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):
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!
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”)
It has been a whirlwind of a semester transitioning from Laulima to Lamakū, UH’s new Learning Management System (LMS)! The EMC’s Instructional Design (ID) unit (i.e. Brent, Chelby, Lauren, and Rachael) worked hard in a short timeframe while still learning Lamakū to provide professional development opportunities, including workshops, 1-1 support, and resources.
The ID unit branded its efforts under the theme, “Mission: Lamakū Transition,” introducing Space Pal as a friendly mascot helping everyone through. With their “Mission: Lamakū Transition” year-long theme, they emailed a newsletter almost weekly to keep the campus informed. The information included the latest news, resources we created, professional development opportunities from the ID unit and UH System, and how to get support from us at “Mission HQ” through chats, meetings, and drop-ins, both in-person and online.
During Fall 2024’s Week of Welcome, the ID unit offered a Lamakū track in their annual “Tech It Out Day” event on Monday. Needless to say, Lamakū was the hottest topic at the event. On Wednesday, at their “Lamakū Info Session” they had a full classroom of folks anticipating the latest news about the transition. Then, on Thursday, they wrapped things up with a “Lamakū Sneak Peek” hands-on workshop for instructors to dip their toes into Lamakū.
Starting in September, the ID unit offered a six-week professional learning community (PLC) called “Leeward Lamakū: Course Starter PLC.” They facilitated two groups or “Cosmic Crews” (to go with their space mission theme) with a total of 45 instructors. This professional development opportunity focused on course design and building using the Lamakū Course Starter Template that the IDs across the UH System collaborated on. It was delivered asynchronously with weekly synchronous meetings and 1-1 meetings with an ID from the EMC.
In October and November they offered the “Lamakū Exploration Fridays” series which were in-person, hands-on workshops focusing on a particular Lamakū tool in each session to demo it and show its functionalities and how it can be used, and to provide a space for instructors to start working on their courses with ID support.
The ID unit created various resources to support instructors using Lamakū. Some of these included:
A timeline/checklist to help instructors pace themselves during the semester to get their Spring courses ready.
A screencast video series on YouTube called “Lamakū Lift-Off” demonstrating the process of transitioning a course from Laulima to Lamakū, from scratch using the recommended timeline as a framework.
Resource docs with instructions and video tutorials.
On October 14th, the EMC launched a fun, innovative support session using the “build buddy” strategy, inspired by the concept of Body Doubling where you work alongside someone focused on the same task. By doing so, you can tap into a shared energy that fosters motivation and productivity. Instructional Designer, Lauren Lum Ho, live-streamed herself on YouTube transitioning a Laulima course site to a Lamakū course site over six hours. Watch the recording.
The ID unit also collaborated with their ID colleagues systemwide to provide additional webinar workshops, resources, and support. The main initiatives that came out of that collaboration were the Lamakū Discovery Series (webinars), Lamakū Support Sessions (online 1-1 support via Zoom), and the Lamakū Instructor Essentials Course (a resource site in Lamakū).
Meanwhile throughout the semester, the ID unit worked tirelessly with instructors one-on-one to provide custom support tailored to their needs and situation. This was probably the most time-intensive for the IDs, but the most helpful for instructors, serving roughly 50 instructors (unduplicated) multiple times throughout the semester, not counting the time to help them with their course builds or creating tutorials to supplement the time we meet with them. There were also a few groups or departments on campus that they supported as well.
Lastly, while they continue to provide 1-1 support throughout the winter break, the ID unit will also be offering “Lamakū Co-Work Sessions” to provide a dedicated time/space for folks to work on creating their Lamakū courses using a technique called “parallel working” (i.e. body doubling), a productivity-boosting technique that thrives on shared accountability and presence.
Mahalo for trusting in the ID unit to assist you in your transition to Lamakū! Brent, Chelby, Lauren, and Rachael appreciate all the kindness and support you’ve given to them. They look forward to working with you in the Spring and hearing how Lamakū is going for you and your students.
