Join Sessions

Meet with your students online.

  • From a weblink: Your administrator has sent you a link to join an individual session or to log into the Collaborate Scheduler. Open the link in your computer or mobile device browser. Join the session or sign in to the Scheduler.
  • From your course: Open Collaborate from inside your course. It opens in your learning management system.
  • From your phone: You can use the telephone feature to communicate with other users.
  • From the Blackboard Instructor app: After you select the link in your course, the session opens in your mobile device browser. 

From a link

An administrator may give you a link to join a session or sign into the Scheduler. This link gives you moderator privileges.

More on session roles

Join sessions from your computer or mobile device. Open the link in your browser.

For the best Blackboard Collaborate experience with your screen reader use Firefox and JAWS on a Windows® system. On a Mac® use Safari® and VoiceOver.

After the page loads, type your name and select Join Session.

If this is your first time joining the session, complete the audio and video set up and add a profile picture. If enabled, you can also use the telephony feature to communicate with other users.

Mobile device users can't use teleconference for audio communications when they join a session. This is because the device uses the session audio by default.

More on joining from the Scheduler or web link

From your course

If you have Collaborate in your course, you can join the course room or create new sessions from directly in your course. It's up to you what the sessions are for. It could be one-on-one sessions, class lectures, or a place for students to host group study sessions.

Go to Collaborate in your course. Select the session name and select the join option.

If offered by your institution, you can use the phone number to join the session anonymously. To learn more, see Join sessions from your phone.

Join from a Blackboard Learn course

Join from a Blackboard Open LMS course

Join from another course

Blackboard Learn

Blackboard Open LMS

LTI compliant LMS

 

From your phone
 

If offered by your institution, you can use the telephony feature to communicate with other users.

Mobile device users, who are using the Blackboard Student or Blackboard Instructor app to connect to a session, can't use the teleconference dial-in simultaneously with the app audio for communication during the session.

Up to 25 attendees can call into a session from the phone. If the maximum number of dial-in attendees has been reached, nobody else can call in.

There is more than one way to call into a Collaborate session with dial-in available.

  • From in the session: If you have joined a session on a browser and want to use your phone for audio, open the Session menu and select Use your phone for audio. Select the number listed and enter the temporary personal identification number (PIN).

    On iPhones, the PIN is inputted for you. You don't need to write it down first.

    With this personal PIN, you appear as yourself in the session. This PIN is associated with your personal account. Don't share it with anyone.

  • From the list of sessions: Select the name of the session you want to call into. Select the Anonymous dial-in information from the menu. Your device calls into the session. You appear as an anonymous caller to other attendees in the session. 
  • From dial-in information sent to you: Call the number and enter the Anonymous dial-in PIN sent to you. You appear as an anonymous caller to other attendees in the session. 

Need a number different from the one provided or want to learn more about the Collaborate teleconference feature? Jump to Collaborate Teleconference.

From the Blackboard Instructor app

Blackboard Instructor is a mobile app that enables you to view course content, grade assignments, connect with students in discussions, and launch Blackboard Collaborate sessions. The app is available for iOS and Android mobile devices.

Users can join a Collaborate Ultra session from Blackboard Instructor, if a link is provided within a course. After selecting the link, the session opens in the mobile device browser.

Blackboard Instructor information and download

Print Article