If you want ITU to create a community for you simply send an email to mymason@gmu.edu with group name, and group owner name. The owner will then be able to add other group users to the community.
Help is available on the new Blackboard CE8 system in a number of ways...
Blackboard Learning System CE6 -- Designing and Teaching Essentials Guide. This is a PDF file. Please make sure you have Adobe Reader installed on your machine. Note: This is a 241 page file and it may take a few minutes to load.