Join us for a practical, 2 part, hands-on workshop on Intelligent Agents.
Part I: Lamakū: You will be added to our Lamakū sandbox for the asynchronous portion of our workshop to learn about how intelligent agents work.
February 9 – 18, 2026
Part II: Zoom: Walk through how you can apply intelligent agents for various situations in your course.
Thursday, February 19, 2026 1:00 – 2:00 PM
*Lamakū Intelligent Agents is an automated tool that can monitor student activities such as logins, grade thresholds, or assignment submissions. It will log a report for the instructor and/ or send tailored email to students on your behalf when specific criteria are met.
During Fall 2025, the EMC IDT unit shared weekly Lamakū tips via the Leeward Campus bulletins. Here is a summary of all the video tips shared. You can also watch the video playlist on YouTube.
Tip 1: Course Starter Template
How to find and use document templates, and how to change colors in the course starter template.
Tip 2: Course Banners
How to update the course banner image and upload a module banner image.
Tip 3: Attendance Tool
How to use the attendance tool and input grades for attendance via the Grades tool.
Tip 4: Embedding YouTube Videos and Google Slides
How to embed Google Slides and YouTube videos on a content page in the Content tool.
Tip 5: Quick Eval Tool
How to use Quick Eval to grade, update, retract, save a draft/publish, and filter by submission or activity.
Tip 6: Rubrics Tool
How to create a rubric and attach it to an activity. How to grade using the rubric in the Quick Eval tool.
Tip 7: Intelligent Agents
How to create an intelligent agent and use replacement strings.
Tip 8: Google Assignments
How to create and grade a Google Assignment in Lamakū.
Tip 9: Creator+ Part 1
How to “Insert Elements” and use “Layouts.”
Tip 10: Creator+ Part 2
How to insert Practice Questions and H5P interactives.
Tip 11: Discussions & Lumi
Using Lumi (an AI feature) to help generate possible discussion prompts that you can edit/refine.
Tip 12: Quiz Questions & Lumi
Using Lumi (an AI feature) to help generate possible quiz questions that you can edit/refine.
Tip 13: Grades – Settings
Setup Wizard vs Settings, how to change the settings, and how to change specific settings to update the gradebook.
Tip 14: Releasing Final Grades
Settings for “Final Calculated Grade” or “Final Adjusted Grade” and how to release the final grade to students.
This past semester, the Educational Media Center’s Video Production Unit had the opportunity to collaborate on one of the most uniquely creative projects that we’ve been a part of, My Monumental Summer, the mural exhibition curated by Leeward Community College’s Ho‘ikeākea Gallery curator, Kosta Kulundzic.
The exhibit brought together five artists from diverse personal and professional backgrounds, each invited to paint a large-scale mural reflecting their own summer experiences. From the moment the project was introduced, we knew it had the potential to become not only a compelling visual showcase, but also an educational resource that would resonate deeply with Leeward students.
How the Collaboration Began
Our initial involvement began simply: offering guidance on setting up time-lapses for documenting each mural’s creation. But as conversations continued, the collaboration naturally expanded. It became clear that this exhibit wasn’t just about five murals on the gallery walls—it was about the stories, techniques, and artistic journeys behind them.
Together with Kosta, we began shaping the idea of a video series that would serve as a reflective and educational companion to the exhibition. The goal became twofold:
Document the creative process from start to finish
Capture the voices and experiences of the artists themselves for students seeking insight into real-world art practices
Inspiration and Approach
Before filming, our team looked to successful artist-focused programs for inspiration—particularly the Louisiana Channel, known for its in-depth, thoughtful portraits of artists and their philosophies. That format aligned with what we hoped to achieve: not promotional hype, but honest, grounded conversations paired with visuals of the artists at work.
We structured the project around two consistent elements:
Ongoing b-roll coverage of each mural’s creation
End-of-project interviews that reflected on each artist’s process, background, and growth
The b-roll required us to revisit the gallery multiple times throughout the two-month painting period. This allowed us to document the evolving energy of the exhibit—and the uniquely different ways each artist approached a blank wall.
Some worked methodically and precisely. Others painted with expressive spontaneity. Some spoke loudly through color; others expressed themselves through subtle linework. Filming these differences—and seeing their eventual points of overlap—became one of the unexpected pleasures of the project.
