Faculty Tools

Manage Archives

The Manage Archives tool lets you view archives of chat sessions. For more information about recording archives, see the Virtual Classroom and Lightweight Chat tutorials.

Viewing an Archive

From the Control Panel:

1. Click on the Collaboration link in the Course Tools section.
2. Click on the Archives button to the right of the session name.
3. Click on the Name link of the archive.
   Note: The archive does not contain private messages.

Searching for Archives

From the Control Panel:

1. Click on the Collaboration link in the Course Tools section.
2. Click on the Archives button to the right of the session name.
3. Click on the Archive Name or Creation Date radio button depending on your search.
4. Enter your search in the text field.
5. Click on the Search button.

Sorting Archives

From the Control Panel:

1. Click on the Collaboration link in the Course Tools section.
2. Click on the Archives button to the right of the session name.
3. Click on the Triangle icon above Archive Name, Date Created, or Archive Duration depending on the sort.
   Note: Your current sorting option will be indicated by an orange triangle icon.

Sort Options:

• Archive Name – Use this option to sort your archives by alphabetical order by archive name. Archives with the same name will be sorted by date of creation./li>
• Date Created – Use this option to sort archives in chronological order by creation date.
• Archive Duration – Use this option to sort archives from shortest to longest duration.

Modifying an Archive’s Options

From the Control Panel:

1. Click on the Collaboration link in the Course Tools section.
2. Click on the Archives button to the right of the session name.
3. Click on the Manage button to the right of the archive name.
4. Make any desired changes to the archive.
5. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on the Submit button.

Archive Options:

• Archive Name – Use this option to give the archive a new name.
• Available – Enable this option to make the archive available to your students. Archives are unavailable by default.

More Information

Q: Why don’t I see an archive for a collaboration session I just completed?
A: Unlike Blackboard 5.5 and other previous versions, Blackboard no longer creates archives automatically. To create an archive, you must click on the Record button during the collaboration session. Blackboard continues to record the session until you press the Stop button, even if you leave the session and come back.

Q: Why can’t my students see the archives?
A: Archives default to the unavailable option, so you have to manually set the archive to available. See the Modifying an Archive’s Options procedure for more information.