ITSpotlight is designed to keep the campus up to date on ITS activities and services.
IDLT Welcomes Ashley Cochran!
Posted January 14, 2026
Ashley Cochran has joined IDLT as an instructional designer with our Resource Development team. She is a proud graduate of SIUE, where she earned her degree in Elementary Education. She brings over 6 years of experience in education, including 4 years as a classroom teacher and 2 years as a training specialist. Her time supporting educators sparked a passion for instructional design and creating meaningful learning experiences. Ashley is dedicated to developing resources that keep students engag............................................................
January 2026 Respondus Webinar Opportunities
Posted January 14, 2026
by IDLT
Respondus is hosting several webinars throughout January for faculty who want to learn more about LockDown Browser, Respondus Monitor, and/or the Respondus 4 test authoring tool. The webinars will provide demonstrations of the tools and how to utilize them in your Blackboard courses.
If you plan to use any of these tools this semester, please consider registering for one of the upcoming Respondus webinars at this link: Respondus Webinars - Registration
ITS provides support for...
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New Navigation in Blackboard
Posted January 14, 2026
by IDLT
Blackboard is rolling out a refreshed user interface designed to make teaching and course management more intuitive and efficient. These updates are based on extensive instructor feedback and aim to reduce clicks, improve performance, and clarify navigation across the system.
What’s changing:
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Cleaner, refreshed navigation with better use of screen space and faster page loads
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A Home button replaces the “X” for exiting courses, returning you to y...
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Blackboard Learn Ultra – A New Way to Teach
Posted December 10, 2025
by IDLT
SIUE will be transitioning from Blackboard Learn Original to Blackboard Learn Ultra by Fall 2026, in response to Anthology’s decision to phase out support for the original interface. This change is not optional for institutions, and we are working to ensure the transition is smooth and well-supported for faculty and students. Learn Ultra offers a cleaner, more intuitive design, mobile-friendly access, and powerful learning analytics to support student success.
We know change br...
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Complete These End-of-Semester Activities for Course Management
Posted December 10, 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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Check your Grade Center Total and/or Weighted Total column(s) to be sure they are set up to calculate correctly. The Mercer University Online Weighted Average Grade Calculator is a useful tool for checking your Weighted Total calculations. If you find errors and need assistance, please contact ITS at 618-650-5500 or at help@siue.edu for assistance.
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Make sur...
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Classroom Technology Brief & Smart Classroom Survey
Posted November 12, 2025
- Recent classroom technology upgrades, including 25 new standardized classrooms in the Health Sciences building
- Current and upcoming equipment and touch panel refreshes across campus
- Progress on the 7-year upgrade cycle and plans for FY26 (including new lectern standards and an AV-over-IP pilot)
- Top instructional pain points, items still needing investment, and plans for faculty walkthroughs before upgrades
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Preparing for Digital Accessibility: SIUE’s Guide to the 2026 Standards
Posted November 12, 2025
Like many public post-secondary institutions, SIUE is preparing to comply with new digital accessibility requirements that go into effect on April 24, 2026. The new digital accessibility standards help ensure equal access to an institution’s web presence for all users—not just its internal faculty, staff, and students.
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Public websites, such as for admissions, employment, special programming, and academic departments
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The Cascade CMS Knowlede Base
Posted November 12, 2025
Hannon Hill, the developer of the Cascade CMS, has developed a useful Knowledge Base that provides many useful tips and how-to's for Cascade content managers.
Here are a handful of useful resource links for Cascade:
- Creating content
- File Imports
- Add an image to a page
- Adding a caption to an image
- Add a PDF to a page
- Create an anchor link
- Inserting a video
- Content review
- Accessibility Check
Reminder: Video Files Should Not Be Uploaded Into Cascade
Video files (.mp4, .avi...
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CougarNet is getting a new look!
Posted October 08, 2025
by IDLT
Starting Sunday, Oct. 12, you’ll notice a refreshed landing page and easier-to-use navigation in CougarNet.
Want a sneak peek? Check out our short demonstration video to see the updated layout in action.
More details and support contacts will be shared as the Oct. 12 rollout gets closer.
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Introducing Blackboard Learn Ultra – A New Way to Teach
Posted October 08, 2025
by IDLT
SIUE will be transitioning from Blackboard Learn Original to Blackboard Learn Ultra by Fall 2026, in response to Anthology’s decision to phase out support for the Original interface. This change is not optional for institutions, and we are working to ensure the transition is smooth and well-supported for faculty and students. Learn Ultra offers a cleaner, more intuitive design, mobile-friendly access, and powerful learning analytics to support student success.
