box.
The first two options relate to
recording messages. When
messages are recorded,
Blackboard will repeat three options for the recording. They are
1- Save the message 2- Play the message back 3- Re-record the message
Have Blackboard Call Me
o Enter a phone number into the CALL ME box. o Click on CALL ME
o Blackboard call the number listed.
o Record the message.
o Playback, save or re-record as needed.
o The screen now displays a note that the audio has been recorded and can be tested.
Call Blackboard
o Follow the steps displayed to call Blackboard and record the message.
Note – The Call Me option permits the administrator to setup the message at one location and to call the person doing the recording at another location
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Upload Audio File
o Select BROWSE
o Locate the folder containing the recorded message
o Select the appropriate WAV or AIFF file
o The screen now displays a note that the audio has been recorded.
Text To Speech
o When selected, Blackboard converts the written text to speech
o REMEMBER – in this mode, words are pronounced as they appear. Many words need to be misspelled in order to make the pronunciation correct.
3.2.1.4 Email Message
Email messages use the same text that was entered into the Template. Click on the email
symbol next to the phone symbol.
.
Click on ‘<< More” to access additional text editing features.
Email messages may be sent independent of phone or text messaging. The three; phone, and texting may be combined or sent as individually.
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3.2.1.5 Text/SMS
Text messaging uses the text that was entered into the Template.
However, that text may be too long for a texting message. The limit is 160 characters including spaces. In the example, the entry at the bottom of the text window states the text is 308 characters.
.
Several lines were removed.
The text is now 116 characters and can be sent as a texting message.
3.3 Multi-Language Messages
Messages can be sent in multiple languages using the pre-recorded format described earlier. Many times this is not the correct message or situation. In that case the user must create a message to be sent in multiplelanguages. When a multi-language message is sent out, Blackboard recognizes the language that has been identified as the primary language for the parent and places the call in the proper language.
The message should have been completed
in the Template.
The Language window displays the
available languages and the percentage of each in the school.
Select the language(s) by clicking on the
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The last setup was for a text message. In the Language
block the last
selection was
Creole. The screen
now shows the
message data in Creole.
Selecting Spanish changes the display to Spanish.
Selecting each language in the Add Language, Select Language block displays the message in the appropriate language.
Many times the translation is not quite what is expected. They should be reviewed prior to sending the message.
3.4 Copy a Message
A copy of an existingmessages may be added to draft folder for future use while keeping the existing message untouched.
Go to the Send message page and select an existing message.
There is a new Edit button next to the Send button.
Click Edit, a new message will be created,
and put in your drafts folder.
The message is a copy of the original
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3.5 Draft Messages
Blackboard provides a procedure for saving a message as a Draft message. It permits the user to exit from the Send Message page without losing the message information. Messages that must be created in Multi-languages can be saved as a draft between each of the recordings. Once each language is recorded, the message can progress through the select recipients and the summary stages. It may also be used to record and save a draft of messages that need additional information such as recipients before it can be sent out.
3.5.1 Save a Draft
Each time a message is created, it is automatically saved as a draft message until it is sent. The SAVED block at the bottom of the message screen will dim when the first save takes place. After that, each entry in the message is saved. Note that the recipient
information is not saved and therefore should not be entered until the message is ready to be sent.
3.5.2 Retrieve a Draft
To retrieve a draft message Select Saved Messages
Open the Drafts folder.
All saved drafts will be displayed.
Select the desired draft message.
The message appears and can be
changed or sent as with any other message.
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3.6 Select Recipients
The TO: block is used to identify the recipients of the message. Just begin to type the name of the group. The system displays the option available based on what is being typed. In the example, the selection could now be Parents, Students, Staff
or Admins. As more characters are typed, the system continues to display items that meet that level of information.
If the proper group cannot be identified, there is another way to select the group.
Just left click on . The Select Recipients screen will appear.
Click on the school and then Groups to display the full list of groups that have been established for the school.
Remember: When
you click on the blue text, it will open
additional lists.
Always click on select to add the group to the
selected recipients list.
There must be an entry in the Selected Recipients area to send a message.
Once the group or groups have been selected, just click on
3.7 Options (Delivery Options)
Once a message has been created and the recipients have been identified, Blackboard will send the message out at the default time of 5 PM that evening. If a different delivery time or date is required, click on
4/6/2015 3-11 The Delivery Options
screen displays a listing of
details and conditions
used to send the
message.
It identifies the date for delivery as well as the duration.
Emergency overrides all
other settings to send a message immediately. The Delivery Time
entries for the date and times can now be changed to the appropriate date and times. All non-emergency and secondary school attendance calls should be
scheduled to start at 5 PM on school days. The end time should never be changed from the default of 9:30 PM.
NOTE: When a message is sent, it will only go out for the day identified as the start
date. It will not go out for additional days. The expire date should agree with
the start date
The Deliver to parents of student block should be used when the recepients for a custom messages were identified by Student ID. Remember, all phone numbers are extracted from the parent data in the student database.
