Discover Lamakū: Your Guide to D2L Brightspace at UH
Lamakū will continue to be available for users during the major UH Banner system upgrade planned for December 11, 2025 - January 3, 2026.
The University of Hawaiʻi Information Technology Services is excited to announce a significant transformation in our approach to managing teaching and learning. After careful consideration and a rigorous review and evaluation, the University of Hawaiʻi has chosen Brightspace by D2L as our new Learning Management System (LMS). This decision marks a pivotal moment in our commitment to providing a cutting-edge educational experience for our students, faculty, and staff, supporting our endeavor of being Hawaiʻi's university for today and tomorrow.
Why Brightspace?
Brightspace is a modern, cloud-based LMS offering numerous advantages over our current system, Laulima (Sakai). With Brightspace, you can look forward to:
- User-Friendly Interface: Brightspace provides an intuitive and easy-to-navigate platform, ensuring a seamless experience for instructors and students.
- Enhanced Mobile Accessibility: Access your courses and resources anytime, anywhere, with the convenience of a mobile-responsive design. Additionally, Brightspace offers the mobile application Brightspace Pulse to connect with your learning materials and notifications on the go.
- Student Success and Advanced Communication: D2Lʻs Brightspace includes an intelligent agent tool to personalize and enhance communication, promote higher student engagement, and boost student retention and success efforts.
- Preparing Workforce-Ready Students: Brightspace by D2L includes a portfolio to assist with documenting workforce-ready skills.
- Accessibility: Brightspace prioritizes accessibility, ensuring that students of all abilities can fully participate in online learning.
- Hawaiian Place of Learning: D2L is committed to partnering with the University of Hawaiʻi to champion the principles of aloha, caring for people and place, and integrating ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi as a language option in Brightspace.
A Name Selected For UH's New LMS
The University of Hawaiʻi Information Technology Services invited the UH community to submit suggested names for our new Learning Management System (Brightspace by D2L). Four finalist name suggestions were selected based on the submissions received in consultation with the University of Hawaiʻi Lamakū Advisory Group. The UH community was then asked to cast a vote for a preferred name from the final four names.
We are delighted to share that with significant engagement, receiving 47.6% (641) of the 1,409 votes, Lamakū has been selected as the name for our new Learning Management System.
Lamakū
The literal translation of lamakū in English is torch, similar to the torch that appears in the UH logo. Metaphorically, lamakū refers to education or enlightenment, lamakū o ka naʻauao, which also works well with the name of the software - Brightspace.
Mahalo to Dr. Keola Donaghy, Associate Professor of Music at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College, for his name suggestion.
End-of-Life Notice for Laulima Learning Management System
As part of the University of Hawaiʻi's commitment to advancing teaching and learning through modern, secure, and student-centered technology, Laulima, the University's legacy learning management system (LMS), is officially reaching its end of life.
Effective Fall 2025, all courses and instructional activities will transition to Lamakū, the University of Hawaiʻi’s new enterprise learning management system powered by D2L Brightspace.
While Laulima will no longer be used for active course delivery, faculty and staff will continue to have direct access to previous course content following the LMS Retention Practice Standard Operating Procedure. Please note that no new course or project sites will be created in Laulima after this transition. This includes no further extensions to continue active use of Laulima sites.
All instructional activity moving forward, including course delivery, student engagement, and academic collaboration, will be conducted in Lamakū.
Mahalo for your continued commitment to excellence in teaching and learning.
We Want to Hear from You!
We value the opinion of our UH faculty, staff, and students and would love to hear about your experiences with Lamakū. Your feedback is important as we transition to Lamakū.
Please share with us your Lamakū Feedback and Recommendation at any time.
Mahalo for your support and taking time to provide thoughtful and constructive feedback.
Please address questions or comments to UH Online (uhdl@hawaii.edu), UH Information Technology Services