As we look ahead to the fall semester, this issue is packed with helpful resources to support your teaching and course preparation. Discover our "new" Digital Skills for College Success online student orientation, explore upcoming Blackboard feature enhancements, and learn from this month's Faculty Spotlight on creative uses of HTML and embeddable content within Blackboard. We also share five essential tasks to help you gear up for fall; Windows 11 training opportunities; an invitation to self-enroll in our 5 Steps Course Design series; and our August professional development offerings. We invite you to connect with the eLearning team for personalized support.
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Digital Skills for College Success - Student Orientation
As part of the university's commitment to strengthen the digital literacy skills of all students, eLearning Technologies, in partnership with the Digital Literacy task force, is pleased to announce the launch of two new self-paced learning modules. These modules are designed to equip students with essential tech skills and cybersecurity basics to help them successfully navigate academic life at Grand Valley State University.
Beginning August 1, 2025, the modules will be available to all students and faculty through a Blackboard site titled Digital Skills for College Success, located alongside the existing Blackboard orientation.
The Essential Tech Skills module covers topics such as operating systems, file management (including file types, organization, and naming conventions), productivity tools, and online communication. The Cybersecurity module expands on this foundation, introducing password management best practices, multi-factor authentication, and tips for maintaining a secure online presence.
Students will be able to download a certificate of completion for each module that confirms they have completed the work. This will make it easy for faculty to integrate the modules into their courses or to recommend them as additional support.
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For technical questions, submit an eLearning Help ticket. Faculty interested in incorporating technical and digital literacy skills into their courses may contact Avery Olearczyk, Digital Literacy Librarian, at olearcza@gvsu.edu.
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Reminder: Register for the GV Technology Summit
Don't Miss the GV Technology Summit! Join us on Thursday, October 2, 2025, from 12:00pm – 5:00pm at the DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health (DCIH) on the Health Campus! This free-to-attend, university-wide event is your chance to explore how technology is shaping teaching, learning, and work at GVSU. It's also the perfect opportunity to network with faculty, staff, students, and event sponsors (to be announced soon).
Presentation Submissions Are In
The call for presentations has closed, and we're excited to share that more than 40 sessions have been submitted! Topics include AI in education, accessibility and inclusion, cybersecurity, infrastructure, course design, website innovation, and more. Plus, don't miss our keynote speaker, Meagan Luttenton-Knoll.
GV Women in Technology Panel
Join us for a special Women in Technology panel, featuring opening remarks from Provost Drake. Hear from GVSU staff and faculty who are leading the way in integrating technology into their teaching, research, and daily work. Panelists will share their career journeys in tech and explore how they're using emerging tools to enhance the student experience.
Register to Attend or Volunteer Today
Sign up now to attend and/or volunteer at the GV Technology Summit! Get it on your calendar before the back-to-school rush begins.
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Blackboard Feature Enhancements for August
Blackboard uses a continuous release cycle, meaning new features are released monthly. Some new features are significant updates with completely new functionality, while others are minor enhancements. We've highlighted several improvements in the release that will be available starting August 8, 2025.
Video Announcements
Announcements now support video and audio content through Video Studio. This update includes a new Video Studio button in the Announcements content editor.
Instructors can use Video Studio in Announcements to record or upload video and audio. It will also automatically generate captions and transcripts, making content more accessible and supporting personalized, engaging communication.
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Learning Module Table of Contents for Students
The Learning Module experience has been improved for students by adding a collapsible Table of Contents. This update enhances navigation, orientation, and progress tracking. As part of this improvement, assessments now open in a full panel instead of a smaller panel. These updates create a more consistent and focused user experience.
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Image 1: Learning Modules now contain a Table of Contents panel to orient students within Learning Modules for their courses. The panel can be collapsed with the arrow button at the top of the Table of Contents.
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Image 2: The navigation buttons Previous and Next now appear closer to each other in the user interface within Learning Modules to improve the user experience.
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Image 3: Assessments within Learning Modules. Assessments now open in a full panel, providing a consistent, distraction-free experience.
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Forced Sequence in Learning Modules
When sequencing is enforced, students must use the Next and Previous buttons to move through content in order. Students can't jump ahead using the table of contents unless they have already completed the item they are navigating to. Skipping ahead without completing a Learning Module item is disabled in this mode.
