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Grand Valley State University
It's week two of the new semester—hopefully you and your students are once again getting into the rhythm of academic life. We’ve recently scheduled a few special professional development opportunities that we want to bring to your attention. We’d also like to remind you of the services available in our three Digital Studios.
In this edition of the newsletter:

Breakfast and Blackboard Ultra

Representatives from Blackboard/Anthology are coming to the Allendale campus on Friday February 3, 2023, and have scheduled two special workshops we would like to bring to your attention. Breakfast and refreshments will be available, and everything will take place in 4402 KHS. Faculty are encouraged to stay for both workshops but can choose to attend one or both. This two-part workshop will focus on course design and analytical enhancements found in Blackboard Ultra to support student engagement. Throughout both workshops, faculty will explore a variety of tools and pedagogical approaches to setting-up your Blackboard Ultra course for success.
Breakfast and Meet-n-Greet with Anthology/Blackboard representatives
2/3/23 8:30am – 9:00am (KHS 4402 / Allendale Campus)
Part 1: Designing a Student-Friendly Blackboard Ultra Site
2/3/23 9:00am – 10:15am (KHS 4402 / Allendale Campus)
The Blackboard Ultra experience provides a cleaner interface to focus on the learning process. In this session, we will focus on a number of best practices for utilizing learning modules, documents, and video content. GVSU Blackboard Ultra early adopters will also share course design ideas and feedback from students.
Register in Sprout
Part 2: Harnessing the Power of Data Tools to Improve Student Engagement
2/3/23 10:30am – 11:45am (KHS 4402 / Allendale Campus)
Blackboard Ultra provides a number of tools that currently don’t exist in Blackboard Classic to help students stay informed about their progress and tell faculty quantitative stories about their learning.Faculty will learn about the power of due dates, the activity stream, calendar appointments, progress tracking, course analytics, and student progress reports.
Register in Sprout

Digital Studio Updates

Did you know that we have three digital studios to assist faculty with video and digital media projects? All three studios are equipped with high-end technology and the latest multimedia software/hardware, including lightboard technology. Watch this video to learn more about our digital studios and the various services and staffing available to assist you.
Our studios are located in Allendale (KHS 4474), Pew (SCB 1103), and Health (CHS411).  Faculty are encouraged to visit our eLearning Technologies Digital Studio website and send email inquiries to studiod@gvsu.edu. Sample digital media projects to get your creative ideas flowing can be found on the Digital Studio Project page. 

Get to Know your Digital Media Developers
Noah Campbell is located on the Allendale campus and is a Senior Digital Media Developer at GVSU. He works with faculty and staff to create high quality digital media, and teaches them how they can leverage different educational technologies to enhance their courses and instruction. He has a background in Filmmaking and Educational Technology, which he uses to ensure the content he creates is not only visually appealing, but also pedagogically sound.
Kyle Macciomei is located at the Pew campus and is a Digital Media Developer at GVSU. He received his B.S. in Film and Video Production from GVSU and has his Master's in Education Technology with an emphasis on instructional video design. Working with faculty to develop digital materials that enhance the learning experiences of students is a primary goal for Kyle, and blending the technical elements of video design with pedagogical learning theory is his passion. 

Online/Hybrid Faculty Learning Community Meeting January 31

The first winter meeting of our eLearning Online and Hybrid Faculty Learning Community will be Tuesday January 31 from 1:30pm to 2:30pm. As with last semester, our meeting will be held using Zoom. You can join using this Zoom link.

All faculty are welcome at our meetings. Even if you don't intend to teach in a hybrid or online format, please come to learn from your colleagues and discover best practices in digital learning. The first meeting of each term is a time for important updates from your eLearning Technologies team and an opportunity for you, as faculty, to choose the topics we discuss over the semester.

If you're not currently an FLC member and would like to receive emails about our Online and Hybrid Faculty Learning Community, please email Matt Roberts (robmatth@gvsu.edu) to be enrolled in our Blackboard Organization. You can find more information on the FLC on our eLearning website.

Upcoming Professional Development

As you might have noticed, the Winter semester of 2023 is all about getting you ready to use Blackboard Ultra courses for our launch in Spring/Summer and Fall 2023. Remember—you're not in this migration alone! The eLearning Technologies team and Pew FTLC are partnering up to help you with the migration.

For more information about the Pew FTLC Winter 2023 Ultra Working Groups, please visit their page.

