Self-Paced Options

In addition to our live Zoom-based trainings, we’re excited to offer several self-paced options this fall, allowing you to learn at your own pace and on your own schedule. 

Adobe Self-Paced Courses
With our GVSU license, you can take Adobe self-paced courses. Register with your GVSU email address. Most courses are 30 minutes long. See their how-to resources for getting started information. 

Getting Started with Blackboard Ultra
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 Bb Ultra.

MI ExplOER Learning Modules and Certificate (OER Basics)
Looking for a refresher on Open Educational Resources (OER) in higher education? MI OER Network offers a free, self-paced online course comprised of eight engaging modules introducing higher education professionals to OER basics. You can complete the modules in any order, although progressing sequentially is recommended. Take advantage of this opportunity to discover or revisit the OER landscape in a way that fits your schedule.

Padlet 101
Interested in getting started with Padlet? Padlet offers a self-paced professional development course that includes video tutorials on its features and how it can support teaching and learning. Instructors who complete the course can also earn a Padlet certificate.

Foundations of Online and Hybrid Course Development
This self-paced workshop fulfills the University’s certification requirement for all faculty teaching hybrid and online courses, providing practical skills to enhance your teaching and course design. The course typically takes 8–10 hours, depending on your prior technical experience and access to course content. A key part of the process includes a meeting with a member of eLearning Technologies to review the training, answer your questions, and connect you with a liaison for ongoing support throughout the semester.

Visit this site for details, including registration instructions.

The ‘5 STEPS for Course Design’
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, strategies, and 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!

Accessibility Best Practices for Respondus Lockdown Browser (Self-Paced)
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. 

Faculty are also encouraged to review our Respondus Best Practices resources and contact their eLearning Liaison for assistance. 

GVSU eLearning Technologies Sponsored Resources and Training

Instructors are encouraged to review our Ultra Instructor resources in the Service Portal, contact their eLearning liaison for assistance, or review our tutorial, "Getting Started with Blackboard Ultra," which provides important resources and tips for learning the basics of Ultra.

Blackboard Ultra Essentials for Courses 

• 1/6/26 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
• 1/7/2  2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
• 1/8/26 7:00 PM -  8:00 PM

Blackboard Essentials for Instructors: Exploring Course Structure and Content Creation 
Anthology/Bb Sponsored
On-Demand Video
 

Blackboard Assessments Simplified
Anthology/Bb Sponsored
On-Demand Video

Accessibility Strategies to Address the Impact of ADA Title II Updates
On-Demand Webinar sponsored by Anthology/Blackboard
Join us for an insightful on-demand webinar as we explore the current accessibility challenges facing institutions and the strategies being implemented to overcome them. Our expert panel will discuss the importance of having strategic accessibility programs, faculty training, and balancing human efforts with technology to address the impact of ADA Title II updates. The discussion will also focus on how Ally is helping institutions navigate these challenges, and panelists will offer practical advice for other institutions to address similar Title II concerns and improve overall accessibility.
 

Making PDF's Accessible
Join us for a 30-minute webinar on how to create accessible PDFs using Adobe Acrobat Pro. This training will cover the essential tools and techniques needed to ensure your PDF documents are readable and navigable for all users, including those who rely on screen readers. Participants will learn how to check for accessibility issues, add tags, set reading order, and fix common barriers. Whether you're new to accessibility or looking to refine your skills, this quick session will give you practical steps to make your content more inclusive. Perfect for faculty, staff, and content creators.

• 1/5/26 12 PM - 12:30 PM
• 1/16/26 12 PM - 12:30 PM

PDF Tune-Up in 15: Tags, Titles, and Language with Ally
In just 15 minutes, learn how to transform scanned PDFs into accessible course materials using Anthology Ally. This session will cover three essential fixes—adding tags for screen readers, inserting a proper document title, and setting the correct language to ensure your PDFs are more usable and inclusive for all learners. Walk away with simple, practical steps you can apply immediately to improve accessibility in your course.

All sessions are 15 minutes.
More dates will be coming in 2026


Accessibility and Ally: Creating Course Materials That Work for All
Accessibility helps everyone have an improved learning experience. Ally is a powerful accessibility tool that allows students to view course content in a variety of formats. Ally also gauges the accessibility of content and provides guidance and tips for improving accessibility.  At the end of this webinar, the learner will be able to create accessible content using Word, PowerPoint, etc., interpret Ally's feedback from the Accessibility Report, and learn how to use accessibility features in Blackboard Ultra.

