development.

Kūkulu (Development)

On this page, you will find resources to help you transform your well-laid plans for your classes into a reality. Visit the Support page for important points of contact for technical support and instructional design support.

Our Learning Management System (LMS)

The UH System is in the process of migrating from Laulima (a customized installation of the open-source LMS Sakai) to Lamakū (a customized installation of D2L Brightspace). Kapi‘olani CC will fully migrate to the new LMS along with the other UHCCs and UH Hilo as part of cohort 1, which means that in Spring 2025, our classes will no longer be taught in Laulima and class sites will be auto-generated by CRN in Lamakū. (See implementation timeline for further details.)

The Brightspace Pulse App enables instructors and students to navigate the Lamakū experience on a mobile device.

Lamakū Resources

Kapi‘olani CC Lamakū Course Framework

The structure and organization of your class site are fundamental to providing an easily navigable virtual learning environment. Lamakū modules provide an optimal way of “chunking” your class content and presenting it in a consistent and easy-to-navigate manner. The Kapi‘olani Lamakū Course Framework is constructed similarly to the Laulima Course Framework. This consistency will allow you to efficiently reference your Laulima-based courses when developing your course in the new Lamakū environment. However, the Lamakū Course Framework can also be used if you are starting from scratch and wish to develop a well-organized and intuitively navigable new course in Lamakū.

The Course Framework site is organized into three sequential sections to guide you through the following:
✓ Introduction: Get an overview of the course framework and the components that are consistent across each of the three structural options.
✓ Structure: 

  • Compare the affordances and constraints of three distinct course structures.
  • Access demo sites where you can navigate each course structure as a student, allowing you to compare the user experience firsthand and determine the ideal framework for your course(s).
  • Follow step-by-step instructions to download the framework of your choice and upload it into your Lamakū site.

✓ Customization: Learn how to customize each aspect of the Course Framework to meet your specific needs.

Laulima > Lamakū Migration Request
Faculty teaching in Spring 2025 (a CRN with the requesting faculty member’s name must be assigned in Banner for Spring 2025) and developers of training or professional development sites with no CRN may request migration of content from Laulima sites to Lamakū sites. Migration for Spring 2025 will be available until December 31.

Most content migrates well, though it will likely need some “cleaning up” due to formatting differences between the two LMSs. However, old tools that have not ben supported for some time in Sakai (e.g., modules and Assignments, Tests, and Surveys (ATS)) do not migrate over well in the normal migration process. There are protocols for these to help you get the most out of migration if you use these tools: 

At your request, all content from your Laulima site will be migrated by the LMS Admin team into a specific Lamakū sandbox shell called “Laulima Reference Site for [course name].” Laulima Reference Sites in Lamakū are temporary and will be deleted from Lamakū in Summer 2025. However, you can copy all or portions of the migrated content into your sandbox and/or your live Lamakū course shell (see Lamakū Tutorial: Copying Content from Another Lamakū Course for how-to).

Lamakū Sandbox Site Request
Faculty and staff may request up to 5 sandbox sites for use to develop content to copy into active Lamakū sites (e.g., CRN-associated class sites and/or training and professional development sites) once they become available.

How to Impersonate a Demo Student: step-by-step walkthrough on how to experience your course and test some activities (e.g., assignments, quizzes, and discussions) from a student’s perspective within Lamakū. Please remember to unenroll the demo student account when you are done testing in your course site.

Copying Content from Another Lamakū Course: step-by-step instructions for copying content from one Lamakū site (e.g., sandbox, reference site, etc.) to another.

Requesting Cross-listing (merging) of Lamakū Course Sites: Submit this Kuali form to have your sites merged. Merging sections allows instructors to streamline content and communication, making it easier to manage materials and interact with students. Please keep FERPA considerations in mind when submitting merge requests to ensure compliance with privacy guidelines. For questions or assistance, feel free to reach out to the UH Online Support Team <uhdl@hawaii.edu>.

Request a Departmental Account: Faculty or staff can request a departmental account to create a live departmental site (not a sandbox) for collaborative projects (e.g., professional development/training, orientations, assessment/placement tests). Note that Lamakū is not intended to serve as a long-term storage or repository for files.

Interactive Digital Access Program (IDAP) process: Instructors should contact the campus bookstore, who will generate a list shared with ITS. ITS uses that list to install the appropriate tool and update the spreadsheet with the info the bookstore needs to configure an intermediate software to assist in pairing the courses to the 3rd party content. Communicate your IDAP plans ASAP to the bookstore, but no later than Dec 4 (per the IDAP timeline).

Lamakū Training & Support

Synchronous Training & Support Sessions

Lamakū Discovery Series
Hosted by: UH ID PLC
Presenters will demonstrate Lamakū tools and features and then allow participants time to trial and explore for themselves, combining demo, hands-on, and Q&A. Note: Sessions ran every Tuesday Sept 3rd through Oct 22 and are pau for fall semester. Sessions will begin again spring semester. Fall slides and recordings:

Lamakū Support Sessions (Sept-Nov)
Hosted by: UH ID PLC
Informal support session (bring your questions), including 30 mins open lab time
Date: Fridays (September 6th to November 22nd, except Oct. 18th and Nov. 15th)
Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Beyond the Basics: Maximizing Lamakū for Course Design, Development, and Teaching
Hosted by: UHOIC
Now that there have been several Lamakū Discovery Sessions and Support Sessions dedicated to the “basics,” let’s take it to the next level! Take a deeper dive with instructional designers and faculty members across the system who will share some advanced Lamakū features and functionality (e.g., Intelligent Agents) along with tips and quirks.
Date: October 30; Time 1 – 2:30pm

  • Webinar Recordings (playlist of main session and breakout rooms)
  • Presentation Slides
  • Instructor User Testing (Creator+, H5P, Lumi) Sandbox: Sign up for early access to the sandbox to explore and experiment with these tools. Note that while some technical resources are shared, support will not be available during the testing period.

