Blackboard Collaborate is a feature-rich virtual classroom. It is well developed and relatively easy to use, although the amount of features sometimes makes it hard to find what you’re looking for.

Good Features:

• Video chat via webcam.
• Voice chat via microphone.
• Text chat via chatrooms.
• Many settings for permissions controlled by moderators and the teacher.
• Multi-user collaborative whiteboard.
• Slide display.
• Application sharing.
• Entire session can be recorded and played back later.
• Versatile API for many different LMS’s.

Bad Features:

• Requires Java for the client application.
• Mobile version is for Apple products only.

Missing Features:

• Slide overlays for students to take notes directly on slides.
• Ability for students to save their own notes without having the entire recording.
• Collapsable sections/subsections on slides.