May 3, 2022
Aerial shot of empty flip flops laying on sand

Summer is a great time to prepare to incorporate new technology to meet course learning goals or to review best practices for teaching with technology.

Elements of Success

Elements of Success (EoS) analyzes gradebook information to provide students with real-time feedback on their performance in an easy-to-understand visual format. This process helps students answer critical questions like: 

  • How am I doing right now? 
  • What will happen if I continue on this path? 
  • How can I improve? 

Students are shown their overall standing, course progress, and performance in each grade category. They can easily pinpoint areas where they are doing well and areas to target for improvement. EoS helps students better understand their progress in a course while also supporting the development of metacognitive skills and self-regulation toward learning. 

EoS can be added to an ICON course. Learn more about EoS and if it is right for your course.   

Top Hat

Top Hat, a student response system, allows students to enter responses via their cell phones, laptops, or tablets through an app or web browser. Instructors create questions, discussions, and interactive elements that can be integrated into class presentations.  

Instructors can now order Top Hat through the ICON Direct Ordering Tool for a reduced cost to students. The cost for a student license is only $15 per semester in the 2022–2023 academic year. Instructors can email ICON-Direct@uiowa.edu to place their Top Hat content request for fall 2022.  

Learn how Top Hat can help make classes more interactive by facilitating class discussions, guiding lectures, encouraging peer instruction, and offering polling options. 

Gradescope

Over 200 instructors and TAs have used Gradescope to assess and provide feedback to students since it was introduced this spring. Instructors using it found that it helped them easily create and edit rubrics, grade faster, and provide better feedback on assignments.

Instructors can add Gradescope to their courses by going to their ICON course settings and enabling Gradescope in the Navigation tab. Gradescope can be switched on at any point in the semester; however, it cannot be added to an in-progress or closed assignment.

For more information and resources, visit the Gradescope web pages.

If you have questions about any of these technologies, email the Office of Teaching, Learning & Technology at teaching@uiowa.edu.