Over the summer, the eLearning team was hard at work exploring new tools, developing resources, relocating our CHS digital studio to DCIH, and designing fresh professional development opportunities to support your use of technology.
This month's newsletter is here to help you prepare for the upcoming fall semester and to recap exciting updates from the past few months, including upcoming partnership events with the FTLC.
In this edition of the newsletter:
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Digital Skills for College Success - Student Orientation
As part of the university's commitment to strengthening the digital literacy skills of all students, eLearning Technologies, in partnership with the Digital Literacy task force, has enrolled all students (and faculty) in a Blackboard course titled "Digital Skills for College Success". It's a self-paced course with three modules, each taking roughly 20-25 minutes to complete. Students can earn a separate certificate of completion for each module. They include:
- Essential Tech Skills
- Cybersecurity
- Blackboard/Online Learning Orientation
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Faculty can find this course by using the "professional development" filter when searching for courses.
Encourage your students to review this self-paced course and remind them that they can receive further technology assistance by:
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New Studio Location for the Bridge - DCIH 260
Our May newsletter announced that the former CHS Bridge studio moved to a new location on the Health Campus in DCIH 260. We've had a successful summer working with faculty in our new space. We want to remind you that we're here to support you whether you're recording course content, working on multimedia projects, or exploring new teaching tools such as interactive modules or podcasting!
This new space is meant to be a collaborative home for our Bridge studio, Information Technology's Innovation and Research team, and KCON's Sim Center. All three teams will collaborate to provide high-quality tech support using various methods, including hands-on workshops and in-person consultations!
Bridge Fall 2025 Hours
Submit a ticket through the GVSU Service Portal to schedule video recordings or digital media consultations for our studio locations. We can't wait to see what you create!
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Student Outreach Toolkit
The Student Outreach Toolkit is a folder available only to instructors within each Blackboard course. It replaces the old Messages Manager folder found in previous course sites.
This updated toolkit provides a variety of ready-to-use templates to support your communication with students on a range of topics and concerns. While using them isn't required, the templates can be a helpful starting point when reaching out to students.
Created in 2023, the templates were updated in 2025 with input from the FTLC, the Provost's Office, and the Counseling Center to ensure the messaging remains accurate, relevant, and practical.
For help using the toolkit or other Blackboard features, contact your eLearning liaison.
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Faculty Spotlights: Raymond Higbea and Julia Vandermolen
This summer, faculty members Raymond Higbea and Julia Vandermolen explored new possibilities in teaching and learning through our Blackboard AI Design Assistant pilot. These short videos share how they used the tool to refresh and enhance their curriculum and the ideas they're eager to incorporate into their courses. Visit our Blackboard AI Design Assistant website to learn more about the available tools, browse frequently asked questions, and view a sample syllabus statement we recommend including to promote transparency with students.
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Using Padlet for Graded Assignments – New Feature!
Padlet now supports graded assignments that integrate directly with the Blackboard Gradebook. This Knowledge Base article provides step-by-step instructions on setting up both graded and non-graded assignments, and this video tutorial provides additional guidance.
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Adobe Express Training
We're excited to offer Adobe Express training now that these tools are available through our updated contract. For step-by-step instructions on accessing Adobe Express, see this Knowledge Base article. This fall, our department and Adobe will host several workshops to help you get started and maximize Adobe Express.
*GVSU sponsored
9/17/25 • 11am – 12pm
11/11/25 • 11am – 12pm
*Sponsored by Adobe with our university license. Registration required using your GVSU email.
9/18/25 • 11am – 12pm
This is a self-paced course sponsored by Adobe. Registration is required using your GVSU email.
With our GVSU license, you can take Adobe self-paced courses. Register with your GVSU email address. Most courses are 30 minutes long.
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Partner Events: FTLC Learning Communities Facilitated by eLearning Technologies Building Inclusive Digital Environments: ADA Title II and Campus Accessibility
Facilitated by: Barbara Stevens • stevebar@gvsu.edu • 616-331-9093
Location: Online/Zoom
Type: Open
How can we, as faculty and staff, create digitally accessible environments that uphold Title II of the ADA and ensure equitable access for all students, colleagues, and campus community members?
This Learning Community brings together faculty and staff from across campus to explore how digital accessibility, guided by Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), can be integrated into everyday practices. Throughout seven monthly sessions, participants will engage in collaborative discussions and hands-on activities focused on creating inclusive digital environments for students, colleagues, and campus visitors. Topics include legal responsibilities, accessibility standards (such as WCAG), accessible course design, and tools for evaluating and improving digital content.
Exploring Quality Matters for Online and Hybrid Courses
Facilitated by: Matt Roberts, robmatth@gvsu.edu; Glenna Decker, deckerg@gvsu.edu
Location/Campus: In-Person on Allendale Campus, Pew Downtown Campus, Health Campus
Type: Open
How do your courses measure up with the research on online and hybrid course design quality standards?
In this academic year-long learning community, participants will gain experience applying internationally recognized and research-driven standards for online and hybrid courses. Participants will explore each of the eight standards that make up the 7th edition of the Quality Matters rubric and apply those standards to one of their own existing courses. Meetings will include discussion of the QM rubric's content and a dialog among participants based on their own experiences teaching in both digital and non-digital environments.
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Digital Literacy Fridays
We're excited to participate in a new series for the fall: Digital Literacy Fridays. This series will revisit several popular topics from the Summer Digital Literacy Institute and introduce new sessions focused on emerging trends and tools in digital teaching and learning.
Sponsored by the Digital Literacy Initiative, Pew FTLC, and eLearning Technologies, these sessions feature faculty and staff experts who share approaches, provide hands-on learning, and facilitate lively, cross-disciplinary conversations. The sessions rotate between the Valley campus, City campus, and Zoom.