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Faculty/Staff Spotlight: Lidia Ponce de la Vega
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Prepare for Fall with These Five Tasks Task 1: Get your Blackboard site ready
Need a course restored, merged, or reminders to copy the course content? See these common new semester requests found in our service portal:
Task 2: Get to know your students
Review your students' pictures in the photo roster:
- Using your students' ID photos is an excellent method to facilitate name learning. You can easily access these photos through the "Class List" tool in GVSU Faculty/Staff Additional Banner Applications.
- Note: Faculty will only see photos in courses in which they are the instructor of record in Banner. This Knowledge Base article in our Service Portal assists with using this tool.
Task 3: Check your readiness
Check your Blackboard readiness with the new semester checklist:
Task 4: Get your students oriented
- As mentioned earlier in the newsletter, all students and faculty will be enrolled in a Digital Skills for College Success Blackboard site designed to help prepare students and determine their readiness for online learning, acquire essential tech skills, and receive cybersecurity training.
- The orientation provides advice and skills for online learning success and familiarizes students with many Blackboard Ultra features that their courses will use. When you create your welcome announcement, please tell your students to review the orientation site so that they are prepared to have a successful semester.
- We also encourage you to remind your students to change their notification settings in their Blackboard personal profiles from "Email me once a day" to "Email me right away" so they don't miss timely information.
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Task 5: Review and register for professional development opportunities
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Learn the Library Conference
This half-day conference seeks to engage with faculty and staff at all levels—particularly adjuncts, visitors, and new arrivals—with the many services and resources the University Libraries has to offer. Lunch will be provided.
- When: Monday August 11, from 10:00am – 3:00pm
- Location: Mary Idema Pew Library, Valley Campus
- Registration Deadline: August 4, 2025 (register now)
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Windows 11 Training
Windows 11 is Microsoft's newest operating system (OS), offering an upgrade from the familiar Windows experience. This training will provide a brief overview and detailed instructions on preparing your device, steps to back up your files via OneDrive, action items to help facilitate a smooth transition, and what's new in Windows 11. Please watch this video to help prepare for your Windows 11 transition.
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8/13/25 and 8/20/25
1pm – 2pm
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Self-Directed Learning: 5 Steps for Course Design
The "5 STEPS for Course Design" webinar series is now a self-paced option!
Align your content with your course outcomes to build a new course or refresh an existing one. Designing a course can feel like an overwhelming task, so this course guides you through 5 steps to build your course and save time! This process is aligned with Quality Matters, uses best practices in course design, Universal Design for Learning principles, and Backwards Design. Each step will cover pedagogy and strategies, as well as examples for designing and building your aligned course, in the most time-efficient way possible. This series offers the option to earn a badge for those who wish to submit the required materials.
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Blackboard AI Tools Available Starting August 12
Remember, using AI features is entirely optional and at the discretion of each instructor. We recommend reviewing the GVSU AI Policy and visiting the GVSU AI website for guidance on the responsible and ethical use of AI in teaching and learning.
To promote transparency with students, we recommend including a brief statement if generative AI tools such as Blackboard's AI Design Assistant were used in curriculum development. We've included sample language on our AI Design Assistant Blackboard Webpage, which you can incorporate into your course materials.
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August Professional Development Offerings
8/4/25 • 11am – 12pm
8/18/25 • 11am – 12pm
8/5/25 • 10am – 11am
8/12/25 • 10am – 11am
8/12/25 • 1pm – 2pm
Sponsored by Anthology/Blackboard
8/13/25 • 11am – 12pm
8/14/25 • 11am – 12pm
8/18/25 • 1pm – 2pm
8/18/25 • 2pm – 3pm
8/19/25 • 11am – 12pm
8/19/25 • 1:30am – 2:30pm
8/20/25 • 10am – 11am
8/21/25 • 7pm – 8pm
8/21/25 • 11am – 12pm
8/21/25 • 1pm – 2:30pm
8/22/25 • 11:00am – 12pm
8/26/25 • 12pm – 1pm
8/27/25 • 1pm – 2pm
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Connect with eLearning!
There are many benefits to working with eLearning. We can assist in optimizing Blackboard course structure, enhancing online and hybrid learning experiences, and incorporating innovative tools to foster active learning. You are encouraged to contact your eLearning Technologies liaisons or submit a consultation ticket at your convenience.
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Sincerely,
Kim Kenward, Director of eLearning Technologies
kenwardk@gvsu.edu
GVSU Information Technology
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