D2L Brightspace Sessions
Hosted by: D2L
Brightspace trainer Popsann Francis will answer your questions with demos in Brightspace

Asynchronous Training & Instructional Reqources

Brightspace Higher Ed Instructor Knowledge Base
This site provides thorough documentation about how to use the many tools Brightspace has to offer. It can be easily navigated using the navigation pane (organized by tool) or the search bar. This is a very helpful reference when you’re looking for specific information about a tool.

Lamakū Instructor Essentials
This online, self-paced asynchronous training course is in Lamakū itself. It will give you an opportunity to use the LMS from a learner perspective and provides training for migrating, managing, delivering, and assessing course content in Lamakū. It is highly recommended that you use this resource to get started with Lamakū!  To access, sign into Lamakū and look for “Lamakū Instructor Essentials” in your “My Courses” widget.

Individual Support

Technical Support
UH ITS Help Desk
For technical questions or assistance with troubleshooting Lamakū or any other UH technology, contact the UH ITS Help Desk
Availability: Staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, open during all holidays

AI as a Personal Assistant
A reminder that generative AI (like ChatGPT) can be an extremely helpful on-demand troubleshooting partner…we have used it extensively as we continue to learn and develop within Brightspace!
Availability: anytime, anywhere

Instructional Design Support
For assistance with instructional planning, including SLO articulation and alignment, instructional activities, assessments, and digital accessibility, contact: Kapi‘olani CC instructional designers Jamie Sickel & Youxin Zhang
Availability: Meetings (Zoom or in-person) by appointment as schedule allows

Lamakū Updates

The Discover Lamakū website contains relevant System announcements, timelines, and resources, including a Lamakū FAQ Document.
Lamakū Updates are posted regularly here by Gloria Niles, UH Director of Online Learning.

Digital Accessibility

Digital accessibility is the practice of making your digital content usable by as many people as possible, not just for people with varied disabilities (including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities).

The Fundamentals of Digital Accessibility (Registration Link)
Find fundamental accessibility concepts, digital accessibility principles, designs, best practices, tools for evaluating accessibility, and pertinent resources for creating accessible digital documents and online course sites in Kapi‘olani CC’s Fundamentals of Digital Accessibility site. You can complete the training to earn a certificate (no pressure!) or simply use the resources in this site to help you as you curate/create learning content.

Accessibility at UH
Learn about policies, guidelines, and resources related to accessibility at UH, including how to create accessible content. 

Grackle Docs for Google Doc Accessibility
Learn to use the Grackle Docs add-on to ensure your Google Docs are fully accessible. 

Google Slides with Live Captions
When you present slides, you can turn on automatic captions to display the speaker’s words in real time.

OER Development

Open Educational Resources (OER) are instructional materials (e.g., textbooks, learning modules, and other learning resources) that are freely available for customization and utilization in teaching and learning experiences. OER can help reduce the total cost of formal education by minimizing or eliminating the cost of these resources for students.

Support for Developing OER
This page includes tutorials, write-ups, and information about free and open-source software tools UH faculty are using to create together.

Kapi‘olani CC Campus OER Leads
Wondering where to start? Contact our Kapi‘olani CC OER leads for more info!

Student Resources

The following student support resources are available for your (optional) integration and reference in your classes.

Library Resources

Library Research Guides
Our Kapi‘olani CC librarians have created a variety of useful research guides for students.

Library Instruction Services
Kapi‘olani CC instructors can request library instruction sessions customized for your course by contacting kapccref@hawaii.edu, 808.734.9359, or submitting this Request for Kapiʻolani CC Library Instruction form.

Tutoring

Study Hub
Students can get free tutoring by appointment for math, writing, technology assistance, and more at the Lamakū Learning Center Study Hub.

STEM Program Peer Mentoring
Support for Biology, Botany, Chemistry, Computer Science, Engineering, Math (135 and above), Microbiology, Physics, Tech Assistance, and more.

TRIO Student Support Services
The TRIO program serves low-income, first-generation college students, and/or students with a documented disability.

UHM Online Learning Academy
Kapi‘olani CC students can access online tutoring in Math, Science, and Writing. 

Tutor.com
Kapi‘olani CC students get 150 minutes of tutor.com support per semester free and can purchase additional minutes. Tutor.com also offers free tutoring for U.S. Military and families.

Online Learning Prep

Lamakū Student Resources
This webpage is a hub of helpful D2L student guides as the UH transition to Lamakū (powered by Brightspace) continues. Information to support students covers Lamakū basics, student tutorials, information on how to utilize the Brightspace Pulse App to navigate Lamakū-based courses, and the Brightspace portfolio are included here. 

Build yourself a firm foundation before teaching others.