Step-By-Step
Posting Announcements
(Text version)

1. Blackboard allows instructors and TAs to post announcements on their Blackboard course site. These announcements appear on the Announcements page which is, by default, the opening page of a Blackboard course site.

2. To post an Announcement:

• Log into the Blackboard course site as usual.
• Go to Control Panel / Announcements. This will display the Announcements page in the control panel.
• Click on the "Add Announcement" button. This will open the Add Announcement form.
  
• Type in a subject for the announcement in the box marked "Subject".
• Type in a message in the message box. If you are using Microsoft Explorer as your browser, you will be able to use the formatting tools available in the WYSIWYG editor box above the message area.
  
• Under Section #2, select either the "Yes" or "No" radio button next to the "Always show this announcement on the course's main page" option. Selecting "Yes" will cause the announcement to be permanently viewed on the Announcement page. Selecting "No" will cause the announcement to be viewed on the Announcement page for 7 days. At the end of 7 days the Announcement can be viewed by clicking on the "View Last 30 Days" tab on the Announcements page. At the end of 30 days, the announcement can be viewed by clicking the "View All" tab on the Announcements page. Note: all permanent announcements are displayed above all non-permanent announcements
  
• You can also select a date and time for the announcement to appear on the Announcements page and/or select a date and time for the announcement to disappear from the Announcements page. To select a start date and time, checkmark the "Display After" checkbox then using the dropdown boxes, select a date and time. To select an end date and time, checkmark the "Display Until" checkbox then using the dropdown boxes, select a date and time. You can use use this function to either start the display of the item, end the display of the item or both start and stop the display of an item. This only affects the display of the item in the course site for students. Instructors and TAs can continue to see all items posted (whether displayed or not to students) via the control panel.
• Note that if you use the "Display Until" function the item will not appear in the "View Last 30 Days" or "View All" tabs once the display date and time has passed.
  
• You can add a Course Link to the announcement under Section #3. Click on the "Browse" button. This will display the Course Map in a separate window. Select the radio button of the folder or item you would like to provide an announcement link. Click on "Submit" in the Course Map window. The window will disappear and the path to the course item will be listed in the box next to the "Browse" button.
  
• Finally, Click on the "Submit" button at the bottom of the page. A receipt will be displayed telling you that the announcement has been posted.
  
• You can modify and existing announcement by clicking on the "Modify" button to the right of the Announcement in the control panel / Announcement page.
• You can remove and existing announcement by clicking on the "Remove" button to the right of the Announcement in the control panel / Announcement page.
  
• The subject line of all announcements by all their current Blackboard instructors will also appear on your student's Blackboard home page under "My Announcements". To see the full announcement, they click on the subject line link.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this Step-By-Step procedure contact the Tufts Blackboard Administrator at: nhirsig@tufts.edu