Randomized question order and shuffling answer choices are simple yet effective strategies you can implement today to make your ICON quizzes more secure.

The Innovations in Teaching with Technology Awards (ITTA) provide funding for instructional technology projects that raise the level of teaching and learning at Iowa and have the potential to impact student success and retention. Proposals will be accepted Sept. 10 through Oct. 13.

The UI Department of Chemistry faculty and OTLT Research and Analytics coded hundreds of conversations between students and an AI homework chatbot to uncover how learners engage with AI tutors—and whether those interactions support or hinder learning. Discover what they learned at an event on Friday, Oct. 17, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in 106 Gilmore Hall (GILH). Register by Oct. 15.

Join OTLT on Friday, Nov. 14, at the Hilton Garden Inn for ICON Day 2025. The event will include a keynote address by Jeffrey Kontio, EdD, the presentation of the ICON All Star awards, as well as an overview of tools, support, and training offered at the University of Iowa to assist with course accessibility. Register by Monday, Nov. 3. 

As with every summer, the OTLT Learning Spaces Technology team worked behind the scenes, refreshing and upgrading classrooms across campus. Here’s a look at some of the improvements.

Clearly stating your expectations around AI use in your syllabus fosters academic integrity, reduces confusion, and sets your learning community up for success. But it doesn't stop there: AI expectations should also be discussed in class and added into individual assignment descriptions to help students understand what’s appropriate task by task.

OTLT conducted a pilot of Khanmigo Teacher Tools, an AI-powered teaching assistant integrated into Canvas, during the spring 2025 semester. We aimed to evaluate how one AI tool might support faculty in instructional planning, assignment creation, and reflective teaching practices. The results of the pilot are in.

Captions enhance comprehension, support learning, and ensure compliance with accessibility standards. OTLT has partnered with a new professional captioning vendor, 3Play Media. To begin using professional captioning services, departments or campus groups must create an account with 3 Play Media. There is no centralized billing service for professional captions; individual departments or groups will be responsible for associated costs.

As you prepare for a new academic year, we are excited to share a few updates to Top Hat that will improve your teaching experience and bolster student engagement. New features include a guest mode, an AI-powered assistant, and multi-section management.

AI tutors are available anytime, anywhere, providing students with support outside classroom hours. The Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology is partnering with faculty to learn about the impact of generative AI, and AI tutors in particular, on student learning.