ITSpotlight is designed to keep the campus up to date on ITS activities and services.
Posted April 09, 2025
by IDLT
As the term nears completion, the following tips will be useful for faculty in wrapping up their courses.
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Posted April 09, 2025
by IDLT
ITS is pleased to announce the activation of the Microsoft 365 Self-Service Password Reset Tool for all SIUE users. This new feature allows you to reset your password independently without contacting the ITS Help Desk, providing immediate access to your account when you experience password issues. We encourage you to register your authentication methods today through your Microsoft account settings to ensure this service is ready when you need it.
For questions regarding the se...
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Posted April 09, 2025
by IDLT
Faculty teaching 7- and 8-week courses know the challenge of packing a semester's worth of learning into a compressed timeframe. This intensity demands strategic course design. Bi-weekly discussions can be a powerful tool for fostering engagement and critical thinking, but they require careful planning to maximize their impact in a fast-paced environment.
Here's a guide to structuring effective bi-weekly discussions in Blackboard:
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Align Discussion Board Prompts with Lear...
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Posted April 09, 2025
by IDLT
ITS is excited to announce the release of our Virtual Microsoft Teams Training, which will support your transition from Zoom and help you maximize the use of Teams for meetings and collaboration.
This self-paced training covers essential features, including:
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Posted March 12, 2025
by: Emily Macios
Did you know there are multiple ways to schedule a Teams meeting? Whether scheduling through the Teams app or Outlook, Teams makes it simple to schedule a meeting with just a few clicks.
Teams Calendar
- Open your Teams app.
- Navigate to the Calendar tab.
- Click the ‘New Meeting’ button.
- Add the meeting title, required attendees, date, time, and other details.
- Under Options, select who can bypass the lobby and then click ‘More options’ for ...
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Posted March 12, 2025
by: IDLT
As a faculty member, ensuring that your Grade Center in Blackboard is set up correctly is essential for accurate grade calculations. Errors in grade settings can lead to student confusion and grading discrepancies. To avoid issues before the end of the semester crunch time, follow these key steps when reviewing your Grade Center.
1. Verify Column Settings
Each grade column should have the correct:
- Points Possible – Ensure it matches your syllabus.
- Category Assignment R...
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Posted February 12, 2025
Did you know that the maximum size for a Blackboard course at SIUE is 2 GB? If your course exceeds this limit, it will not import into a new shell. This can cause major headaches when preparing for future semesters. Here’s what you need to know to stay within the limit and keep your course running smoothly.
How to Check Your Course Size
While the Package Size in Blackboard gives an estimate, it’s not a true reflection of your course’s actual size. Th...
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Posted February 12, 2025
Ready to transition from Zoom to Microsoft Teams? Join our interactive, hands-on sandbox sessions—live via Teams!
🔹 For Staff: February 25, 9 AM – 12 PM
🔹 For Faculty: February 28, 9 AM – 12 PM
These drop-in sessions offer a casual, pressure-free space to explore Teams features like meetings, office hours, breakout rooms, attendance tracking, and more—all with real-time support from our team.
No formal agenda—just hands-...
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Posted February 12, 2025
Join us as we explore the ever-evolving world of instructional design, three themes at a time.
IDLThree is designed to keep you at the forefront of instructional design and technology in higher education. Each issue is a collaborative masterpiece crafted by our talented instructional design team. Together, we’ll dive deep into a shared theme, bringing you the latest trends, best practices, and innovative ideas.
What makes IDLThree unique? Our topics are directly i...
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Posted February 12, 2025
Are your class materials, activities, and assessments designed so they are usable for all students? ITS invites you to participate in our Accessibility Challenge! This is an exciting opportunity to enhance the accessibility of your courses, making them more inclusive for all students while also earning professional recognition for your efforts to maintain compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act as it pertains to higher education .
Challenge Details
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Posted January 08, 2025
by IDLT
SIUE is making an important shift in its communication and collaboration tools. Beginning in FY 2025, Microsoft Teams will become the University’s primary platform for meetings, instruction, and collaboration. This change will take full effect on July 1, 2025, replacing Zoom as our go-to video conferencing tool. Additionally, YuJa will continue to serve as our video storage and lecture capture solution.
To help you prepare for this transition, we encourage faculty, staff, a...
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Posted January 08, 2025
by ITS
At SIUE, we’re committed to enhancing your online security and streamlining your digital experience. That’s why ITS recently upgraded the e-ID system with a new Microsoft password management portal, launched on November 13.
This new portal replaces the former e-ID Creation and Maintenance page and offers a range of enhanced features to make managing your account easier than ever. With this update, you can:
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Posted January 08, 2025
As a new semester approaches, the following tips may be useful for faculty.
Blackboard and Course Management:
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If you are teaching multiple sections of the same course and want them in one Blackboard shell, please request that your sections be merged before starting work in your Blackboard courses.
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For assistance with building your co...
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Posted January 08, 2025
by Curt Price
Are you looking to improve your verbal presentation skills? Maybe you tend to slip in a few too many “ums” or maybe you need to work on your speaking speed. Microsoft Teams Speaker Coach is here to help.
Speaker Coach is another Microsoft Teams feature that you might not be using to your full potential.
Turn on Speaker Coach
From within a Microsoft Teams Meeting...
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Start your meeting and go to More (…).
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