Growing Our Toolkit Along the Way
A project of this scale required us to expand our recording capabilities. Several team members invested in compact equipment—small-format cameras, a new gimbal for fluid stabilized shots, lightweight lighting setups, and flexible grip solutions. These additions allowed us to move quickly and quietly around the artists without interrupting their workflow.
The project also gave us the chance to take studio-level production into the field, experimenting with new configurations, lenses, and lighting strategies that aren’t typically needed in controlled indoor environments. Those field tests ultimately became an important part of the learning experience for our whole unit.
Interviews: Capturing the Artists Behind the Art
We scheduled the interviews close to the end of the exhibition. Although we originally aimed to release the videos by the gallery opening, scheduling constraints shifted the format toward a reflective series rather than a promotional one—and the project benefitted from that evolution.
Across two days, we filmed all five interviews. Kosta conducted the sessions with a natural ease that helped each artist open up about their personal histories, creative challenges, and artistic philosophies.
To support the process, we pre-generated question ideas by feeding background information into AI tools that helped surface themes, connections, and possible discussion angles. We then refined those questions with our own insight so the interviews remained organic and human-centered.
Editing: A Labor of Love
Editing the series required careful shaping. With hours of footage across months of recording, the challenge was identifying the clearest narrative threads while honoring each artist’s voice and perspective.
We used transcripts and AI-assisted organization tools to help group quotes, categorize themes, and map segments into a cohesive structure. This allowed us to meet the tight turnaround time required to release the videos before the exhibit closed in mid-November.
Despite the pressures, the edit was deeply rewarding. Each artist contributed genuine insights—about life, creativity, discipline, community, and personal identity—that we believe will be meaningful for Leeward students encountering these videos in future classes.
Looking Ahead
Working on My Monumental Summer reminded us of the power of art—and the importance of documenting the creative processes happening across our campus. Projects like this showcase the talent within our community and create valuable learning resources that connect students to real experiences.
We’re grateful to Ho‘ikeākea Gallery, to Kosta, and especially to the participating artists for allowing us into their space, their process, and their stories. We hope this is only the beginning of future collaborations that blend creativity, education, and community in ways that inspire both our students and ourselves.
Do you require your students to attend office hours, One-to-one check-ins, or project consultations? If so have you struggled with grading them in a meaningful way? Follow this approach to easily communicate these graded course requirements and display the date and any brief comments you have. Then enter in a summary score for the overall section of the gradebook and apply to their final grade. This easy structure, is a quick organized and transparent process to tracking this data and a step toward making participating in these required appointment important.
The first minute of this screencast is comprised of an AI (Google NotebookLM) generated podcast, generated from presenter notes, that expands on and “hooks” the listener into why this topic is important for all online instructors who do these types of activiites.
The Leeward Lamakū: Course Starter Professional Learning Community (PLC) has now supported three successful cohorts (“crews”) of instructors in transitioning to and enhancing their courses in the new Lamakū learning management system (LMS). Across two cohorts in Fall 2024 and one in Summer 2025, the PLC has helped instructors build confidence, develop at least two course modules, and strengthen their teaching with consistent instructional design support and coaching.
This data shows that while Fall 2024 saw larger enrollment overall (44 participants across two crews), Summer 2025 had a smaller, more engaged cohort, reflected in the notably higher survey response rate. Additionally, those who successfully met the earning criteria received a digital badge.
The Core Thread: 1:1 Instructional Designer Coaching
From the start, the most valued element of the PLC has been the individualized 1:1 coaching meetings with instructional designers (IDs). In both Fall 2024 and Summer 2025, participants unanimously rated these sessions as the most effective component of their learning experience (5/5 effectiveness). This consistent, high-touch support has been the anchor of the PLC, ensuring instructors feel guided, equipped, and confident as they develop their courses.
What We Learned in Fall 2024
The two Fall 2024 crews (Sept–Oct and Oct–Dec) focused primarily on helping instructors transition courses from Laulima to Lamakū. Participants were required to attend three synchronous Zoom sessions, complete asynchronous modules, and provide peer feedback on each other’s work via the Discussions tool in the PLC’s Lamakū course site.
Feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive, where 100% strongly agreed the PLC provided essential skills and a valuable experience. However, we also found notable areas for growth: while 1:1 meetings and synchronous sessions were highly rated, peer collaboration was rated lower (3.78/5), suggesting the need for improvement in how instructors engaged with one another.
Iterations for Summer 2025
Based on Fall feedback and evolving needs, the Summer 2025 PLC introduced three major changes:
Alignment with the UH Quality Online Standards: Instead of focusing only on course migration, the Summer cohort emphasized creating “ready for delivery” modules aligned with the UH Quality Online Standards. To earn the Leeward Lamakū: Course Starter PLC badge, participants were required to meet at least 80% of the 36 indicators on the UH Quality Online Standards Checklist.
Shift to an Optional Community Session: Unlike Fall 2024, where synchronous Zoom sessions were required every other week, Summer 2025 offered a more flexible structure. The only required live element outside of the 1:1 coaching sessions was a single Zoom session dedicated to peer feedback, where two options were provided in week 5. The optional Community Session in week 3 allowed instructors more autonomy and acknowledged the busy schedules of faculty while still fostering a sense of community.
Peer Feedback in Zoom Instead of Discussions Tool: Rather than relying on the Lamakū Discussions Tool to manage and facilitate the peer feedback process, the Summer 2025 PLC peer feedback occurred in real time during a Zoom session. This adjustment responded directly to Fall feedback on collaboration, ensuring that instructors could give and receive richer, more immediate feedback on their course designs. With this approach, instructors shared their screen and highlighted their course design, whereas in the Discussion Tool, instructors had to rely on their peers to add them to their course site and post to the Discussion Topic on time.
Results and Reflections
The Summer 2025 PLC again confirmed the value of 1:1 ID coaching, while showing stronger ratings for peer support and asynchronous resources compared to Fall 2024 (both 4.33/5, up from 3.78 and 4.33 respectively). Nearly 90% of participants earned the PLC badge, highlighting the effectiveness of integrating professional recognition into the process.
While some participants noted the pace and volume of content as a challenge, they consistently praised the organization, expertise, and individualized support that characterized the PLC.
For more information, you can access the following infographics (Fall 2024; Summer 2025):
Tech It Out Day 2025 was held the morning of Tuesday, August 19, 2025 with three tracks of current sessions:
AI for Learning,
Level up Lamakū,
Productivity & Motivation.
Just as in years past, the session format was 30 minutes to show, share, and have hands-on explorative learning time. New this year, we held a Tech Exhibit during the mid-morning break that highlighted Academic Services departments and their services. Each participating unit hosted a table where they shared about their technologies or technology services to visiting exhibitors. We also implemented a participation card activity, which encouraged attendees to attend all four sessions and engage with the exhibitors. See photos from our event.
Tech It Out Day is usually held on Tuesday morning during the Fall semester’s Week of Welcome, the week before the first day of instruction. It is EMC’s signature welcome back event to start the fall semester.
Alongside the University of Hawaiʻi’s plan to transition from Laulima (Sakai) to Lamakū (Brightspace by D2L), the Educational Media Center (EMC) ID Unit (Brent, Chelby, Lauren, and Rachael) instigated a year-long initiative at Leeward called “Mission: Lamakū Transition.” This video highlights a quick re-cap of our year.
Summer 2024
As part of the first cohort for the transition, it all began in Summer 2024, when the Instructional Designers (IDs) across the UH System got together to plan how we were going to support this big transition. All the while, we had to learn how to use the new system ourselves. The all-day meeting was very productive and enjoyable to work with our counterparts on the other campuses. The synergy of the IDs in one room was amazing!
Then, we, the EMC ID Unit, began developing the “Leeward Mission: LMS Transition” initiative to support our Leeward campus. (This name later turned into Mission: Lamakū Transition once the LMS got its official name).
Also during the summer of 2024, UH launched a pilot where we supported 10 brave Leeward instructors (i.e. Eunice Brekke, Merissa Bunton, Michael Cawdery, Cara Chang, Christine Danielson, Anushka Faucci, Anika Gearhart, Jessie Hoffman, Kuʻuipo Tracie Losh, and Susan Wood) who volunteered to use Lamakū for their summer courses. It was a learning experience for everyone – IDs, instructors, and the students! We truly appreciated everyone’s patience and understanding as we navigated unknown territory together.
