After a busy spring and summer of communication, implementation, and training, all UI colleges have transitioned to a new underlying learning management system for Iowa Courses Online (ICON).

The shift to cloud-based Canvas affords students and faculty numerous benefits, such as the ability to record analytics and more flexible access to course content. Users can also take advantage of new functions like “SpeedGrader” and “what-if grade analysis,” a tool that helps students predict their grades in a variety of scenarios.

Jon Garfinkel, professor in the Tippie College of Business, likes the way quizzes can be constructed in Canvas. He also found the new system helpful as he transitioned his large finance course to a “flipped” model, which involves having students prepare coursework in advance so that class time can focus on hands-on activities.

“Flipping the classroom necessitates student activities prior to and during each class period—no ‘off days,’” Garfinkel says. “I needed Canvas to confront each student with a clear schedule every time they logged in, and it allowed that, which for me was the single biggest benefit of the switch.” 

The UI decided to adopt Canvas after two successful semester-long pilots that involved 50 faculty members and included representatives from every college. The move is coupled with the UI’s membership in the higher education consortium Unizin, which enables institutions to draw on an evolving set of tools for managing course content, the interaction of students and instructors, and learning analytics—using data to improve teaching and learning. 

Overall, campus is adapting well.

“I want to personally thank the dozens of faculty who piloted this system for us, as well as the hundreds of faculty and TAs who worked over the summer to migrate their courses,” says Maggie Jesse, senior director of the Office of Teaching, Learning & Technology. “The staff involved with this transition also deserves tremendous credit; they truly went above and beyond to ensure that it went as smoothly as possible for the campus.”

Communication and training were key to the success of this high-impact technology change. In addition to a host of announcements, IT staff offered numerous events, including 32 presentations to introduce the change to colleges in the spring, 42 training sessions hosted by student instructional technology assistants (SITAs), and 138 open and departmental training sessions. More than 1,100 people utilized the online training.

“We were pleased with the tailored sessions,” says Vern Duba, assistant professor and instructional services specialist in the College of Pharmacy, where five custom trainings were held. “The ICON team provided excellent group training to our faculty in our building and offered one-on-one assistance.”

As expected with the implementation of any new system, the ITS Help Desk fielded a higher number of questions at the start of the semester than in semesters past; inquiries peaked at 80 per day and tapered off toward the end of the first week. To help with the transition, ICON specialists are embedded in the Help Desk to answer questions. They are also available during evening and weekend hours.

If you need help with the new system, in addition to the online training and resources at https://its.uiowa.edu/icon, you can contact the ITS Help Desk or reach out to Annette Beck, director of Enterprise Instructional Technology.