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3.8 Send Message
When the button is clicked, the message is put into the calling system
regardless if it is to go out now or to go out next week. Immediate message will begin calling and messages with a later date or time will begin calling at the appropriate time.
A screen displaying the word Blackboard
is activating your message indicates
that the message has been activated. When it is completed, the screen displays 100% under the bar and then opens the
OutBox The Outbox displays any messages that are scheduled for the future
or have
recently been sent.
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4
Groups
When Blackboard was implemented, most of the general groups for each school were established. Some of those, by school, are:
Students by school and grade
Students by school, grade and language
Parents by language ( parents are linked to students)
Teachers and Staff by school
Additional groups can be created by users to meet the need of the school. For the purpose of this training guide, it is necessary to define 2 types of groups. They are
Static groups (those in which the names are constant and change only when the
user makes a change) and Dynamic groups (those that are created using the student or parent data within the Blackboard database). Dynamic groups may change as a student or parent status (phone number, grade, language preference) changes.
4.1.1 Dynamic Groups
Groups of certain recipients can be created based on accounts that have been generated in Blackboard. Users can select individual recipients to create a personal group (such as a class), which only they can utilize when sending messages, or public groups
(such as a club), which other users can utilize as well. Click on the Messages tab, then the Groups sub-tab. All public groups are listed with ID numbers, names, schools to which they are attached, and the number of members (recipients in a group).
In the example, all groups show members of query.
These groups are dynamic. Membership can change each time the database is updated.
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To create a new group, click “ADD” in the upper- or lower-right corner of the page.
If applicable, select a school from the drop-down menu to which you would like the group connected.
Enter a group name and select the type of group. Making it a public group allows others to view, edit or select the group when sending a message. Making it a private group limits access to group to the person that created it.
You may assign your own group number, but do not use
numbers greater than 100. To permit the system to create a group number, select one of the two As soon as this block is selected, the system displays an ID number. As stated, private ID numbers will be under 100. For Public ID numbers, the system selects the next ID number available. If the user enters a number as a Public ID, it could be one that already exists. The new data would overlay the old group.
When creating a private ID, the system will still provide an ID number.
Groups or group members are selected and managed in the 2 panes that are displayed.
Note – Staff
members are limited to creating Private Groups.
4/6/2015 4-3 based on the users system rights). It will show the high level groups such as: Student, Parent, Staff, School Administrator and Groups. To select the entire
group, select red select. Clicking on the
blue group title will expand it to show individual names or groups.
The right pane contains members that have been selected.
The number(s) next to the selected members folder(s) shows how many names are selected.
To remove a selected member from the right pane, click on an individual name or the red “remove” text next to a folder to
remove all names in that folder. Be careful of deleting public groups, since others may utilize them!
To remove all selected members, click “CLEAR LIST”
CAUTION! These are real accounts that will receive messages if selected.
4.1.2 Static Groups
Static groups include names and numbers that are not drawn directly from the database. They are managed and stored in an Excel spreadsheet. Therefore the only way to update them is to manually make changes to the spreadsheet and the information is up loaded each time it is to be
used.
To create a group for the debate team, open a new Excel spreadsheet.
Enter phone numbers of desired
recipients including area codes, in Column A.
The email addresses of desired
recipients would go into in Column B if it were to be used..
First and last names are optional in Columns C and D, respectively.
NOTE: The only information required to be included is what is entered into column A. The other columns may be blank.
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When finished, select “Save As” from the File menu.
Choose a folder in which to save the file
and enter a name.
Select “Text (Tab delimited)” under “Save as type”.
Click “Save”.
The list of names and phone numbers now exists. They will be used in Blackboard during the SELECT RECIPIENTS step.
Open Blackboard, create the message
that is to be used. .
Click on Choose.
The Select Recipients screen
appears
Open the block with From a list
and select the block that says
From a file.
The pane changes to permit
identification of the file to be used.
Click on UPLOAD.
Select the folder and file that contains the
required phone data and click on Open.
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Depending upon the users choice of information for
the group, a list of student numbers or phone numbers will be displayed along with the names if included.
The block labeled Are these fields set up
correctly? must be verified.
In the example, the entry for Student ID must
be selected.
The words Student
ID will appear in the
block.
Click on Looks Good.
The next screen asks Who are you sending
to?
The input was student IDs so the system knows that it is intended for
students.
The option of sending it to Parents (using student
ID) is the preferred choice. That would send the
message to both parents if they have different phone numbers.
Click on GO.
The list now appears in the box on the right side indicating that they have
been selected.
Clicking on the blue Individuals (157)
entry would display the list of student numbers that is included in the list.
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5
Reports
Blackboard provides a number of reports that include information on user accounts, messages and the system itself. Four message reports will be discussed in this training guide as primary tools for tracking all messages from this system. To access the available reports, click on the REPORTS tab. The screen with all of the reports available will be displayed.
5.1 Message Tracking
The Message Tracking report lists all of the messages that meet the report selection parameters. It allows the user to select and monitor the progress and status of each open or completed message.
