Behind the Blackboard is where you can create support tickets for Blackboard Collaborate.

Site administrators have accounts created in Behind the Blackboard (available in English only).

You should receive an email with the credentials to login. If you don't see that email please contact your Blackboard representative.

When should I create a support case?

Does the issue affect some user or all users at your institution?

If everyone in a session experiences the issue, check Collaborate's current service status. It may be something we are already aware of. If there is nothing on the status page, collect as much information as you can about the issue and submit a case on Behind the Blackboard.

If only a few users experience the issue it may be something you can troubleshoot. There are a number of things you can check and troubleshoot before you create a support case.

  • Check Collaborate's current service status. If you encountered disconnections at the moment we indicate a server was taken out of service, that is likely the cause. Your institution’s sessions are spread across several servers, so it shouldn’t have affected all of your sessions. You don't need to create a support case. We're already on it. In the meantime your users should be able to reconnect to their session, which moves them to a different server.
  • Check your network connection. Use Collaborate's connection status to check the network connection for everyone in the session, including yourself. If the network connection is poor or unstable, it’s not something we can solve on the Collaborate servers side and you don't need to create a support case. You don't need to create a support case. Try our connection best practices to help reduce the load on your network.
  • Make sure the user has the most up to date version of their internet browser. Advise your users to deactivate browser add-ons and see if that fixes their issue.
  • Clear browser cache and refresh browser. Clearing the browser cache allows Collaborate to download the necessary components again to run a session. This can fix certain connection issues and some visual issues with the interface.

Collect as much detail as you can

For the best support experience get your users to collect as much detail about the issue as they can before creating a support case.

Create a support case ticket

  1. Login to Behind the Blackboard.
  2. Select Create a case under the Support section.
  3. Fill in the required form information. Be as specific as possible. Please include a URL link to where the issue is happening in the site.
  4. Type the issue in the Subject/Error Message text box.
  5. Type a detailed description of the issue or error message in the Description text box.
    • Include the Session ID and Session Instance ID. The unique session id makes the session easy to find as it identifies the server the session ran on.

      More on how to find the Session and Session Instance ID

    • Identify the date and time of the session.
    • Describe the issue. Was it an audio issue? Were you reconnected? Did you see a Collaborate error? Was it a browser error?
    • Provide screenshots where possible.
  6. Provide specific, exact steps to replicate in the Steps to Replicate text box. An example would be:
    • Explain if the issue is for a specific role or user, in a specific browser, in one location or multiple locations.
    • Explain if attendees had a stable network.
    • Explain when the issue happened. Could attendees access Collaborate? Successfully join the session? Was content being shared?
  7. Chose the severity level of the case. Please use the following definitions of the severity levels.
    • Severity 1: Emergency. Production system is down. System is non-functioning, disabled, or non-responsive.
    • Severity 2: High. Product is functioning, but major components are unusable/unavailable.
    • Severity 3: Medium. Product is operating close to normal, however minor components are functioning abnormally.
    • Severity 4: Low. Product enhancement request, all sandbox issues, or instructional assistance is needed.
  8. Select Create Case to save and create the case.

After you create a support case you can use Behind the Blackboard to monitor your cases and communicate with Blackboard Client Support.

Find the Session ID and Session Instance ID

Live session in progress

  1. From in the session, open the Session menu and select Report an issue.
  2. Copy the Session UID and Session Instance UID values found at the end of the panel before the Submit button.

Past sessions that are over

Managers can download the Attendance report. The report contains the Session ID and Session Instance ID values under the SessionIdentifier and SessionInstanceIdentifier columns.

Session recordings

Managers can download the Recording report. The report contains the Session ID and Session Instance ID values under the SessionIdentifier and SessionInstanceIdentifier columns.