• More dates will be coming in 2026

From Clutter to Clarity: A Visual Makeover for Your Blackboard Course
Transform your Blackboard course from a maze of content into a streamlined, student-friendly experience. In this session, you’ll learn practical strategies to reduce visual clutter, enhance navigation, and create a more organized and inviting online environment. Whether you're building from scratch or refreshing an existing course, this session will help you apply clean design principles that support student success and reduce frustration—for both you and your learners.

• More dates will be coming in 2026

Accessibility Best Practices for Respondus Lockdown Browser (Self-Paced)

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. 

Blackboard's Rubric Design Assistant Seminar
Learning how to create effective rubrics and the best practices for using them is important for all educators. All teachable content has learning goals and outcomes, and therefore any and all content can benefit from the use of good-quality rubrics. To make the process of developing and creating rubrics simpler, Blackboard has introduced a new Rubric Design Assistant for automatically generating rubrics directly in your Learn Ultra courses. Creating rubrics with the Design Assistant are less time consuming, more consistent and easily adapted to meet changing standards and outcomes. In this seminar, faculty will learn how to create and design effective rubrics and use Blackboard’s Rubric Design Assistant.

• 1/21/26  1:00 PM - 1:45 PM
• 2/23/26 11:00 AM - 11:45 PM
• 3/18/26 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM

Streamlined Grading in Blackboard: Best Practices for Educators
Anthology/Bb Sponsored
This on-demand video explores the grading process and the methods to make it easier than ever to grade learners’ work. In Blackboard, instructors can provide feedback, post grades, and easily check the originality of a learner’s work. Instructors can provide audio and video feedback to the learner, helping them understand areas of their work that may need attention. Join us in this informative session on using Blackboard’s grading tools to make your online teaching experience more efficient and less time-consuming.

On-Demand Video

Navigating Blackboard Gradebook: Tips for Instructors and Course Builders
Anthology/Bb Sponsored
This webinar is designed to introduce you to the power of Blackboard’s gradebook. The Gradebook is more than just a location to record learners’ grades, it is an interactive tool that allows instructors to utilize the different views to filter, sort, and access data, calculate grades, and monitor student progress. Join this session to learn the basics of efficiently managing your learners’ work and grades.

On-Demand Video

Accessibility Best Practices for Respondus Lockdown Browser (Self-Paced)

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. 

Faculty are also encouraged to review our Respondus Best Practices resources and contact their eLearning Liaison for assistance. 

Using Learn Ultra Analytics

Holding every student accountable and identifying individuals who are falling behind is made easier in the Blackboard Learn Ultra experience. This seminar 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. During the session, we’ll guide instructors through assignment analytics, student progress analytics, and course data that will allow you to measure and boost your students’ performance.

You are also encouraged to review this resource about Analytics.

• 2/2/26 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
• 2/19/26  1:00 PM - 1:45 PM

Evaluating Student Performance Outcomes with Blackboard and EAC

Join us for an insightful seminar designed to empower faculty with the tools and strategies needed to effectively evaluate course level student performance outcomes using Blackboard and EAC’s assessment and accreditation solution. In this session you will explore how to leverage the robust analytics and reporting features of EAC to track student progress, identify learning gaps, and provide targeted support.

• 3/17/26  11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
• 4/13/26  1:00 PM - 1:45 PM

You are also encouraged to review these resources about  EAC. 

Exploring AI in Higher Ed- Ethical and Effective Use of AI, a Faculty Discussion
As AI becomes more ubiquitous, faculty are challenged to adapt their teaching, maintain academic integrity, and set clear expectations for students. This faculty discussion will provide a brief technical introduction to AI tools, highlight emerging classroom implications, and invite participants to share their perspectives, questions, and concerns. Together, we’ll explore ethical considerations and practical approaches to developing or refining course policies that reflect our individual teaching goals.

• 8/5/25 10 AM - 11:30 AM
• 8/12/25 10 AM - 11:30 AM
• 11/25/25 10 AM - 11:30 AM
   

AI-Powered Productivity: Transforming Faculty Workflow 
Discover how AI tools can revolutionize your teaching and administrative tasks, freeing up time for what matters most—engaging with students and innovating in your field. This workshop provides practical insights and hands-on guidance on integrating AI into everyday workflows, from automating routine tasks to enhancing course planning and communication. Learn to work smarter, not harder, and transform your approach to academia with AI-powered strategies.

