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University of Iowa

University Libraries

Course Materials+

Including Course Materials+ in ICON

Best Practices

  1. Make your list more helpful to students by making it:
  • Easy to access: access is provided via the Course Materials+ tool in ICON
  • Clearly laid out: section headings indicate when and what students are expected to read, for example: lists may be organized by theme, week, lecture or seminar topics.
  • Prioritized and annotated: items are prioritized using, ‘Essential’, ‘Recommended’ and ‘Optional’ tags so that students can understand clearly what they are expected to engage with and can manage their time accordingly. Physical items on reserve have loan period tags. Notes are added to highlight relevant chapter, pages, or excerpts and to provide other useful information. Due dates are added when needed.
  • Up to date: lists are regularly reviewed taking into account feedback from students, usage data (click on "View list analysis" button  to access the data) and availability of resources. Students are confident their lists are current.  
  • Realistic: consideration has been given to how many resources students can reasonably be expected to read, watch, or engage with during the courses' session and how essential materials will be accessed. Separate bibliographies may be created using Course Materials+ to encourage students to explore a subject or carry out their own research. Use the student view to make sure students can see and access all of the materials on the list

2.Use the "View list as a student" feature to make sure students can see and access everything they need

3. Add articles using "Library Search" instead of uploading a PDF file to increase the accessibility of electronic texts

4. Add relevant LibGuides to help students find additional resources for the course (check out the Libraries' subject guides) and to help them with tasks they will have to perform, like evaluating sources and citing references (check out our how-to guides)

5. Open Course Materials+ in a new tab to use it how it is best viewed. To open it in a new tab, just click on the "Open in new tab" icon on the right side of the top yellow bar: