Grand Valley faculty member wins Blackboard Catalyst Award

Szymon Machajewski, an affiliate professor in the School of Computing and Information Systems, has been named a winner of the Blackboard Catalyst Award in the "Optimizing Student Experience" category.

The award honors faculty at institutions whose educational and administrative innovations have markedly improved the total learner experience, including addressing new and changing dynamics in fields such as student recruitment, financial aid, enrollment, retention and assessment, graduation, and more.

Machajewski said using Blackboard in his CIS 150 course is a critical component and helps drive student success.

"The coordination of the course focuses on improving student experience and ensuring that Blackboard technology scales instructor efforts in communication of announcements, grades and course outline," Machajewski said. "Students have a better course experience when they know their current grades to manage their academic effort and exact due dates through notifications and mobile technology to manage their time."

Machajewski will be honored alongside other Blackboard Catalyst Award winners during BbWorld 2019, Blackboard's Annual user conference July 23-25 in Austin, Texas.

"We're thrilled to honor this year's Blackboard Catalyst Award winners for their commitment to improving the educational experience for all learners through EdTech and sharing these insights with the broader community," said Lee Blakemore, chief client officer and president for Global Client Operations & Success at Blackboard. "Clients like these inspire us to accelerate innovation driving student success and we’re proud to be a part of their story.” 

For help with Blackboard, visit https://www.gvsu.edu/elearn/help/