We're excited to announce that the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology (OTLT) recently launched a new website. Our redesigned site brings several enhancements that make the browsing experience smoother and more efficient, including consolidating multiple web properties into a single, cohesive platform.

We’re happy to announce that a Top Hat Classroom Pro license will cost only $10 per student per semester for the 2024–25 academic year—a savings of $23 compared to the retail price. Top Hat can make classes more interactive, facilitate class discussions, guide lectures, and allow for polling.

ChatGPT has a reputation for generating hallucinations, or false information. So can an Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform be trusted to assist in a literature review? Yes, if the tool you are using is the right one for the job. Try these five AI platforms to assist you in your literature reviews and academic research.

ICON Direct is the University of Iowa's initiative for ordering digital content from specific publishers and delivering it to students to address rising textbook costs. During the 2023–2024 academic year, 1,030 course sections with 20,507 students used ICON Direct to deliver course content, with the average amount saved being $200. The order period for summer 2024 ends Monday, April 15, and fall 2024 orders are due by Monday, July 29.

Digital Desk, the current solution for Scantron bubble sheets, will be decommissioned, and the Exam Scoring service will be replaced with Gradescope Bubble Sheets for fall 2024. This change is part of the ITS Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology’s ongoing commitment to enhance the educational tools offered by the University of Iowa and was made after interviewing instructors, speaking with governance committees, and performing a service review.

This year's Innovations in Teaching with Technology Awards (ITTA) recipient is building an AI-enabled teaching assistant. Ibrahim Demir, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, was awarded $53,623 for the third phase of the AI Enabled Intelligent Assistant (AIIA) for Personalized and Adaptive Learning and Advising project.

Building ICON courses with accessibility in mind from the ground up means accessibility options can be available to everyone, and students will have an easier time accessing content and completing assignments. The University of Iowa already provides many tools that can help with this.

This fall, the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology asked students to nominate their favorite ICON course sites for the first-ever ICON All Star Awards, an award that recognizes an instructor’s use of technology to enhance teaching and learning at Iowa through ICON course sites.

We're excited to announce new leadership in the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology Instructional Services. Effective Dec. 1, Dave Long was named director of OTLT Instructional Services, and Vicky Maloy has taken on the role of associate director of OTLT Academic Technologies.

ICON Day was a stellar event that took place at the IMU International Ballroom on Oct. 20, 2023. From the keynote by Tom Tobin to the first ICON All Star awards for excellent ICON sites, here are highlights from the day.