The Announcements page is the first page the students see when they enter a Blackboard course, so it is a great place to put time-sensitive information such as deadlines, changes, corrections, clarifications, and schedules. This is not a place to put long pieces of information, just short announcements.
To create a new announcement
With Edit Mode On:
1. Click on the Announcements link from the menu on the left side of the page.
2. Click on the Create Announcement button.
3. Fill in a descriptive title for the announcement in the Subject field.
4. Fill in the message of the announcement in the Message field.
5. Choose how long you want the announcement to remain on the announcements page. Not Date Restricted means that it will appear immediately and remain visible in the announcement list.
6. Announcements only appear in the module, they are NOT automatically emailed to students (despite the message which appears to suggest otherwise)
7. If you want students to be sent an email with the contents of the announcement you MUST check the Email Announcement option.
8. You may add a link within your announcement either to another course by using the Course Link option or in the body of the text.
9. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.
To Modify or Delete Announcements
With Edit Mode On:
- Click on the Announcement link from the menu on the left side of the page.
- From the Announcements page, find the announcement that you want to modify or delete. Click on the single down arrow that appears as you hover over the announcement using the mouse.
- From the drop-down list, click on Edit or Delete.
- If modifying the announcement, make the changes and then scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.
More Information
Q: How can I remove the Announcements or have another area (syllabus) be my course entry page?
A: If you choose not to use the Announcements tool, you can disable it from the clicking on the single down arrow that appears next to the announcement link when the mouse is hovered over the link in the menu on the left side of the page. Click on Hide Link.
To change the entry point, click on Customization > Teaching Style from the Control Panel. On the Teaching Style page, option 2 allows you to change the entry point.
Q: Can I change the order my announcements appear for the students?
A: Yes, you can drag an announcement to whatever position you want by clicking and dragging using the arrow to the left of the announcement. The announcement order will appear the same on the student’s screen as it appears on your screen.
Q: How can I make an announcement always show up at the top for a student?
A: Use the grey New announcements appear below this line separator and position it below the announcement(s) that always need to appear at the top.
Q: How can I direct students to other sections of Blackboard from an announcement?
A: You can have an announcement link to another part of your Blackboard course so students can get to the information easily. To do so, click Browse and follow the course map until you find the area or document you want to link. Click the Submit button in the small course map. Click the Submit button in the options page.