• 8/21/25 11 AM - 12 PM
• 9/9/25 1 PM - 2 PM
   

Declutter Your Digital Life
Are you feeling overwhelmed by a cluttered inbox and disorganized files? Join our webinar to learn practical strategies for mastering file and email management. This hands-on session will teach you how to streamline your digital life by organizing your files, naming and storing them effectively, managing your email with ease, and implementing systems to keep everything running smoothly.

• 8/21/25 1 PM - 2:30 PM

• 12/6/25 1 PM - 2:30 PM

Design Higher Order Thinking into Your Course using the Bb AI Design Assistant
Discover how Blackboard’s new AI tools can help you create dynamic, engaging learning experiences using your own course content. In this hands-on session, you’ll explore how to leverage AI to refresh materials, promote higher-order thinking, and design effective assessments aligned with your learning objectives. We’ll demonstrate how the built-in tools can assist with generating test questions, assignments, module ideas, rubrics, discussion prompts, and even role-playing scenarios, tailored to your existing content. Participants will hear from two instructors who participated in our AI Pilot and learn how they leveraged these tools to support their fall course planning.

• 9/29/25 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Zoom)
• 10/14/25 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
  Note:  This training is in-person in DCIH260 
• 11/17/25 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (Zoom)

Introduction to Quality Matters (webinar)
In this session, you'll be introduced to the nationally recognized standards for online/hybrid courses.  In addition to an overview of each of the eight standards, we'll discuss the QM rubric, what informs it, its value, and how to take the next step toward validating the quality of your online courses and recognizing where you can make improvements.  

• 8/27/25 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
• 9/15/25 1:00 PM - 2:00  PM

Introduction to Quality Matters (in person)
This is the same content as the "Introduction to Quality Matters" webinar described above, but is delivered in an in-person format.

• 8/13/25 • 11:00am – 12:00pm • DCIH 260
• 9/15/25 • 11:00am – 12:00pm • DCIH 260

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 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!

Adobe Self-Paced Courses
With our GVSU license, you can take Adobe self-paced courses. Register with your GVSU email address. Most courses are 30 minutes long. 

Collaborate Visually with Miro
Not all whiteboards are created equally, especially when it comes to accessibility. This webinar is an interactive training session designed to help participants effectively use Miro, a collaborative online whiteboard platform. This session covers the basics of creating and organizing boards, using templates and visual tools, and collaborating with others in real time.

• 1/9/26 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

Empowering Student Teams: Building Self-Led Collaboration
Creating effective student teams can be challenging, but with the right strategies, instructors can foster self-leading teams that collaborate productively throughout the semester. This one-hour course will guide college instructors through key principles of team formation, structure, and maintenance, ensuring that students take ownership of their group work on projects, papers, and assignments. Faculty will explore best practices for setting expectations, managing team dynamics, and implementing accountability measures that encourage autonomy while minimizing instructor intervention. By the end of the session, instructors will have practical strategies to create cohesive, high-functioning teams that enhance student learning and engagement.

• 8/22/25 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
   

Innovation in Your Course
Improve student engagement and promote innovative thinking in your courses. Students need to develop creative, innovative thinking for today’s jobs, and instructors can build this into their courses for any subject content. Help students apply their learning with real-world scenarios and authentic assessments, and encourage innovative thinking while aligning to your learning outcomes. This webinar will share many examples, tech tools, and engaging options to try in your courses.

• 1/26/26 1 PM – 2 PM 

Learn more about creating and managing video and digital applications in these seminars.

Creating Instructor Presence with Panopto

Learn more functions in Panopto, such as video creation, captions, quizzing, and student video assignments!

• 1/8/26  - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
• 3/16/26 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
   

Media Assessments: Transform Your Existing Assignments into Student-Created Video
In this course, we will walk through how you might be able to convert one of your existing assignments into a project that will help your students develop their media creation skills. There are many different methods that you could use, from Panopto assignments to having your students create TikToks for class. Importantly, we will cover different assessment categories that you might want to consider when developing a rubric for a project of this nature.

