Adding an Announcement

Blackboard's Announcement Tool lets you post timely information critical to course success. You can add, modify, and remove Announcements from the Announcements page, the first page your students see when they access your Blackboard course. The Announcements page is an ideal place to post time-sensitive material such as:

• When assignments are due.
• Changes in the syllabus.
• Corrections/clarifications of materials.
• Exam schedules.
• Additional ideas for enhancing announcements.

Adding a New Announcement

1. Login to Blackboard. 
2. Under My Courses, click the name of the course in which you would like to add an Announcement.
3. Click the course's Control Panel link.
4. Under Course Tools, click the Announcements link.
5. Click the Add Announcement button.
6. Enter a subject for the Announcement. This will appear as the title of the Announcement.
7. Enter the Announcement text by either typing directly into the field or copying and pasting text from another word processing document.
8. Choose the appropriate availability and date options (see Options below.)
9. Add a Course Link by clicking the Browse button. (Optional) Course Links are links that take your students to another area of your Blackboard course. For example, if you want to not only announce that your have posted your syllabus but also include a link to your syllabus in your Announcement, click the Browse button and locate your syllabus in your course map.
10. Click the Submit button.

Options

• Permanent Announcement – Select Yes if you want to create a permanent Announcement. This is set to No by default. A permanent Announcement is always displayed on your course's Announcements page. There is no end date for permanent Announcements unless the Display Until option is selected.
• Choose date restrictions – Enable both the Display After and Display Until options to control when your item is visible. This is unchecked by default.
• Email the Announcement to your Students - Check the box beside "Email Announcement", and a copy of the Announcement will go out to the students enrolled in that Bb course.

More Information

Q: Can I have another area, instead of the Announcements page, be my course entry page?
A: Yes. In the Control Panel under the Course Options section, click the Set Course Entry Point link to change the entry page.

Q: Can I change the order my Announcements appear to my students?
A: Yes and no. You cannot change the order the same way you do with folders and items. Instead, you can change the order by modifying an Announcement. The last modified Announcement will appear at the top.

Q: Can I make an Announcement always show up at the top for a student?
A: Yes. Enable the Always Show this Announcement on the course's main page option. This will make your Announcement permanent. It will appear before all other Announcements that have this option disabled. The last permanent Announcement you modify will be the top Announcement.

Q: Can I direct students to other sections of Blackboard from an Announcement?
A: Yes. Use the Link location option and browse for the link in the course map that appears.