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September Blackboard Enhancements
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 a few features in the release that will be available starting September 12, 2025.
Enhanced Documents with block styling options
Block styling options have been added to documents, providing instructors with additional tools to enhance visual presentation and effectively guide student focus.
The style options include:
- Question
- Tip
- Key points
- Next steps
- Highlight
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Add and manage question titles in tests, forms, and banks
Instructors can now add, edit, view, and delete optional question titles in tests, forms, and banks. Titles improve searchability and streamline reuse by appearing in creation, editing, reuse, and pool workflows. Instructors can search by question text or title when reusing questions, making finding and organizing content easier. Question titles are hidden from students during test-taking, grading, and submission review.
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Use "see-more" functionality in Add Question Pool
In the Add Question Pool screen, the filter panel now includes See more functionality for Sources, Question Types, and Tags when the number of values in that filter section exceeds 10. Selecting See more expands the list, revealing the complete list of values.
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Respondus LockDown Browser Changes on Windows 11
If your computer has been upgraded to Windows 11, please check out this Knowledge Base article for details on using Respondus Lockdown Browser.
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New Self-Paced Training Options
With our GVSU license, you can take Adobe self-paced courses. Register with your GVSU email address. Most courses are 30 minutes long.
This training lets you learn the essentials of Blackboard Ultra at your own pace. It walks you through its most common features and points you to resources that will help you get started using Blackboard Ultra.
This self-paced workshop fulfills the University's requirement that all faculty teaching hybrid and online courses be personally certified. As part of the process, faculty will meet with a member of eLearning Technologies to review the training requirements. This course takes roughly 8-10 hours, depending on prior technical experience and/or access to course content. Visit this site for details, including registration instructions.
Padlet offers a self-paced professional development course with video tutorials on its features and how it can support teaching and learning. Instructors who complete the course can also earn a Padlet certificate.
Designing a course can feel overwhelming, so this course guides you through 5 steps to build your course and save time! This process is aligned with Quality Matters and 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. Enroll today!
This practical self-paced course empowers instructors to design inclusive, equitable, and academically honest online testing environments. As online learning expands, so does the responsibility to create assessments that uphold fairness and integrity while meeting the diverse needs of all learners. Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor provide tools to help maintain exam security without compromising accessibility, offering features that support students who use assistive technologies, require accommodations, or need alternative testing approaches.
This course takes roughly 1 hour. At the end, instructors will receive a certificate of completion and be marked as "complete" in Workday Learn.
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September and October Webinars
Unless specified otherwise, these sessions are facilitated in a LIVE webinar format using Zoom. Registration for our webinars is conducted through Workday Learning. Departments can also request that webinar topics be customized and scheduled at their convenience. Send email requests to it@gvsu.edu with the requested topic, date/time, and format preferences (Zoom or in-person).
Blackboard and Accessibility Topics
*Anthology/Blackboard Sponsored
9/09/25 • 11am – 12pm
10/01/25 • 11am – 12pm
10/29/25 • 11am – 12pm
*Anthology/Blackboard Sponsored
9/10/25 • 11am – 12pm
10/07/25 • 11am – 12pm
10/15/25 • 1pm – 2pm
9/12/25 • 1pm – 2pm
9/30/25 • 11am – 12pm
*Anthology/Blackboard Sponsored
10/8/25 • 11am – 12pm
*Anthology/Blackboard Sponsored
9/16/25 • 11am – 12pm
10/14/25 • 11am – 12pm
9/18/25 • 1pm – 2pm
10/6/25 • 11am – 12pm
9/11/25 • 1pm – 1:30pm
9/25/25 • 1pm – 1:30pm
10/9./25 • 1pm – 1:30pm
10/23/25 • 1pm – 1:30pm
Digital Pedagogy Topics
9/9/25 • 1pm – 2pm
9/29/25 • 11am – 12pm • Zoom
10/14/25 • 1pm – 3pm • DCIH 260 (in-person)
9/15/25 • 1pm – 2pm • Zoom
9/15/25 • 11am – 12pm • DCIH 260 (in-person)
Video and Interactive Digital Media Topics
9/9/25 • 11am – 12pm
9/16/25 • 11am – 12pm
10/22/25 • 2pm – 3pm • DCIH 260 (in-person)
9/17/25 • 11am – 12pm
9/24/25 • 12pm – 1pm
10/28/25 • 1pm – 2pm
9/4/25 • 12pm – 1pm
Microsoft 365 Efficiencies Series
9/10/25 • 1pm – 2pm
9/17/25 • 1pm – 2pm
10/8/25 • 1pm – 2pm
9/3/25 • 1pm – 2:30pm
10/1/25 • 1pm – 2pm
10/22/25 • 1pm – 2pm
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Reminder: Register for the GV Technology Summit
The inaugural summit is Thursday, October 2, from Noon to 5pm at the DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health (DCIH) in Grand Rapids. It's free and open to all GVSU students, faculty, and staff.
Hosted by IT in collaboration with departments and colleges across the university, the summit will feature:
- A keynote from Meagan Luttenton-Knoll, senior affiliate faculty, on Harnessing the Power of Data
- A Women in Technology panel
- Over 40 roundtable discussions, breakout sessions, and poster presentations on topics including AI in education, accessibility, cybersecurity, infrastructure, and more
- Tours of learning spaces using emerging technologies
- Opportunities for networking with colleagues and tech vendors
Learn more and register at the Summit's website. Volunteer opportunities are also available for those who want to help bring the event to life and connect more closely with presenters and vendors.
The deadline to register is 9/19/25.
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Connect with eLearning!
Working with eLearning has many benefits. We can assist in optimizing Blackboard course structure, enhancing online and hybrid learning experiences, and incorporating innovative tools to foster active learning. We encourage you 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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