When you login to your Blackboard Vista section for the first time, you are asked to choose the tools you want to add to your section.

Organizational Tools

Calendar: You can view and create event reminders. Entries can be viewed by the week, day or month. All users can create personal entries, which are private.

Search: Enables you to conduct a search for data within a section.

Syllabus: Enables you to either upload a file or use the built-in syllabus feature to make course information available to students.

Communications Tools

Announcements: Creates and sends text announcements to members enrolled in a section. Announcements are displayed on the My Blackboard screen or the Announcement screen. Announcements can also be displayed in a pop-up window which is displayed when members log into the course.

Chat: Enables you to communicate with students in a synchronous event.

Discussions: Enables you and all users who are enrolled in the same course to post and reply to messages on topics that are relevant to the course.

Mail: Enables you to communicate with other section users via written correspondence, in text or HTML format, and file attachments.

Roster: Enables you to view profiles for course members.

Who’s Online: Enables you to chat with other users who are logged in to Blackboard Vista.

Student Learning Activities

Assessments: Enables you to create quizzes, self tests and surveys.

Assignments: You can create new assignments and view previously created assignments.

Goals: Enables you to record goals for a course and create categories for them. You can also associate files and course content (assignments and assessments) with one or more goals.

Content Tools

Learning Modules: Use to organize and deliver section content to students.

Local Content: Enables you to reference media files that would be inefficient to download from the server. Because the files are loaded from a student’s computer rather than over the Internet, students with slower connections can view large files.

Media Library: Enables you to build a database of text, image, video, and audio entries to enhance your course.

SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model): Compliant content packages are created outside of Blackboard Vista and imported into your section as a .zip file.

Web Links: Enables you to create links to Internet resources.

Student Tools

My Files: A place to create and store your personal files in Blackboard Vista. Each user has their own My Files area that is private and cannot be accessed by other users.

My Grades: Enables students to check their grades.

My Progress: Enables students to view a report that includes information about their level of participation in the section.

Notes: Enables students to create general or learning module notes to use as a reminder or study aid.