Beginning in the Fall of 2003, The University of Iowa has sponsored an ongoing effort to understand the University's e-learning usage and to lay the foundation for building an e-learning strategy for the University. The outcomes of this effort are detailed below.
Transition to ICON as a Service
Fall 2006
Upon the closeout of the CMS Implementation Project, ICON becomes an ongoing service that provides an enterprise level of availability and support for Course Management Systems at the University. Improvements and integrations are continually being added to the system.
The support/entry site for the ICON service is here.
Details on the transition from implementation phase of ICON to ongoing service are found here.
CMS Implementation Project
Spring 2005 through Fall 2006
Planning is underway for implementing the newly selected course management system, Desire2Learn. Preliminary details and plans for the project are described in CMS Implementation.
The Course Management System (CMS) Selection Project
Spring 2004 through Fall 2004
One of the recommendations from the Fall 2003 E-Learning Assessment project was that the University should adopt a single, centrally-supported course management system with full enterprise integration. Following a thorough evaluation process with broad campus participation, the University of Iowa has selected Desire2Learn as the University’s enterprise learning management system.
Details of the decision and selection process are described in CMS Selection.
Faculty Surveys
Fall 2004
Another recommendation from the assessment phase was that the University should perform a more thorough, quantitative assessment of University e-learning usage and needs at the college level, by using an on-line survey for faculty. The survey should help establish an on-going method for gathering faculty and student input on IT decisions. This project is just getting underway, with the survey to occur during September, 2004, and results published in December, 2004.
The E-Learning Assessment Project
Fall 2003
In the Summer of 2003, the CIO and the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education formed a small group of faculty and staff to evaluate how University of Iowa instructors currently use technology to support teaching and learning, and how instructors and colleges envision using instructional technologies in the future.
Key findings from the assessment and recommendations for moving forward are contained in the Assessment Phase.
