Using Blackboard Annotate | Blackboard Ultra | Seneca Polytechnic

You can provide feedback, comments and corrections using comments, stamps, and freehand drawing on a student's Assignment by annotating using Blackboard Annotate. 

Blackboard Annotate supports the following file types:

• Microsoft® Word (DOC, DOCX)
• Microsoft® PowerPoint® (PPT, PPTX)
• Microsoft® Excel® (XLS, XLSX)
• OpenOffice® Documents (ODS, ODT, ODP)
• Digital Images (JPEG, JPG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, TGA, BMP, HEIC)
• Source code (Java, PY, C, CPP, etc)
• Medical Images (DICOM, DICM, DCM)
• PDF
• PSD
• RTF
• TXT
• WPD

Using Blackboard Annotate

1. Select the Assignment you wish to annotate. Note: This feature does not work in other Assessment types. 

2. Select Submission Content. The submission is displayed.

3. Select tools from the tool bar to begin annotating. Annotations are automatically saved.

Viewing Tools Available

The tools available in the tool bar from left to right include the following: 

1. Sidebar: View Thumbnail, Outline, or Annotation views of the submission. 

2. Pages: Jump to different pages in the submission.

3. Pan: Move the submission on the page.

4. Zoom and Fit: Zoom in and out of the submission or adjust the view to fit the page, fit the width, or select the best fit.

Annotation Tools Available

Select the specific portions of an assignment you want to annotate. Highlighted text can be strike through, underlined, squiggled, or commented on.

The annotation tools available from left to right include the following:

1. Drawing, Brush, and Eraser: Draw freehand on the submission with various colors, thickness, and opacity, or use the eraser to remove annotations. 

2. Image or Stamp: Choose a preloaded stamp or create your own customized stamp or image to add to the submission.

3. Comment: Provide feedback in the form of comments. 

4. Undo and Redo: Undo or repeat the last action you did.

5. Text: Add text directly on the submission. You can move, edit, and change the text and select the font, size, alignment, and color of the text.

6. Shapes: Choose Line, Arrow, Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, and Polyline. Each shape can be customized by color, width, opacity, and more.

7. Print or Download: Print or download the submission with the annotations.

8. Search: Search the submission for specific text.

9. Content Library: Create a bank of reusable comments. You can add, edit, delete, and search comments in the library. You can also add a comment directly to the submission page from the menu. Select the plus sign to add a new comment to the Content Library. You can Place comment, Copy to Clipboard, Edit, or Delete content from the library. Type keywords or phrases to search for saved comments.

Additional Notes

• Annotation sessions expire after one hour. You’ll receive a warning message before your session expires. Annotations are automatically saved.

• Original formatting and embedded images are preserved.

• If a student submitted an unsupported file, you will be prompted to download it.

• Assignment submissions created through the text editor aren’t compatible with Blackboard Annotate.

Additional Resources

This short video covers the Annotate tool to provide feedback to students.

• BB Annotate Overview in Blackboard Learn

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