Our eLearning Technologies Blackboard Ultra training comes in various formats to meet everyone's scheduling needs. Essentials are 60-minute overviews of the most commonly used tools and functionality in Blackboard Ultra.  Lunch-and-Learns are quick 20-minute sessions offered around the noon hour with the remaining time available for Q&A’s. For those with larger blocks of free time, course Build-a-thons provide a deeper 2–3 hour dive into getting your course converted and ready for Blackboard Ultra.

Here’s a snapshot of all our upcoming professional development for the next two weeks.
January 19, 2023 • 12:00pm – 12:50pm
BLACKBOARD ULTRA LUNCH-AND-LEARN

January 20, 2023 • 11:00am – 12:00pm
BLACKBOARD ULTRA ESSENTIALS
January 20, 2023 • 12:00pm – 12:50pm
HYPOTHESIS: COLLABORATIVE ANNOTATION TOOL FOR BLACKBOARD LEARN ULTRA
Learn how collaborative annotation with Hypothesis can be used to make student reading visible, active, and social in your Blackboard Ultra course.
January 23, 2023 • 12:00pm – 12:50pm
BLACKBOARD ULTRA LUNCH-AND-LEARN
January 24, 2023 • 11:00am – 12:00pm
CREATING INSTRUCTOR PRESENCE: GETTING STARTED WITH PANOPTO
Come to learn about GVSU's video platform that will allow you to record, host, and easily embed videos into Blackboard!
January 24, 2023 • 1:00pm – 2:00pm
CREATING INSTRUCTOR PRESENCE: ADVANCED PANOPTO FUNCTIONALITY
Come to learn about more functions available in Panopto, such as captions, quizzing, and student, video assignments!
January 25, 2023 • 12:00pm – 12:50pm
BLACKBOARD ULTRA LUNCH-AND-LEARN
January 26, 2023 • 10:00am – 11:00am
STUDENT-CREATED VIDEOS AND PODCASTS
Digital media gives students opportunities to show their learning through a modern and relevant medium. Having students create videos or podcasts can foster a sense of presence, and increase engagement.
January 26, 2023 • 1:00pm – 2:00pm
BLACKBOARD ULTRA SHOW-AND-TELL
Come and see how faculty across GVSU are designing their courses in to help engage students, and maybe even show the unique ways in which you are utilizing Blackboard!
January 27, 2023 • 9:00am – 12:00pm
BLACKBOARD ULTRA BUILD-A-THON
Join the eLearning Technologies team to learn how to set up your course in Blackboard Ultra. The session will provide dedicated time for guided hands-on practice.
January 31, 2023 • 12:00pm – 12:50pm
BLACKBOARD ULTRA LUNCH-AND-LEARN
January 31, 2023 • 2:00pm – 3:00pm
5 STEPS FOR COURSE DESIGN – STEP 4 NAVIGATION
The ability for your students to navigate your course site is critical. Being thoughtful about navigation can lead to student inspiration to dive into the online experience and engage in the course content. How do you build quality navigation into your course? We will discuss what considerations need to be included in your course design and build, as well as, how you can experience your own class as a student. Examples will be shown in Ultra.
February 1, 2023 • 11:00am – 12:00pm
BLACKBOARD ULTRA ESSENTIALS
February 2, 2023 • 12:00pm – 12:50pm
BLACKBOARD ULTRA LUNCH-AND-LEARN
February 2, 2023 • 1:30pm – 2:30pm
CREATIVE WAYS OF LEVERAGING BLACKBOARD MOBILE (VIRTUAL)
We know that our students regularly use their mobile app to access Blackboard, but did you know there are creative ways that you can use it as an instructor even in the classroom?
February 3, 2023 • 9:00am – 10:15am (KHS 4402 / Allendale campus)
DESIGNING A STUDENT-FRIENDLY BLACKBOARD ULTRA SITE
The Blackboard Ultra experience provides a cleaner interface to focus on the learning process. In this session, we will focus on a number of best practices for utilizing learning modules, documents, and video content. 
February 3, 2023 • 10:30am – 11:45am (KHS 4402 / Allendale campus)
HARNESSING THE POWER OF DATA TOOLS TO IMPROVE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Blackboard Ultra provides a number of tools that currently don’t exist in Blackboard Classic to help students stay informed about their progress and tell faculty quantitative stories about their learning.
Don’t forget—department and unit chairs are also encouraged to reach out to their eLearning Liaisons to schedule customized workshops or department presentations.  We’re even available to schedule evening workshops to accommodate part-time faculty. If there is any way we can more effectively support you and your department, please do reach out to us.
Sincerely,

Kim Kenward
Director of eLearning Technologies
GVSU Information Technology
Visit our eLearning Technologies website or follow us on our socials:
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1 Campus Drive
4490 Kindschi Hall of Science
Allendale, MI 49401
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