Year: 2026

As the semester wraps up, MSU IT Educational Technology is highlighting a few high impact D2L Brightspace resources to help you finish strong and prepare for final grade submission.

Extra Credit and Bonus Items in D2L

Learn how to award extra credit in the D2L gradebook by allowing points to exceed an item’s maximum or by creating a separate bonus item, This tip also covers where to place bonus items so final grades calculate correctly. Read Full Article →

Zoom AI Companion is now available for MSU Zoom users. Zoom AI Companion is an AI‑powered feature set integrated into Zoom that supports meeting summaries, Smart Recordings, and real‑time assistance during meetings. These tools are intended to help reduce manual note‑taking and support clearer meeting outcomes.

What is changing?

• Zoom AI Companion will be turned on and available to all users with a standard MSU Zoom account.

MSU IT is launching the 2026 Cybersecurity Awareness Training Program, a required annual course designed to help faculty and staff recognize today’s most common cyber threats and take simple steps to protect both personal and university data. 

Beginning March 18, all MSU faculty and staff will receive an email from the Ability Learning Management System with a link to the mandatory training and detailed instructions. Read Full Article →

MSU IT provides no-cost training on collaborative tools to all students, faculty, and staff. Check out the following courses available in March and visit SpartansLearn for more information and to register.

Outlook – Calendar Basics
Thursday, March 12, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Outlook is not just for emails! Learn how to streamline your workflow and schedule using the Outlook calendar. Read Full Article →

MSU IT Educational Technology is highlighting top D2L Brightspace resources, designed to empower instructors and enhance your courses for March.

Discover our series of 5-minute videos, designed to make mastering MSU learning tools easy. This month, learn how to make extra credit items in D2L, and upload videos to Mediaspace. Read Full Article →

Beginning Sunday, March 15, the MSU IT Service Desk will operate Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–7 p.m. The updated hours reflect a realignment of service levels with available staffing capacity and demand patterns, supporting reliable service delivery and practical resource management.

The IT Service Desk provides:

• IT assistance for all students, faculty, staff, retirees, alumni, parents, visitors, and guests.

New and existing AI assistants to support teaching, learning, and work can be found on tech.msu.edu/ai. You’ll also find important guidance on the appropriate use of these tools below. 

• Google Gemini and NotebookLM are now available at no cost to all students, faculty, and staff with an MSU Google account.

This notice only applies to individuals who use Notepad++ and have not yet updated. 

The MSU community should be aware of a recently disclosed global security incident involving Notepad++, a text editing application commonly used for programming and document editing. 

A third-party hosting provider for the Notepad++ website experienced a compromise between June and December 2, 2025. Read Full Article →

MSU IT provides no-cost training on collaborative tools to all students, faculty, and staff. Check out the following courses available in January and visit SpartansLearn for more information and to register.

Microsoft OneNote – Getting Started
Wednesday, January 21, 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Get rid of your traditional pen and paper and uncover features of the most versatile note-taking tool, Microsoft OneNote. Read Full Article →

MSU IT welcomed Laura Clark as assistant chief information officer on Monday, January 12, 2026. 

Laura comes to MSU from the State of Michigan, where she served as chief information officer (CIO). In that role, she oversaw operations for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget (DTMB), which provides information technology, business, and administrative services to state employees and stakeholders, as well as Michigan residents, visitors, and businesses. Read Full Article →