Customize Your Blackboard Notification Settings

You can use Blackboard Notifications to keep up to date about activity in your courses. Check the Stream page in Blackboard to find out about activity in all of your courses in one place – or have select notifications delivered to you via email, SMS, or push. Notification types include: course updates/changes, upcoming due dates for assignments and exams, messages from your instructors and classmates, reminders about group projects, and more!

Where can I find my notifications?

Notifications can be viewed in your Activity Stream on Blackboard – or they can be sent to you directly via email, SMS, or push messages, so you never miss an important update:

  • Activity stream - Your Stream page is accessible from the main menu in Blackboard. You can choose what you want to be notified about, then check it any time you log in to keep up to date. The Activity Stream offers the highest degree of customization and variety of notification types.
    Screenshot of the Blackboard Activity Stream page, accessed from the Global Navigation Menu (on the left).
     
  • Email - Blackboard can send the course notifications to your email, with options for what you see and how often you receive the updates. Email is unique in that you can choose to bundle the notifications together into one daily digest. To use this method, you must add an email address to your profile page.
     
  • SMS - Blackboard can send notifications via text to a preferred phone number. Similar to the email notifications, you can choose what you are notified about, but SMS doesn't offer a daily digest option (notifications will be sent individually, as soon as they are generated). If you would like to receive SMS text messages, you must add a phone number to your profile page. 
     
  • Push notifications - If you have the Blackboard app installed, new notifications will pop up on your mobile device. Notifications for due dates will always appear inside of the app, but you can also enable other types of notifications to appear as pop-up messages on your device.

How can I change my notification settings?

You can choose which types of notifications you would like to receive and how they're delivered to you. To select your preferred content, frequency, and destination(s):

  1. In the Global Navigation Menu (on the left), click Activity Stream to open your Stream notifications page.
  2. Open the settings menu by clicking the Screenshot of a Blackboard notification 'settings' icon (gear) that appears on the top-right of the 'Activity Stream' page. gear icon on the top-right corner of the page.
  3. Then see the following sections of this article for more information about the different destinations: Stream, email, SMS, and push.
    Screenshot of the Blackboard Activity Stream's Settings menu, accessed from the Global Navigation Menu (on the left) > Activity Stream page> gear/settings icon (in the top-right).

Screenshot of a Blackboard notification 'Stream' icon (globe) that appears in the settings menu (gear in the top-right). Activity Stream  

You can control which activity appears in your stream. Select the Stream Notification Settings tab to open the panel. Notifications for due dates, grades, and feedback always appear in your stream. Available notification types may depend on your role in Blackboard (instructor or student). Choose which notifications you receive about activity in all of your Original and Ultra courses:

  • New content
  • Performance alerts
    • If activity data is available, identify those who are participating or may need help
    • If grade data is available, compare grades with activity levels
  • New discussion
  • My grades and activity
    • No recent activity
    • Grade increased
  • New calendar event
  • Blog activity
    • Blog entry posted
    • Blog entry edited
    • Blog comment posted
  • Journal activity
    • Journal entry posted
    • Journal entry edited
    • Journal comment posted
  • Wiki activity
    • Wiki page created
    • Wiki page edited
    • Wiki comment posted

 

Screenshot of a Blackboard notification 'Email' icon (envelope) that appears in the settings menu (gear in the top-right). Email 

To receive email notifications, you must add an email address on your Blackboard profile page. Available notification types may depend on your role in Blackboard (instructor or student). Choose which notifications you receive about activity in all of your Original and Ultra courses:

  • Notification frequency
    • Email me right away
    • Email me once a day
  • New gradable items
  • New grades and feedback
  • New messages
  • New discussion messages
  • New content added
  • New and upcoming due dates
  • Past due items
  • New courses available

 

Screenshot of a Blackboard notification 'SMS' icon (speech bubble pop-up) that appears in the settings menu (gear in the top-right). SMS 

To receive SMS (text message) notifications, you must add a phone number on your Blackboard profile page. SMS doesn't offer a daily digest option (notifications will be sent individually, as soon as they are generated). Available notification types may depend on your role in Blackboard (instructor or student). Choose which notifications you receive about activity in all of your Original and Ultra courses:

  • New grades and feedback
  • New gradable items
  • New messages

 

Screenshot of a Blackboard notification 'Push' icon (bell) that appears in the settings menu (gear in the top-right). Push Notifications 

To receive push notifications, you must install the Blackboard app on your mobile device. Please see the student or instructor help page for a link to download the application, plus more information about installation and configuration. Available notification types may depend on your role in Blackboard (instructor or student). After installing the app, you can choose which notifications you receive about activity in all of your Original and Ultra courses:

  • New content and discussions
  • New discussion responses
  • New grades and feedback
  • New and upcoming due dates
    • Default - one day in advance
    • Custom - may set different number of days (settings affect all notification types)

 

 

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