Professional Development

Improve your teaching practice

Find best practices in online teaching and learning and a wealth of resources to help you build engaging, inclusive learning environments. Sign up for a professional development workshop or browse through available content.

Online Course Elements

What makes a great online course? Orient students to the course material, expectations, and structure. Provide context for learning and intentionally cultivate an inclusive course community.

Review Key Course Elements

Instructor Model Course

What does an online course look like? How can you design a more effective online learning environment? Find the answers inside the Instructor Model Course.

Instructor Model Course

Effective Instruction Guide

Review our practical guide to help you planbuild, and teach a more effective, engaging online course. *Includes highlights from our 3-year research study of online students at Iowa.

View the Guide

Teaching Online Preparation Course

This self-enroll, self-paced introductory-level training course is a useful tool for new or experienced instructors and is available for you now in ICON. 

Enroll Now

Design4Online

Design4Online (D4O) is a comprehensive faculty development program.  Instructors work with peers to apply effective instructional strategies to the design of their online courses.

About Design 4 Online

Professional Development: learn at your own pace

Online Professional Development | May 2023

Wednesday, May 3, 2023
How will AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard impact digital, blended, and online education? Sign up for a panel discussion hosted by the Online Learning Consortium to hear more. Digital accessibility and synchronous online learning strategies round out this May's professional development offerings.

Online Professional Development | April 2023

Monday, April 3, 2023
Learn how to create and use rubrics to foster intentional feedback practices and evaluate learning in your courses in the Rubric Design for Effective Assessment workshop. Look through the full list of upcoming events this month.

Online Professional Development | March 2023

Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Create meaningful learning experiences in asynchronous, online learning environments using Fink's taxonomy of significant learning. Join the free webinar to learn more.

Quick Start Guide

Discover all the best Quality Matters (QM) and Online Learning Consortium (OLC) resources in our downloadable guide.  

Quick Start Guide

Quality Matters (QM) - create your free account

* Select University of Iowa Division of Continuing Education

Through our institutional membership, you gain access to many free live and on-demand resources, and discounted pricing on QM working sessions and conferences. *Check with your department for sponsorship of paid opportunities.

Create your QM account

Online Learning Consortium (OLC) - create your free account

Through our institutional membership, you gain access to many free live and on-demand resources, as well as discounted pricing on OLC working sessions and conferences. *Check with your department for sponsorship of paid opportunities.

Create your OLC account

Quality Online Instruction

Talk with us to learn more about how to integrate a new idea or approach to teaching and learning in your online classroom.