Fall 2024
Continuing to learn more and work with instructors and the IDs across the UH System, we improved our services and resources when the full launch to migrate began in Fall 2024. We collaborated with the IDs to create course site templates based on sound instructional design, the Lamakū Instructor Essentials course site, and online workshops to support instructors.
Our six-week professional learning community (PLC), “Leeward Lamakū: Course Starter PLC” was our flagship professional development workshop where we facilitated two groups or “Cosmic Crews” with a total of 45 instructors participating. (Survey results summary.) Instructors learned the basics of Lamakū and course design as we assisted them in creating their Lamakū course sites following a timeline/framework we developed to help instructors.
Additionally, we worked diligently 1-1 with instructors, and hosted a couple more innovative professional development opportunities like the “Lamakū Live: Course Build with Lauren,” a YouTube livestream event and weekly co-working sessions (a technique called “parallel working”) to provide dedicated time/space for instructors to work on their Lamakū courses and get assistance from the IDs.
Fall 2024 was bustling with everyone migrating and getting their courses ready to launch in the Spring semester. It wasn’t long before Spring 2025 started and it was time to implement the courses with students.
Spring 2025
In Spring 2025, we were as ready as we were to go! We continued working 1-1 with instructors and sent out timely Mission: Lamakū Transition emails with helpful reminders, information, and professional development offerings. For instance, before the semester started, we provided a final check video series for instructors to help them check that their Lamakū courses were ready. We enhanced our co-working sessions to include mini workshops, demos, or presentations featuring a helpful aspect of Lamakū from new things we learned or feedback from instructors and students.
Continuing to collaborate with UH IDs, we introduced additional features in Lamakū such as H5P interactives, Creator+, Lumi (AI), and Google Assignments integration. We provided workshops to our campus for these new features/topics.
Mission: Completed
Looking back at the year, we’re glad to have partnered with and assisted over 100 instructors and had over 250 recorded consultations. Some of the comments from our consultation survey included:
“1-1 was very helpful and they always got back to me in a timely manner.”
“Thank you so much for helping me to get my Lamakū classes put together for the spring. The 1-1 consultations were invaluable as were the other resources, particularly the YouTube videos with time stamps that allowed me to find what I needed help with so I could watch that part (sometimes several times, lol).”
“You folks are always so responsive and your willingness to help is really awesome”
We’re glad to have made an impact, and we’re proud to work with such dedicated instructors at Leeward. The change and transition to a new LMS was challenging, but we all persevered and got through it together! While this year might’ve been the year to transition, we are looking forward to building upon what we have done with Lamakū and continuing to improve and innovate in course design and support engaging ways of learning with technology.
Looking Ahead
We look forward to continuing to support your design, development, and implementation of courses using Lamakū. You can find all of our Lamakū news, workshops, and resources on our new website.
If you’re interested, we are offering our foundational “Leeward Lamakū: Course Starter PLC,” again, in the Summer and Fall 2025. Please register for our upcoming summer “crew”! This is a great time to focus on refining your courses or re-designing them now that you’ve taken Lamakū for a spin. The ID Unit is here to help, and we thrive on good instructional design! 😉
Be on the lookout in your inbox for more professional development opportunities and support from the EMC. Feel free to reach out to us for 1-1 assistance, questions, feedback, or to share your experiences with us. We hope to see you soon!
We are excited to announce new AV upgrades to the Ka‘ala Room (GT 105)! Check out the latest updates—designed to enhance the teaching, learning, collaboration, and presentation experiences for all users. Incorporating campus feedback from the Technology Needs Assessment, the AV Services Unit selected equipment upgrades that reflect our ongoing commitment to providing modern, user-friendly spaces equipped with the latest in audio-visual (AV) technology. Here’s what’s new.
🧑🏫 New Podium with Side Shelf
The Ka‘ala Room now features a newly installed podium that includes a convenient flip-up side shelf on its left side, allowing presenters to easily connect and use their own laptops or to use as additional tabletop space.
