As the winter semester wraps up, thank you for your continued efforts to enhance student learning through technology. We look forward to building on this momentum in the summer. Whether you're exploring new Blackboard features, seeking instructional design support, or improving content accessibility, the eLearning team is here to partner with you.
Table of Contents
| |
|
May Blackboard Enhancements
Blackboard releases new features and improvements on the first Friday of each month. This month, we are highlighting three changes that will improve the functionality of your Blackboard sites beginning May 8, 2026.
Course Switcher
The Course Switcher now includes a search box that allows users to quickly find and open any course they have access to. Instead of browsing the full Courses page, users can open the Course Switcher, search by course name or course ID, and navigate directly to the selected course.
| |
Group Management Changes
Group management has been redesigned with a cleaner layout and more intuitive controls. Instructors now start by choosing how they want to structure groups before managing individual members. The options include:
- manual assignment
- automatic assignment
- self‑enrollment
- import
This approach streamlines setup for common scenarios.
| |
Instructors can now automatically assign students to groups by specifying the number of members per group.
| |
With these changes, instructors can assign and unassign students using multiple methods:
- Assign students directly from the unassigned list
- Assign selected students to a specific group
- Add or remove members from within a group
Instructors can now sort:
- Students by first name or last name (A–Z or Z–A)
- Student ID
- Groups by group name
- Groups by number of members
| |
White Space Improvements
Blackboard has refined the spacing and layout behavior in Documents to reduce unnecessary vertical whitespace and improve overall readability and visual balance.
* * *
| |
Summer Blackboard Student Enrollments and New Semester Checklist
Summer semester enrollments are now available in Blackboard, so you can begin communicating with your students. As you get started, we encourage you to review our Blackboard New Semester Start-Up Checklist for a quick reminder of key tasks to ensure your course launches smoothly.
| |
Fix Your Content Day: May 5 - Hands-on Support - Refreshments too!
Join us in person at Kirkhof Center, room 2263, Valley (Allendale) Campus. Whether you stay for 10 minutes or two hours, work alongside experts from Student Accessibility Resources, eLearning Technologies, Blackboard, University Libraries, and University Marketing. We encourage you to register in advance to help us plan for staffing and light refreshments.
| |
Support and Resources for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Accessibility is an important part of creating an inclusive learning environment for all students. We encourage instructors to review the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) website and explore the resources available to support the creation of accessible course materials.
Although the U.S. Department of Justice has recently extended the ADA Title II web and mobile accessibility compliance deadline to April 26, 2027, we are not treating it as a pause. Our professional development efforts will continue, with a strong emphasis on making steady progress in improving content accessibility over the coming year. We've highlighted a few steps faculty can take to make their Blackboard content more accessible.
- Review the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) website for background information.
- Delete files from your Blackboard courses that are no longer in use. This will improve your digital accessibility metrics generated from Blackboard Ally.
- Review your Blackboard Ally report for red and orange items, and address the most impactful issues first.
- Focus first on the materials students need to engage in the course or complete graded work. Your syllabus and schedule are most vital; then work through your critical readings and lecture slides.
- If your syllabus is created in Microsoft Word, use the Microsoft Accessibility Checker to identify and fix common issues such as headings, color contrast, and alternative text.
- If you distribute your syllabus as a PDF, Adobe Acrobat's Accessibility tools can help you review and remediate accessibility concerns.
- You can also upload files to create Blackboard documents to improve accessibility, rather than converting digital files to PDF.
- Replace scanned articles with permanent links. Your subject librarian can help you find articles in our databases.
The eLearning team and Student Accessibility Resources department offer a variety of training opportunities to support the creation of accessible content.
| |
Call for Proposals: GV Technology Summit Returns November 3, 2026
The GV Technology Summit returns on November 3, 2026. This university-wide event highlights how faculty, staff, and students are advancing technology in learning, research, and daily work across GVSU. Join the conversation—whether you're an expert, innovator, or simply curious.
Date: November 3, 2026, 8:30am – 4:30pm
Location: Kirkhof Center, Valley (Allendale) Campus
| |
New Zoom Capabilities Now Available
The university has recently renewed our Zoom agreement, expanding the tools available to faculty, staff, and students across campus. These updates support teaching, collaboration, and communication while making several previously premium features available to everyone.
