Class Collaborate
Class Collaborate is a video conferencing tool developed for educational purposes. It can be used by staff, students, and external guests.
End of Collaborate availability
The University contract with Class Collaborate ends in July 2026. The Digital Education Office has worked with faculty staff to assess the current use of the tool and used this information to help inform the decision not to renew the contract. This means that Collaborate will not be available in courses from the new academic year (TB1 2026).
The DEO recommends that Microsoft Teams Classes, which have nearly identical functionality, are used instead. All Blackboard Units have an automatically-created Unit Team that can be used, and it is possible to manually create Teams Classes for use outside a standard Blackboard unit. There is further information about Unit Teams on the IT services SharePoint site and on the DEO website.
We are currently working on integrating Teams Classes into our Blackboard courses which would mean that there is a link directly in the menu to access your Unit Team in the same way as the Collaborate link exists currently.
If you have any questions, please email digital-education@bristol.ac.uk
Sessions are accessible through a web browser with no need to download additional software.
Key uses:
- Synchronous teaching (online lectures, seminars, and tutorials)
- Webinars
- Group work
- Meetings
Key features:
- Integrated with Blackboard
- Chat with participants and moderators
- Share files and applications
- Whiteboard
- Polling
- Breakout groups
- Record sessions
- Supported by the Digital Education Office (DEO)
For alternative video conferencing tools, you can see Synchronous online sessions.