How do I send messages?

You and your instructors can send messages to each other, multiple people, or an entire class. Messages activity remains inside the system.

  1. Inside a course
    • On the Messages page
      • In a course, all messages and responses stay together on the Messages page. You can easily scan the entire list, and expand a message to read all the responses and see who is participating. Select the New Message icon to send a message. Send to one person, multiple people, or the entire class.
  2. From the global messages page
    • Select Messages from the list where your name appears to access the global messages page.
    • Select the plus sign in a course card on the Messages page to open the New Messages panel.
    • Start typing to add recipients. As you type, matching recipient names pop up. You can continue to add as many names as you want or send to the whole class.
    • Lead with the most important info! The first 100 characters of a message appear in the list. Messages don't have titles, so recipients rely on the first part of your message as they choose what to read. You can format your text with the editor.

How do I receive messages?

1. From the global messages page

Select Messages from the list where your name appears to access the global messages page. You'll see all your messages from all your courses. You can view messages for current, previous, and future courses.

2. Inside a course

When you're inside a course, you can view and send messages for that course only.

  1. Easily view what's new. A count of messages appears above the list. New responses appear with a bold font.
  2. Send a message. If allowed by your institution, select the New Message icon to send a message. Send to one person, multiple people, or the entire class.

    If you have many messages, select the number of messages you want to see per page to narrow your focus.

  3. Delete a message. Use the Delete icon to delete a message. If more responses come in, you'll get them. You can't edit or delete individual responses in a message.
  4. Navigate to another message. Messages open in a panel with all the responses. Use the View Previous Messages and Next Message icons at the top to view the previous or next message in the list.
  5. Add more people. If allowed by your institution, when you create or respond to a message, select the Add Participants icon to add additional people unless the message was sent to the entire class. The original recipients see a note in the next message that you added new people or the whole class. The new recipients see the message from the point they were added.

Your instructor can choose to send a copy of a course message to your email inbox. You only receive the email copy of a course message when you have a valid email address listed in your profile, so keep your profile up to date!

The following narrated video provides a visual and auditory representation of some of the information included on this page. For a detailed description of what is portrayed in the video, open the video on YouTube, navigate to More actions, and select O

Troubleshooting email in courses

  • How do I make my email address visible? Your email address isn't visible unless you choose to make it visible to course members. To change this setting, visit the My Blackboard menu > Settings > Personal Information > Set Privacy Options.
  • Can I change my external email address? You can change your email address used in your courses. Go to the My Blackboard menu > Settings > Personal Information > Edit Personal Information. Then, type your preferred email address and select Submit.
  • Why was my email not delivered?
    • Blackboard Learn will NOT recognize files or email addresses with spaces or special characters, such as #, &, %, and $. Use only letters and numbers in file names and addresses.
    • Don't send email through Blackboard without a subject line. If the subject line is blank, the message might not be delivered correctly.

Watch a video about messages