Blackboard has added some simple modules to help you and your students keep track of activity in the course. For example, they can receive notifications when new items have been added to a course, when new postings have been made to a blog or discussion board, when a test has been added that has a due date, etc. You can also set notifications for when students have submitted work that needs to be graded.
To learn how to make your Notifications Module page your course entry point (“Home Page”) watch this 2 minute video.