EMC, Instructional Design, Lamakū

Lamakū Summer Refresh Challenge 2026

Every Tuesday, between May 26 and June 23, we released a new Lamakū challenge. Participants learned new tips and tricks to help improve their Lamakū course sites. Each challenge included a video tutorial and additional resources based on the following topics: Course Banner, Creator+, Lumi, Embedding Content, and  the Accessibility Checker. If you missed the challenge not to worry! Here are the video tutorials and resources we provided each week.

May 26: Course Banner

Consider using Canva to design a banner for your course. It is free to create a Canva account however please note, that you may not be able to use certain elements, templates, or features when designing with a free account. When creating a course banner, we encourage you to do your best with what is available to you and be creative when designing! The goal of this challenge is to learn and practice, not perfection so make something that speaks to you and your course!

Other Resources:

June 2: Creator+

When designing your course content, you may often find yourself inputting paragraphs of texts and a few images and links to videos here and there. However, you may want to consider being creative and make your course more visually appealing. Creator+ allows you to input interactive elements and layouts in your content webpage. Layouts (columns) and elements such as accordions or tabs can help you chunk related information. Practice questions and elements such as Click and Reveal or Flip Cards allows students to interact with the content and test their knowledge. Based on the content in your course site, feel free to practice using these tools to make your course content engaging!

Other Resources:

June 9: Lumi

Lumi is a AI-powered tool integrated in Lamakū that can be used to generate Assignment ideas, Discussion prompts, Quiz questions, or Practice questions (using Creator+). If you ever feel stuck building your course activities or may need new ideas to help you get started with creating an activity, Lumi might be a great option for you! In addition, Lumi is a closed AI-system within the D2L Brightspace LMS (Lamakū) meaning, it will not use your personal data to train Lumi. Lastly, please note that currently, Lumi only recognizes text-based content to generate ideas and questions.

Other Resources:

June 16: Embedding Content

Embedding content (such as a YouTube video or Google Slides) directly to a webpage is a great option in comparison to providing hyperlinks or always having to upload each individual file. When you embed an item to your content webpage, students/users can view the content directly in just a few clicks without having to open another tab or window to watch a video or view a document. In addition, embedding items can create better visual engagement and provides an interactive opportunity for the student or user who is viewing your course site.

Additional Resource:

June 23: Accessibility Checker

Catch formatting errors before your students do! Select the Accessibility Checker icon in the HTML editor to instantly scan and fix issues in seconds! The checker is built directly into the Lamakū HTML Editor so you don’t need to download any extra software to check for Accessibility issues. Unlike other tools that just tell you what’s wrong and leave you to figure out how to fix it, the checker can actually help you solve the problem on the spot. Please keep in mind that the checker only checks for specific text issues (Headings, Alt. text, Color contrast, Lists, Hyperlinks, and Tables). The checker cannot identify issues with uploaded files, embedded files, or media so at this time, we recommend continuing to do a manual check as well.

Additional Resources:

Ed Tech, EMC, Instructional Design, Lamakū

Designing for Quality: How the Lamakū Course Starter PLC Has Evolved

The Leeward Lamakū: Course Starter Professional Learning Community (PLC) has now supported four successful cohorts of instructors in developing, transitioning, and enhancing their courses in the Lamakū learning management system (LMS). Across two cohorts in Fall 2024, one in Summer 2025, and one in Spring 2026, the PLC has helped instructors build confidence, develop high-quality course modules, and strengthen their teaching through intentional course design and consistent instructional design support and coaching.

Access the PLC flyers: Fall 2024 PLC Flyer | Summer 2025 PLC Flyer | Spring 2026 PLC Flyer

We plan to offer this PLC on a regular basis. Stay up to date: IDT Hub. 

Four Cohorts from Fall 2024 – Spring 2026

Who Participated?

  • Fall 2024 Crew 1 (Sept 2 – Oct 13): 25 participants, 4 survey respondents (16% response rate)
  • Fall 2024 Crew 2 (Oct 21 – Dec 1): 19 participants, 5 survey respondents (26% response rate)
  • Summer 2025 (May 27 – July 6): 8 participants, 6 survey respondents (75% response rate)
  • Spring 2026 (Feb 17 – Mar 27): 4 participants, 4 survey respondents (100% response rate)

While Fall 2024 saw the largest overall participation (44 participants across two crews), subsequent cohorts became smaller and more engaged, reflected in significantly higher response rates. Participants who met the requirements earned a digital badge, reinforcing the PLC as both a learning experience and a form of professional recognition.

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 Fall 2024, Summer 2025, and Spring 2026, participants consistently rated these sessions as the most effective component of their learning experience (5/5 effectiveness).

This high-touch, personalized support remains the anchor of the PLC, ensuring instructors feel guided, supported, and confident as they design and develop high-quality courses.

What We Learned in Fall 2024

The Fall 2024 crews focused primarily on helping instructors transition courses from Laulima to Lamakū. Participants attended synchronous Zoom sessions, completed asynchronous modules, and provided peer feedback through the Discussions tool.

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with 100% of respondents strongly agreeing that the PLC provided essential skills and a valuable experience. However, peer collaboration received lower ratings (3.78/5), highlighting an opportunity to improve how instructors engaged with one another. At this stage, the PLC was primarily focused on supporting LMS transition, with less emphasis on formal alignment to quality standards, although there was specific reference to the Leeward DE Guidelines.

📊 View the Fall 2024 Infographic and Full Data Summary.

Iterations for Summer 2025

Based on Fall feedback and evolving needs, the Summer 2025 PLC introduced several key improvements:

  • Alignment with UH Quality Online Standards: The focus shifted from migration to designing “ready for delivery” modules aligned with the UH Quality Online Standards. Badge earners met at least 80% of the 36 indicators.
  • More Flexible Structure: Required synchronous sessions were reduced, with only one required Zoom session for peer feedback and an optional mid-PLC community session.
  • Enhanced Peer Feedback Model: Peer feedback moved from the Discussions tool to live Zoom sessions, allowing instructors to share their screens and receive immediate, more meaningful feedback.

Results: Peer collaboration and asynchronous resources improved (both 4.33/5), and nearly 90% of participants earned the PLC badge. Participants continued to highlight the value of 1:1 coaching, while noting some challenges with pacing and workload.

📊 View the Summer 2025 Infographic and Full Data Summary.

What We Refined in Spring 2026

The Spring 2026 cohort built on these improvements while introducing a key innovation:

  • Leeward Course Starter Template (CST): For the first time, participants used a Leeward-specific Course Starter Template, replacing the UH System templates used previously. This strengthened alignment with the UH Quality Online Standards while providing a more cohesive, campus-specific course design experience.
  • Continued Emphasis on Quality and Alignment: Participants used rubrics, checklists, and the UH Quality Online Standards to guide course design and badge completion, reinforcing a structured, quality-driven approach.
  • Adaptability in Delivery: Due to the impacts of the Kona Low storms, the planned synchronous peer feedback session was shifted to asynchronous discussions, demonstrating flexibility in maintaining learning outcomes despite disruptions.

This iteration marked a shift toward a more intentional, quality-driven course design experience grounded in our Leeward campus and context.

Results: All participants (100%) strongly agreed that the PLC provided essential skills, an effective format, useful resources, and overall value. Peer support and asynchronous resources reached their highest ratings to date (4.75/5), and 100% of participants earned the PLC badge. Confidence remained high, with 75% reporting they felt very confident after completing the PLC.

📊 View the Spring 2026 Infographic and Full Data Summary.

Results and Reflections Across Cohorts

Across all four cohorts, several consistent themes emerge:

  • 1:1 coaching remains the strongest and most impactful component
  • Peer collaboration improved significantly after redesigning feedback structures
  • Confidence in course development increased over time
  • Alignment with UH Quality Online Standards strengthened across iterations
  • Badging supported persistence and completion

Explore the Data

For more information, you can access the following infographics:

Leeward Lamakū Course Starter PLC badge

Ed Tech, EMC, Instructional Design

Adventures in Canva Teams 

The Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) team recently wrapped up our Professional Learning Community (PLC) focused on Canva. Each participant received a 1 year license to Canva Team, a very capable, collaborative, online graphics creation platform. One of its strengths is suggesting templates, themes, and imagery to get started, which can inspire beginners and advanced designers alike to create appealing and effective graphics to inform and promote their objective.

