Add-Ons are extra tools and functionality available through Blackboard. These tools are either commercially developed, free, or in-house customizations added to enhance Blackboard functionality.

Based on faculty and student needs, the following add-ons are currently available in Blackboard.

Sign Up Tool

A custom content type, which allows instructors to create online sign up sheets. It can be used for different purposes.

Currently some faculty are using the sign up tool to schedule office hour appointments. It allows instructors to set available office hours in a course and limit the number of students per time slot. Students log in and sign up by clicking on a button on a first come/first serve basis.

Instructors can then easily print out multiple sign-up lists or manage their lists online.

SafeAssign

SafeAssign is a plagiarism prevention service, offered by Blackboard. This service helps educators prevent plagiarism by detecting unoriginal content in student papers.

In addition to acting as a plagiarism deterrent, it also has features designed to aid in educating students about plagiarism and importance of proper attribution of any borrowed content.

Wikis

Instructors can assign students the task of creating a collaborative website, or wiki, within the course management environment. Moreover, the instructor can assess each student’s individual contributions to the sites.

Each student can add content, edit others’ contributions, and reformat layout as he/she desires, but a full history of the revisions is maintained and accessible.