📐 Expanded Work Surface
A larger countertop work surface has been added to provide more room for materials, notes, and devices. This extra space is especially useful for presenters who need to manage multiple resources at once.
📷 Integrated Document Camera
Need to share a physical document or object with your audience? A document camera has been neatly integrated into a pullout drawer on the right side of the podium, offering quick and easy access without cluttering the main tabletop area.
🎛️ Second Touch Panel Control
In addition to the main control panel at the front of the room, the Ka‘ala Room now includes a secondary touch panel controller located in the back of the room. This allows presenters or AV support staff the flexibility to access the room’s AV system from multiple locations.
📺 New 85″ Display
A brand new 85-inch monitor, mounted with a service-friendly wall mount, now commands attention at the back of the room. This vibrant, large-format display ensures crystal-clear visuals from anywhere in the room, perfect for presentations, videos, or collaborative sessions.
📡 Wireless Media Player
Say goodbye to adapters and cables—the new wireless media player allows seamless content sharing from a variety of devices, including both Windows and Apple platforms, of up to four devices simultaneously. Whether you’re presenting slides, videos, or documents, sharing content wirelessly has never been easier.
🔊 Enhanced Audio System
Experience clearer, more immersive sound with a completely upgraded audio system. Whether you’re listening to a guest speaker or viewing multimedia content, the improved audio quality ensures every word and note comes through crisp and clear.
🎥 Video Production Connection Points
For those utilizing our Video Production Unit’s video services, the Ka‘ala Room is now equipped with video connection points, making it easier and faster for our team to set up and support your video production needs.
📍Register for the Ka‘ala Room Orientation
These improvements are aimed at making the Ka‘ala Room more versatile, efficient, and ready to support a variety of instructional and event formats. We invite you to explore the updated space and experience the difference these changes bring. Please register for our upcoming Ka‘ala Room Orientation on Friday, May 23, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
The Instructional Designers (IDs) across the UHCC System are excited to invite you to our Lamakū @ HISSI! This year, in addition to the regular program of sessions at HISSI, attendees can participate in our Lamakū workshops across three themes and participate in special sessions at our Kokua Korner.
Lamakū Workshops
Our Lamakū workshop sessions include topics from content design of modules to assessments to interactive tools. Drop in at any session that piques your interest throughout the day.
Kokua Korner
Sessions at our Kokua Korner will be during the first two time blocks at HISSI from 10:55-11:55 a.m. and 1:15-2:15 p.m., featuring:
Course Walk: Want to see how others are teaching with Lamakū? Instructor presenters will showcase their Lamakū courses in a poster/laptop session format. Move from station to station to explore various approaches to designing and facilitating your course in Lamakū. (see presenters and descriptions)
Instructional Design Support: Meet one-on-one with an instructional designer for assistance with course design, Lamakū tools, or any questions you may have. Support is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Technical Support: Have a technical question about IDAP, LTI, or related topics? Consult with our expert from UH ITS.
D2L Product Idea Exchange (PIE) Korner: Have an idea for a feature or tool D2L should consider? Share it at the PIE Korner, and we’ll submit your suggestions to D2L!
Just Register to Attend HISSI and join us for as much Lamakū learning and fun and you care to infuse into your day at the event!
Lamakū Learning Leaders
The Leeward CC Instructional Design Unit (Brent, Chelby, Lauren, and Rachael) will be at the event sessions to support you. A special mahalo to our Leeward CC presenters who will be sharing their insights and skills!
Session Presenter:
Lauren Lum Ho (Sessions: “H5P (in Creator+)” and “Discussions Tool: Design, Engage, Assess”)
By the end of 2024, several updates or modifications were made to the Technology Enhanced Classrooms (TECs) due to feedback from the campus technology needs assessment and instructors. These included:
Removing the temporary, grant-funded, hybrid kit equipment from select TECs based on instructor feedback.
A select few rooms opted to keep a modified hybrid kit consisting of the (Elmo) document camera connected to the computer, the (Wacom) graphics tablet, and the (Zoom Q2n4K) video recorder with tripod.
Permanently installing the (Elmo) document camera into the TEC room system as an input device you can select from the AV control panel.
Adding a moveable monitor arm and laptop riser in several TECs (with more planning to be installed in 2025).