What's New:
- Host Zoom meetings with up to 500 participants (previously 300)
- Host Zoom Webinars for up to 500 attendees (previously a paid add-on)
- Unlimited Zoom Clips for quick video updates and sharing
- Access to Zoom Scheduler for easier meeting coordination
- Translated captions during meetings
- Increased cloud recording storage
To take full advantage of these features, community members should sign in to Zoom using their university account when joining meetings. Faculty are encouraged to ask students to sign in rather than joining class sessions as guests, which can require manual approval to enter the meeting.
| |
May and Early June Professional Development Opportunities
| |
Webinar Options
Unless specified otherwise, these sessions are held via live webinar on Zoom. Select the webinar title to officially register in Workday Learning and receive your meeting link. If you have difficulty registering, please email Kim Kenward (kenwardk@gvsu.edu).
AI Topics
5/4/26 • 11am – 12pm
5/5/26 • 10am – 11:30am
5/19/26 • 11am – 12pm
6/16/26 • 1pm – 2pm
Accessibility Topics
5/6/26 • 9am – 9:15am
5/20/26 • 2pm – 2:15pm
6/4/26 • 10am – 10:15am
6/17/26 • 1pm – 1:15pm
5/7/26 • 9am – 9:30am
5/19/26 • 3pm – 3:30pm
6/10/26 • 10am – 10:30am
5/27/26 • 1pm – 2pm
Blackboard Topics
5/7/26 • 11am – 12pm
6/25/26 • 10am – 11am
5/18/26 • 1pm – 2pm
5/19/26 • 11am – 12pm
Did you Know Blackboard Could Do That?
*No reservations required. Drop-in in DCIH260 (City Campus)
5/21/26 • 12pm – 1:30pm
6/18/26 • 12pm – 1:30pm
5/28/26 • 11am – 12pm
6/15/26 • 11am – 12pm
Digital Pedagogy and Video Topics
5/6/26 • 1pm – 2pm
5/6/26 • 10am – 10:45am
*This webinar is sponsored by Hypothesis
5/14/26 • 2:30pm – 3:15pm
5/26/26 • 11am – 12pm
*This webinar is sponsored by Hypothesis
5/28/26 • 2:30pm – 3:15pm
*This webinar is sponsored by Padlet
5/6/26 • 12pm – 1pm
5/20/26 • 8/11/26 11am – 12pm
6/2/26 • 8/18/26 • 11am – 12pm
This session is held in-person in DCIH260
6/18/26 • 2pm – 3pm
These sessions are offered in person at DCIH60 (Health Campus) and on Zoom.
6/22/26 • 8/10/26 • 10:00am – 11:00am
6/23/26 • 8/13/26 1pm – 2pm
Microsoft 365 and OneDrive Topics
5/13/26 • 1pm – 2pm
5/20/26 • 1pm – 2pm
5/27/26 • 1pm – 2:30pm
6/3/26 • 1pm – 2pm
6/17/26 • 1pm – 2pm
6/24/26 • 1pm – 2pm
The Adobe Education Institute (AEI) is an exclusive professional learning program geared toward faculty and staff. It's a 3-day virtual event where participants will gain hands-on experience with Adobe tools and practical strategies you can apply in teaching, student support, communications, and campus initiatives. Pick and choose sessions according to interest. Participants can earn a badge for every session completed.
*This webinar series is sponsored by Adobe, and times vary based on sessions.
6/8, 6/9, 6/10
| |
Connect with eLearning!
There are many benefits to working with eLearning. We can assist in optimizing your Blackboard course structure, enhancing online and hybrid learning experiences, and incorporating innovative tools to foster active learning. You're encouraged to contact your eLearning Technologies liaisons or submit a consultation ticket at your convenience.
| |
Sincerely,
Kim Kenward, Director of eLearning Technologies
kenwardk@gvsu.edu
GVSU Information Technology
| |
|
| podcast by Jamison Wieser from Noun Project / Question by Adrien Coquet from Noun Project / feedback by Vectorstall from Noun Project / moving by Adrien Coquet from Noun Project / door open by shashank singh from Noun Project / wellness by Adrien Coquet from Noun Project / reminder by conchan from Noun Project / explain by Iconographer from Noun Project / Six by Adrien Coquet from Noun Project / Tour by Colourcreatype from Noun Project / key by Aaron K. Kim from Noun Project / closed by Gregor Cresnar from Noun Project / cleaning by Nubaia Karim Barsha from Noun Project / new by jiskan427 from Noun Project / leaf by Deepz from Noun Project / foundation by M. Oki Orlando from Noun Project / working together by Khoirin from Noun Project / Accessibility by mikicon from Noun Project / Toolbox by Danil Polshin from Noun Project / startup by Gregor Cresnar from Noun Project / Training by Adrien Coquet by Noun Project / origami paper bird by farra nugraha from Noun Project / Suitcase by Asiah from Noun Project
| |
|
|