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The user must now select the appropriate criteria for the message(s) to be displayed. The school is pre-set based on the users login. District staff members would have access to reports for all schools.
The Message Category provide the ability to select specific types of messages. The – all - option gives the broadest range of results
The Date Range provides several options for the time frame to be viewed. If a more specific range is required, the Start and
End date blocks can be used. These blocks gave a pull down
calendar option that simplifies the task.
.Priority is seldom changed from Normal. It is best to leave it at
All.
The Status check boxes permit the user to again narrow the selection.
The Sort By option permits the user to arrange the list of messages in a sequence that is compatible with the need. The default is by Start Date.
Display permits the ability to
increase the number of reports that will be displayed on a single page.
Once the parameters are set, click on the GENERATE
REPORT text.
This report displays each message’s title, sender, start
date/time, status and delivery ratio. . It also contains three columns that identify how the message was sent (Phone, email and/or SMS). To see more detail for a message, click on the title of a message.
To stop a message that is pending or has not finished sending, check the box to the left of the title and click “CANCEL”.
To print the full report or export it to a comma-separated file in Excel, click the buttons on the right, below the report.
4/6/2015 5-3 When the message title is clicked, it opens
the Message Details page, which displays the report title, the progress and multiple pie
charts. The example displays the
configuration for a phone call. Additional pie charts are included when the message is sent via email and/or SMS texting.
The upper pie chart displays the total number of messages (based on the number of recipients) and how many of the messages attempted delivery.
The lower-left pie chart displays the status of the calls that have been attempted. There are a variety of possible statuses; the
most common are Live Answer,
Answering Machine, No Answer, Busy,
and Operator Intercept. There is a link within each of these statuses that can be clicked on to display a Contact Report.
The Operator Intercept category of calls identifies those that are usually bad phone numbers. Those students should be contacted to obtain accurate information.
Blackboard will resend undelivered messages (no answer or busy signal) every thirty minutes, up to six times
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5.2 Recipient Tracking
The Recipient Trackingreport displays information arranged by recipient rather than message as is done in
the Message Tracking
report.
Again the user must select the appropriate parameters to generate the report. Notice that the Status list contains a different set of parameters. Also the Sort By field permits sorting by Recipient, Regarding or by Status.
When the report is generated, it displays the recipient, the regarding entry , the Status and the Message.
It provides a quick check which messages were received and the status of the call. In the sample, all names were removed.
Note – Recipient identifies
the person to whom the message was addressed. It could be Parent, Student or Staff Member.
4/6/2015 5-5 When the Status is clicked, another window
opens to display the actions that were taken to deliver the call. In this case, the first attempt was at 11:01 AM and the last at 1:04 PM.
This is an example of a call that should have been made at or after 5 PM.
5.3 Contact Report
The Contact Report allows the user to see the specific status of every attempt made to deliver a message (remember, Blackboard attempts to deliver a message up to six times). This report is most commonly used to generate a list of contacts for attendance, but may also be used to identify a student or parent with a specific phone number.
Click on the Reports tab,
then Contact Report
under Messages, or
select Contact Report from the drop-down menu in the upper right corner of the last report page
Just as with the Message
Tracking report, the parameters for the type of contacts must be
set for the report.
The parameters include date, message category, recipient type, status, phone number, display, and sort by.
For a report attendance, set the Message Category to Attendance and select the desired sort parameter.
Click “GENERATE REPORT”, with Date Range set to “Today”.
The generated report displays the recipient’s name, what the message is regarding, ID, grade level, status, date/time, destination, message, and sender.
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Just like the Message Tracking report, the Contact Report can be exported and/or printed.
This report can also be
scheduled for regular
automatic delivery by clicking “SCHEDULE”.
The Schedule Report screen will open. Give the report a meaningful name, set the time and days of the week for delivery, and list the email addresses to send it to (separate the addresses by commas or type each one on a separate line).
5.4 Bad Phone Numbers
5.4.1 Report
Many students and parents have phone numbers in the TERMS database that are inaccurate or have been changed and no longer apply. In many cases they are numbers that are not working numbers and result in an Operator Intercept message. This is a report that can be used by the schools and/or District offices to identify the bad numbers and to institute procedures to get them replaced with valid information.
4/6/2015 5-7 Bad phone numbers can
be identified in the
Message Tracking
report. However,
Blackboard has included a report specifically for bad numbers. The report
permits the user to select all types, phone numbers, email addresses, Text/SMS numbers using the Address Type window.
When the report appears, it contains The Recipient, the role
and bad address (phone
Number), date and indicators that there may be good phone, email or SMS numbers
This information can now be used to correct the data in
TERMS.
Just like the Message Tracking report, the Contact Report can be exported and/or printed.
5.4.2 Search
A procedure for searching through all accounts to find a phone number that has been reported to the school or District offices as a bad number.
The number can be typed into the account search block on the right side of the tabs list.
Click enter and the system will return the student, parent or staff member that has that number listed.
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6
Blackboard Mobile Apps
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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