As a part of being in the Canva PLC and receiving a 1 year paid license, participants were asked to complete milestones such as attend a required Canva PLC Kick Off Orientation and present at a capstone Showcase of their work and audience feedback.  In between we offered multiple synchronous check-in opportunities as well as an asynchronous Google Group.  The purpose of the Google Group, essentially an email list serv, was to grow a community of learning, receive and respond to questions to support each other in the exploration and inspiration while using Canva.  Thank you everyone who was interested in participating and congratulations to those who successfully completed the requirements of the Canva PLC!  (Anuschka Faucci, Ashley Biddle, Chelby Onaga, Cheryl Urasaki, Hauʻolihiwahiwa Moniz, Myat Thor Thiha, Nikki Manuel, Syreeta Washington, Allan Nebrija)

A few examples from our PLC:
Collage of Canva Samples.

Lamakū

Lamakū – Intelligent Agents

Banner

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.

Discover how this powerful automation tool can:

Intel-bot

  • Help you to follow-up with students
  • Support student success proactively
  • Ensure consistent and equitable outreach

You’ll Learn How To:

  • Set up Intelligent Agents step-by-step
  • Write messages that recognize student progress
  • Apply Intelligent Agents in real course scenarios

If you have any questions, please contact Brent Hirata (bhirata@hawaii.edu) or Chelby Onaga (chelbyo@hawaii.edu).

Ed Tech, EMC, Instructional Design, Lamakū

Leeward Lamakū Weekly Tips (Fall 2025)

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.

Leeward CC, Video Production

Capturing “My Monumental Summer”: Behind the Scenes With the EMC Video Production Unit

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A Collaboration

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.

Artists gathered in the studio, talking.

 

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
Cameraman capturing an artist painting a mural on the wall.

 

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.

Cameraman shooting footage.

 

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.

Behind the scenes footage filming an artist interview.

 

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.

Behind the camera view of video equipment.

 

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.

Watch the full My Monumental Summer artist videos playlist to experience these stories firsthand.

Ed Tech, EMC, Lamakū

Lamakū Grades: A Gradebook Structure for Tracking Student Engagement/Appointments

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.

 

Instructional Design, Lamakū

Insights from the Leeward Lamakū Course Starter PLC

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.

Access the Fall 2024 and Summer 2025 flyers:

Fall 2024 PLC Flyer Summer 2025 PLC Flyer

Who Participated?

  • Fall 2024 Crew 1 (Sept 2 – Oct 13): 25 participants, 4 survey respondents (16% response rate)
  • Fall 2024 Crew 2 (Oct 21 – Dec 1): 19 participants, 5 survey respondents (26% response rate)
  • Summer 2025 (May 27 – July 6): 8 participants, 6 survey respondents (75% response rate)

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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. 
  3. 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):

Fall 2024 PLC Infographic Summer 2025 PLC Infographic

 

EMC, Instructional Design

Tech It Out Day 2025

TIOD 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.

Data Summary

Data Summary

See the survey results infographic for complete survey results.

Instructional Design, Lamakū

2024-2025 Mission: Lamakū Transition – Complete!

Mission: Launched

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).

Space Pal holding banner.

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. 

Meanwhile, at Leeward, we campaigned our own initiative, Mission: Lamakū Transition. We were grateful to receive a temporary position to help with the Lamakū transition and provide support. We sent out timely newsletters, created resources such as video tutorials and in-depth resource docs, and offered workshops and support for our campus. (Related blog post: Recap of Lamakū Support (Fall 2024).) 

Workshop audience in classroom.

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.

People co-working.

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.

Lamakū Lift-Off Journey Video Series screenshot.

 

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! 😉

Summer 2025 Course Starter PLC flyer.

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!

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