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Grand Valley State University
Greetings faculty!
As the winter semester is winding down, I would like to express my gratitude for your dedication to preparing for our transition to Bb Learn Ultra during the 22-23 academic year. Whether you are teaching during the spring/summer semester or taking some much-needed respite away from the university, the eLearning Technologies team is available to offer services and support.
In this email newsletter:

Resources to Support Students with Blackboard Ultra

A mass email will be sent to our students on May 3, 2023 regarding Blackboard Ultra updates and resources. You are encouraged to include the language and the associated links in your Blackboard Announcements or syllabi.
  • All students have been enrolled in our Blackboard Learn Ultra Online/Hybrid Orientation which can be found in Blackboard under the "Professional Development" term, and provides a basic overview of the new functionality of Ultra.
  • The orientation takes roughly twenty-five minutes, and students can receive a certificate of completion. Consider making an online assignment and ask students to submit their certificate.
  • Faculty can also access the student orientation as well as the Blackboard Learn Ultra Self-Paced Training.
  • Ultra Support Resources are available for students and faculty in our Service Portal Knowledge Base.
Here are a few more faculty semester start-up reminders…

Blackboard Classic Practice Test Courses Disabled May 3, 2023

With the move to Ultra Course View for all courses, we will stop creating new Classic view "practice test courses" for faculty and staff accounts on Tuesday May 3, 2023. When this change happens, all Classic Practice Test Courses will be disabled. If you need your Classic Practice Test Course after May 3, please fill out an eLearning Technologies Service Ticket requesting your Classic Practice Test Course be enabled again.
IMPORTANT: All Blackboard sites created for actual academic term courses will be available in Blackboard for the standard "one academic year plus one semester" policy—allowing you time to review or copy content into your new Ultra courses.

Course Merges and Other Common Blackboard Requests

If you are still prepping for your spring/summer semesters, we want to highlight a few frequent requests you can submit for assistance via our service portal.
Merge Course Request - Use this request to combine two or more sites into one parent site.
Course Restore Request - Use this to restore a course from Blackboard archives that is no longer available online in Blackboard - Please copy content into Template sites and not directly into term course sites.
Adding a User Request - Use this to request a user be added as a teaching assistant, course builder, etc. Please note all requests to add students must go through the Registrar’s Office.
Remember…Fall 2023 course sites will be created the week of July 10, 2023, but those who want to begin working on their courses early can request a template course site.
If you have part-time faculty or new faculty scheduled in the upcoming months and need access to Bb for training or curriculum development. In that case, the GVSU IT team has created a form for Department Chairs and PSS to request temporary Blackboard accounts to be used before the GVSU network account is created. Instructions for requesting a temporary Blackboard account are available in this Knowledge Base article in our Service Portal.

Okta to Launch May 3

Beginning May 3, GVSU will migrate to Okta as a new platform for accessing technology, updating passwords, and enabling multi-factor authentication. Using Okta will provide the university with many benefits, including the ability to only change passwords every 18 months, rather than every six.
All GVSU faculty and staff will be notified of this change via email on May 2. As part of this communication, you will receive step-by-step instructions on how to set up your Okta account. You can preview what this email will look like and learn how to create an Okta account by visiting the article Okta — Getting Started.
Further, a new Okta webpage has been created to provide additional information about Okta, what to expect, and links to additional resources.
On the morning of May 3, Information Technology will have additional support available to assist in troubleshooting any issues. You can contact IT by email at it@gvsu.edu or by phone at 616.331.2101. For email communication, please be sure to include the word "Okta" in the subject line.
Additional Okta resources are available in our Service Portal.

Upcoming Training Opportunities

The eLearning team will be available all spring/summer semester to help with Blackboard Learn Ultra, as well as other eLearning Technologies tools. Our training comes in various formats to meet everyone's scheduling needs, so be sure to bookmark our eLearning Training/Webinar page
Here's a snapshot of all our upcoming professional development opportunities for the next few weeks, including the Sprout links for easy registration access.
Blackboard Ultra Essentials are 60-minute overviews of the most commonly used tools and functionality in Blackboard Ultra.
  • 5/1/23 • 1pm – 2pm
  • 5/9/23 • 11am – 12pm
Blackboard Ultra Lunch-and-Learns are Q&A sessions offered around the 12pm noon hour via Zoom. Bring your questions and stay as long as you need.
  • 5/2/23, 5/4/23, 5/8/23, 5/10/23 • 12pm – 1pm
Blackboard Ultra Base Navigation: An Overview
Join us to learn about Ultra Base Navigation, its components, and how to adjust settings and notifications.
  • 5/3/23 • 12pm – 1pm
Blackboard Ultra Special Topics
Using Data in Learn Ultra
Holding every student accountable and identifying individuals who are falling behind is made easier in the Blackboard Learn Ultra experience. This webinar will focus on the data and analytics available throughout your Ultra Course and include an overview of Blackboard's Assessment and Accreditation solution, EAC Visual Data.
  • 5/11/23 • 11am – 12pm
Communication Tools
Learn how to communicate with students in Blackboard Ultra using notifications, messages, discussions, conversations, and announcements.
  • 5/11/23 • 1pm – 2pm
Gradebook
Learn how to navigate and use the gradebook. You can access grades from Ultra Base Navigation or from the Gradebook tab in a course.
  • 5/16/23 • 2pm – 3pm
Content Market 3rd party tools (Panopto, Google Apps, Zoom, Hypothesis)
Learn how to utilize course tools from the content market, which include the accessibility report, Google assignments, Panopto videos, quizzes, and assignments, Zoom, Hypothesis, etc.
  • 5/18/23 • 11am – 12pm
Creating Instructor Presence: Getting Started with Panopto (*Includes Blackboard Ultra Updates)
  • 5/10/23 • 10am – 11am
Creating Instructor Presence: Advanced Panopto Functionality (*Includes Blackboard Ultra Updates)
  • 5/10/23 • 2pm – 3pm
Introduction to Flip (formally Flipgrid) for Video-Based Discussions
  • 5/9/23 • 1pm – 2pm
Hypothesis: Collaborative Annotation Tool for Blackboard Learn (Ultra)
  • 5/16/23 • 2pm – 3pm
Zoom 101
  • 5/1/23 • 11am – 12pm
  • 5/11/23 • 3pm – 4pm
Respondus Lockdown Browser & Monitor Instructor Training for Blackboard Learn Ultra
  • 5/16/23 • 10am – 11am

Your eLearning Liaisons are standing by!

Don't forget…the eLearning Technologies team is spread across the University's three campuses. In addition to participating in our various trainings, you can request an in-person or virtual meeting by filling out this consultation request form. Each department has been assigned a Senior Instructional Designer and an Instructional Technology Project Specialist. To find out "who" your liaisons are, review our liaison website or use our new liaison search tool.
Sincerely,

Kim Kenward
Director of eLearning Technologies
GVSU Information Technology
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