NOTE: This article is about messages and email in Blackboard Original. This will change in Blackboard Ultra. 
Send Email

Send Email is the default option in Blackboard Original for students to communicate with you. When they use Send Email, you will receive their email at your TCC email address.

Messages

Messages are an internal communication system inside of Blackboard. By default, the "Messages" option is turned off in Blackboard Original at TCC; however, it still shows up in the app. That means that students who are using the app might send you Messages. 

When a student sends you a message, you will receive a notification in your TCC email that you have a Message. If a student tells you that they have sent you something in Blackboard and you can't find it, it's possible that it's in your Messages folder. 

As of November 2021, there is no longer an option to not receive email when you receive messages in Blackboard. 

In other words, when you receive a message through Blackboard's messaging system, you will receive an email at your TCC email address to let you know you have a message. Unfortunately, at this time the email does not include the content of the message; you'll need to go to Blackboard and check your messages to see what the message is. 

When you log in to Blackboard, in your main navigation menu on the left-hand side you will see the Messages link. If you have messages, it will have a circle over it to indicate the number of messages that you have:

When you click on Messages, it will take you to a list of your courses. Once you are viewing that list, you'll need to look for the extremely un-obvious text that tells you that you have an unread message:

When you click on that text, you will be taken to your Inbox, which shows how many messages you have in that course. 

You may open your Inbox and use the web editor to read, reply, and forward messages. 

If you don't want to deal with Messages, it's a good idea to tell your students to use Send Email instead of Messages.