• 4/7/26 - 11 AM – 12 PM
   

Podcasting 101
Step behind the mic with confidence in this engaging webinar all about podcasts. Whether you're launching your first show or looking to sharpen your skills, we’ll cover the essentials of preparing to be on the microphone—from managing nerves and finding your voice to crafting engaging conversations and staying authentic. We’ll also give you a first hand look at the equipment we use at the Bridge to create faculty driven podcasts and how you can best prepare for a recording session.

• 3/18/26 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
  Note:  This training is in-person in DCIH260 

Introduction to Adobe Express
Join us for a beginner-friendly webinar on Adobe Express, Adobe’s cloud-based design tool for creating stunning graphics, videos, PDFs, web pages, and more—no design experience needed. Formerly known as Adobe Spark and Creative Cloud Express, Adobe Express makes it easy to bring your ideas to life with intuitive templates and drag-and-drop tools. In this session, you’ll learn how to navigate the platform, customize content for different uses, and quickly share or download your creations.

• 1/23/26 - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
• 2/17/26 - 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
• 3/30/26 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Video Editing with Adobe Express
In this session, you’ll learn how to import and organize clips, trim and edit footage, add text and music, apply filters and animations, and customize your video. By the end, you’ll know how to confidently create and share standout videos—whether for work, school, or personal projects.

• 1/30/26 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Driving Student Engagement with Generative AI
*Sponsored by Adobe with our university license. Registration required using your GVSU email.   It is available as an on-demand option.  

This event featured a discussion on: 

• How to shift rote coursework to approaches like “ungrading” that prioritize conversations and the development of skills, including creative problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration
• How to drive engagement with creative projects that challenge students to show what they know
• How students can use Adobe Express and Firefly to craft media they’ll be proud to share while becoming critical, ethical, and agile users of AI

Enhance College Student Engagement with Adobe Express
Sponsored by Adobe and is included with our GVSU license.  Register with your GVSU email.  
In this self-paced course, you’ll learn how to help your students infuse digital skills, generative AI and creativity into their presentations, coursework and papers, equipping them with everything they need to get creative in any discipline with Adobe Express.  Instructors can earn a badge and certificate at the end of the course by submitting an assignment, then you will receive a LinkedIn-ready shareable digital badge and a certificate for 60 minutes of professional learning.


Using Padlet to Engage Online Learners
Padlet lets you create a virtual bulletin board where you and your students can write notes and upload documents, photos, slideshows, record videos/audio files or add hyperlinks. During this webinar, participants will learn how to activate their Padlet account and how it can be used for brainstorming, storyboarding, collecting resources (such as images, attachments, hyperlinks, recording videos/audio), gathering the results of group work, and much more!

• 1/22/26 - 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
• 3/23/26 - 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
• 10/28/25- 1 PM - 2 PM

 For immediate assistance, please don't hesitate to contact your eLearning Liaison. You should also review this resource about integrating Padlet into Blackboard Ultra.

Hypothesis: Collaborative Annotation Tool for Blackboard

Join us for an informative session on how you can use the Hypothesis collaborative annotation tool in your Learn Ultra courses to help students develop foundational academic skills such as deep reading, critical thinking, and active engagement with course materials. This seminar will highlight effective pedagogical approaches for social annotation and demonstrate how Hypothesis integrates with your course content.

• 1/20/26 11 AM - 11:45 AM
• 2/26/26 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM 
• 3/25/26 2:00 PM - 2:45 PM

Maximizing Productivity with Free Microsoft Copilot Features
Learn how to take advantage of Microsoft Copilot’s most useful tools at no cost. This session covers core features, time-saving examples, and simple ways to start using AI to work smarter.

• 1/14/26 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
• 3/4/26  1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
   

Microsoft Bookings Basics

• 2/4/26 - 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
  
  To get started with Microsoft Bookings, see this resource. 
   

Microsoft Excel 101

• 1/28/26 -  1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
• 4/1/26 - 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM
   

Getting Started with Microsoft Teams

• 3/18/26 - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
• 4/22/26  - 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
  
  To get started with Microsoft Teams, see this resource.

Zoom 101

Learn how to use Zoom to conduct synchronous class meetings and schedule virtual office hours.

• To get started with Zoom, see this resource.

Utilizing Zoom Tools Effectively

Discover how to leverage Zoom tools to enhance and support your courses or team collaborations. Participants who attend this webinar will gain proficiency in using the appointment scheduler, chat channels for teams or courses, whiteboards, and Zoom notes.

• 8/19/25 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Credits: Sprout by IconMark from NounProject.com