ICON Day 2024 kicked off with a keynote by Kate McDowell, associate professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who introduced the concept of data storytelling as any presentation of data using narrative strategies.

At Instructurecon 2024, OTLT staff took part in and moderated a panel on Canvas Catalog. Locally known as UI Learn, Canvas Catalog is an online portal for non-credit courses available to both the public and the University of Iowa community. Instructurecon is an annual conference organized by Instructure, the company that creates Canvas.

Giovanni Zimotti, director of Spanish Language Instruction, and Claire Frances, director of the Center for Language and Culture Learning, used Innovations in Teaching with Technology Award funding to develop an application that uses can-do Statements to engage learners in self-assessment.

Gradescope Bubble Sheets is a paper-based multiple-choice tool integrated with ICON, allowing for online upload and scoring of scanned student sheets. We've gathered some of the most frequently asked questions, including how to obtain Bubble Sheets, how to access Gradescope, and more about Post Grades to ICON.

Course Activity Insights, or CAI, is an analytics platform designed to help instructors make data-informed decisions about their teaching. Instructors can learn how to add CAI to their course for the spring 2025 semester.

With the development of easily accessible generative AI technologies, there has also been a significant rise in the number of AI-generated content detection tools available. The shift toward technological policing has the potential to cause harm in educational settings.

In collaboration with Classroom Management and Operations, OTLT Learning Spaces Technology (LST) has established North Hall 103 as a sandbox classroom. This partnership will introduce new classroom tools and technologies into a production environment within the sandbox classroom.

The Innovations in Teaching with Technology Awards (ITTA) provide funding for innovative, results-oriented instructional technology projects that raise the level of teaching and learning at Iowa and have the potential to impact student success and retention. Submit your proposal by Tuesday, Oct. 17.

The University of Iowa’s inclusive access program, ICON Direct, hits a new achievement, with a total of over $11.2 million in student savings as of the end of the academic year 2023-2024. The textbook adoption period for winter 2024 and spring 2025 begins Tuesday, Oct. 1, and ends Monday, Dec. 23.

The ICON Direct program’s new lower price of $10 for Top Hat has resulted in 35% more orders for the fall 2024 semester versus fall 2023. Top Hat can make your classes more interactive, facilitate class discussions, guide lectures, encourage peer instruction, and allow for immediate student feedback and polling.