Featured Article
ICON Template Boosts Student Confidence and Streamlines Course Design
ICON Template Boosts Student Confidence and Streamlines Course Design
Julia Kleinschmit, Clinical Professor in the School of Social Work, collaborated with Distance and Online Education (DOE) to implement a shared ICON course template across her school. The template organizes content into modules to help students navigate with ease and focus on course concepts. It simplifies course setup for instructors through placeholder text and customizable visuals while fostering a consistent, student-friendly experience. Discover how to use a template to boost student confidence and address common concerns.
Clarity and Transparency
Create a predictable learning environment with a structured course format and rubrics that outline goals and guide student effort.
Practical Pedagogy
Practical Pedagogy: Authentic Assessment
Are Your Rubrics Doing Enough?
Hear from Dr. Kelli Saginak, who enhanced her students' experience by adapting a rubric for her Cultural Competency and Health course. Discover actionable tips and explore how customizing rubrics—like those from the AAC&U VALUE Rubric collection—can clarify expectations, improve transparency, and better align assessments with learning outcomes. Ready to take your rubrics to the next level?
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events: February
On-demand resources and upcoming events to support your online teaching practice:
Course Accessibility for Everyone (CAFE): Basic ICON Tips - February 6, 2025, 2 pm CST
Need to brush up on your ICON accessibility skills for the new semester? Discover how small adjustments to headings, tables, and color contrast can improve navigation and ensure your course site is accessible for all.
Designing for Everyone: Accessibility, Usability and the New ADA Ruling - February 19, 2025, 12 pm CST
Accessibility creates a better course experience for everyone—it's not just about compliance. This webinar provides practical tips on course organization, video design, and image accessibility. Whether you are new to accessibility or want to enhance your skills, this session offers actionable strategies to improve your content. approaches faculty take in creating these learning experiences.
AI for Collaborative Brainstorming - February 10 - February 16, 2025
Explore how human creativity and artificial intelligence can work together to spark innovation in this asynchronous, week-long workshop. Learn to use design thinking and generative AI tools to brainstorm innovative ideas and solutions for your course and develop skills to write effective AI prompts (fee-based).
Did you know? IOWA faculty and staff can access member benefits and discounts for Online Learning Consortium (OLC) and Quality Matters (QM) resources through our institutional memberships! Create an account with your IOWA email to access additional benefits and discounts.