We know chang...
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Support Students’ Time Management with the Blackboard Calendar Tool
Posted October 08, 2025
by IDLT
Blackboard offers options for date management that help students and faculty organize their workflow and time management. Faculty can create assignments with due dates , establish dates of availability for content and assignments , and schedule announcements to post at a certain time.
Students benefit from transparency of due dates and timelines to help them manage their responsibilities across their personal and educational commitments, and there is another tool that is av...
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Beginning of Semester Learning Technologies Reminders
Posted August 13, 2025
by IDLT
As a new semester approaches, the following tips may be useful for faculty.
Blackboard and Course Management:
- 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.
- If you want to copy a course from the previous semester, please follow these export/import instructions.
- For assistance with building your course, contact the ITS Instructional Design & ...
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Technology for Learning and Engagement
Posted August 13, 2025
by IDLT
Looking for ways to engage students and enhance their learning? Instructional Design & Learning Technologies has a few resources to add to your toolbox.
Poll Everywhere
Using Poll Everywhere in your classroom can allow you to quickly take attendance, increase engagement, activate prior knowledge, and check for understanding with your students. Poll Everywhere has a Blackboard integration that allows you to set up your students in just a few clicks and even sync polls to the Grade Cent...
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Getting Started with Applications in Microsoft Teams
Posted July 09, 2025
by Curt Price
Microsoft Teams is more than just chat and video calls. It’s a powerful workspace where you can integrate a wide range of applications (apps) to enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and foster collaboration.
What Are Apps in Microsoft Teams?
Apps in Microsoft Teams are tools or services that you can add to your Teams environment to help you complete tasks, manage projects, communicate more effectively, and more. They integrate directly into Teams’ in...
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Microsoft Excel Is Now Available with Respondus Monitor
Posted July 09, 2025
by IDLT
Respondus Monitor now allows the use of Microsoft Excel spreadsheets during proctored examinations. Respondus’ built-in spreadsheet tool is being discontinued and replaced with the desktop version of Excel. Only the desktop version is supported; the online version of Excel will not work with Respondus Monitor.
This feature is available only on Windows and Mac computers; it is not supported on Chromebooks or iPads.
Students will have the option to either open a pre-po...
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Microlearning & Resource Development: How IDLT Can Help Your Department Shine
Posted June 11, 2025
by IDLT
As departments across campus prepare for the next academic year, the Instructional Design & Learning Technologies (IDLT) Resource Development team is here to support your instructional and training goals with custom-built, high-impact learning tools.
Whether you're onboarding new staff, rolling out departmental procedures, or enhancing student engagement, our team can help you design and deliver content that’s accessible, engaging, and effective.
What We Offer
The I...
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Microsoft Bookings in Office 365
Posted June 11, 2025
by Curt Price
What Is Microsoft Bookings?
Microsoft Bookings is a powerful scheduling tool included with Microsoft Office 365 that allows people to schedule meetings with you based on availability scheduled in your SIUE Outlook application. It’s possible this could be an alternative to Calendy, which is a popular (with paid/subscription service options) scheduling application that some use at SIUE.
Microsoft Bookings lets you:
- Publish a self-service book...
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The Top 5 Things to Keep in Mind When Making Your Website ADA Compliant
Posted June 11, 2025
by Curt Price
Ensuring your website is ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant isn’t just a legal consideration—it’s also about making your digital space accessible and inclusive to all users, including those with visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor impairments.
As a state university, SIUE is required to have ADA compliant web pages on our siue.edu domain.
Here are the top five most important things to keep in mind when working toward ADA compliance on your SIUE ...
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How to Use Microsoft Teams on a Chromebook
Posted May 14, 2025
by Curt Price
9/8/25 UPDATE: While Teams does function on a Chromebook, there are limitations, such as not being able to create or manage Breakout Rooms, among other things. For a full list of Teams features that are both available and unavailable on a Chromebook (as well as other platforms), please see CLICK HERE. Due to these limitiations, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND using the Teams DESKTOP APP on either Windows or Mac. The desktop app will give you the best Teams experience with access to all of Tea...
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Using Stream in Office 365
Posted May 14, 2025
by Curt Price
Microsoft Stream, now integrated into Office 365, offers a seamless video experience. This integration allows users to record, upload, manage, and share videos just like any other file, enhancing collaboration and accessibility across the organization.
🎬 What Is Microsoft Stream?
Microsoft Stream is the modern video service within Microsoft 365 and available to all SIUE faculty, staff, and students, and allows them to:
- Upload, manage, and store videos.
- Record c...
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