D2L Connection: Michigan

Guest Welcome: Linda Wareck, Instructional Technologist at Oakland Community College

Host: Lindsay Shipman, Senior Director, Product Operations, D2L

Speakers:

• Christian Pantel – Chief Product Officer, D2L

• Robyn Hammontree, VP, Academic Partnerships, D2L

What is truly shaping higher education right now, and how does your institution compare?

In this interactive, participant-driven session, we’ll build a real-time snapshot of the trends influencing colleges and universities today. Through live polling, structured peer dialogue, and guided synthesis, participants will surface emerging priorities, shared pressures, and innovative responses from across the sector.

Together, we’ll explore:

• Where institutions are focusing their efforts

• Where pressure is mounting

• How investment decisions align — or conflict — with strategic priorities

• What cross-cutting tensions are emerging across campuses

You’ll leave with:

• A clearer view of cross-institution patterns

• Insight into how peers are navigating similar challenges

• A systems-level understanding of how major trends intersect

• Practical reflections to bring back to your campus

Whether your focus is enrollment, student success, AI, digital transformation, or institutional sustainability, this session will help you contextualize your work within the broader higher education landscape and identify meaningful next steps.

Facilitator: Ruthlyn Antoniou, Learning Experience Consultant, D2L

Digital transformation in higher education isn’t just about adopting new tools — it’s about redesigning learning experiences to deepen student engagement, improve outcomes, and prepare learners for an AI-enabled world. In this interactive breakout session, we will explore how artificial intelligence can serve as a catalyst for meaningful engagement across cognitive, behavioral, and emotional dimensions of learning.

Participants will examine practical strategies for integrating AI into course design, formative feedback, discussion activities, and assessment, while maintaining academic rigor and integrity. Through guided prompt refinement and collaborative activity redesign, attendees will gain hands-on experience enhancing existing learning experiences with AI in ways that promote deeper thinking, personalization, and active participation.

This session is designed for faculty, instructional designers, and academic leaders who are navigating digital transformation and seeking actionable approaches to increase student engagement at scale. Attendees will leave with refined prompts, a redesigned activity ready to pilot, and a clearer framework for aligning AI innovation with institutional teaching and learning goals.

Join us to move beyond the buzz and reimagine what engagement can look like in the digitally evolving higher education.

Speakers

• Ruthlyn Antoniou, Learning Experience Consultant, D2L

• Robyn Hammontree, VP, Academic Partnerships, D2L

Discover how Western Michigan University has upskilled its D2L practices to support diverse needs across the institution; including student and teaching assistant success kits, tenure and promotion processes, advising, student employee training, and nursing admissions. This session focuses on rethinking D2L as a flexible platform for institutional growth and learner support.

Speaker:

• Kristin Hrynczuk, Senior Instructional Technologist at Western Michigan University

Regular and Substantive Interaction (RSI) doesn’t have to mean extra work; instead, it means using D2L tools already available with intention. In this hands-on workshop, Dawn Bauer, OCC instructional technologist, and Sharon Korth, OCC faculty member, will highlight how to leverage D2L tools to demonstrate clear, consistent, and meaningful interaction with students. Together, they’ll explore how tools like Announcements, Intelligent Agents, Discussions, Assignments with embedded feedback, Quizzes, and Video Notes can support RSI in ways that are manageable and sustainable. Attendees will leave with practical strategies immediately implementable with no course overhaul required.

Speakers:

• Dr. Sharon Korth, English Faculty and Technology Fellow at Oakland Community College

• Dawn Bauer, Instructional Technologist at Oakland Community College

• Linda Wareck, Instructional Technologist at Oakland Community College

Discover seven powerful—but often overlooked—Brightspace tools that can transform your courses. In this fast-paced session, we’ll explore advanced features designed for faculty and instructional designers to boost student engagement, streamline course management, and save valuable time. Walk away with practical strategies you can implement immediately to enhance both the learner experience and your own workflow.

Speaker:

• Michelle Piper, Sr. Customer Success Manager, D2L

This session explores how a single JavaScript API report evolved into a centralized Admin Dashboard within Brightspace. What began as a small workflow solution grew as additional reporting and operational needs surfaced. Over time, isolated web apps became a collection of essential tools, creating a new challenge: how to manage and organize them effectively. This led to a broader exploration of what could be accomplished by combining D2L API calls in more intentional ways.

The same approach later expanded into a Faculty Dashboard and an upcoming Student Dashboard, each requiring careful attention to permissions and data access. This session shares lessons learned about combining API calls, organizing workflow-driven tools, and building secure, role-based dashboards that make day-to-day LMS administration more efficient.

Speakers:

• Justin Bamberg, LMS & Multimedia Design Technologist, Delta College

Step into the foyer, meet our amazing partners, explore the latest solutions, chat with D2L subject matter experts, and spark ideas you won’t want to miss! Coffee, tea and a light snack to be provided

Managing Change in the Age of AI: Policy, People, and Possibility in Higher Education

 As artificial intelligence reshapes higher education, institutions are balancing innovation with responsibility. In this panel, senior leaders will share how their institutions are thoughtfully approaching AI, including emerging perspectives on policy, security and privacy, and governance considerations. The conversation will also explore how colleges and universities are strategically supporting faculty and students as they build the skills, confidence, and ethical grounding needed to thrive in an AI-enabled environment.

Facilitator: Robyn Hammontree, VP, Academic Partnerships, D2L

Speakers:

• Dr. Joanna Palmer, Associate Vice Chancellor for Online Learning & Innovation at South University

• Dr. Sommer Sterud, Chair of AI Task Force, Henry Ford College