Welcome to Academic Technology
Academic Technology, part of UW–Madison’s Division of Information Technology (DoIT), provides innovative and sustainable technology services that support teaching, learning, research, and outreach throughout the university community.
Who we are
DoIT Academic Technology helps make learning at UW–Madison more engaging and effective through the use of technology. We work with faculty, instructors, and campus partners to bring fresh ideas and useful tools into classrooms and online learning. Our teams are adaptable and forward-thinking to meet the evolving needs of the university and provide modern, effective technology solutions that help students succeed.
Learn@UW
The instructional technology professionals in the Learn@UW team provide comprehensive support, administration, documentation, and training for a wide array of technology offerings at UW–Madison, including Canvas, the university’s main learning platform. The tools in the Learn@UW suite are designed to enhance teaching, learning, and career readiness. We are committed to providing innovative services that meet the university’s needs and support the academic enterprise.
Application Development
The Teaching & Research Application Development (TRAD) team works with instructors, researchers, and others at UW–Madison to create custom software that supports learning, advising and research. We help turn ideas into practical technology solutions and provide support for complex tools in the university’s digital learning ecosystem. Our focus is on helping the university community use technology to teach, learn, and explore in new ways.
Our team provides the technical expertise to:
- Build solutions for research data collection, aggregation and sharing
- Design and develop prototypes and fully developed applications to support teaching, learning, advising and research innovation,
- Identify technical recommendations, assess feasibility, and develop estimates for applications supporting grant proposals
- Address complex, varied, and evolving teaching and learning data integration and infrastructure needs
Center for User Experience
We partner with you to create more accessible, usable and inclusive digital spaces for all students, faculty, staff and members of the university community. We consult, design, research and evaluate digital content for the university.
Accessibility
We can evaluate the accessibility of digital technology for free. This includes products already in use on campus or products that are in consideration for purchase.
UX consultation
Partner with us for a project to improve your website, application or online service.
We can consult with you about accessibility and usability and what tools might help you.
Software Training for Students (STS)
Software Training for Students (STS) offers free peer-to-peer tech training at UW–Madison, helping students acquire practical skills. Through workshops, one-on-one sessions, and custom group training, we support tools like Photoshop, Excel, Python, WordPress, and more—at no cost to students.
Information Technology Academy
Information Technology Academy (ITA) is a pre-college program that prepares low-income and first generation students for higher education. Originally launched in Madison, ITA expanded in 2013 to reach more Native American and rural students through ITA Oneida and ITA Lac du Flambeau. Since its inception, 96% of ITA graduates have been accepted to institutions of higher education, demonstrating the program’s success in preparing students for post-secondary opportunities.
ITA provides students with a structured, multi-year experience designed to build technical and academic skills while fostering personal growth and confidence.
Teaching and Learning Data
We collaborate with university partners to leverage teaching and learning data to support data-driven educational practices, university initiatives, and to enhance student learning.
Academic Technology news
List of articles
New Quizzes now available in Canvas
If you implement quizzes in your courses and want to provide a different testing experience, try this newly launched Canvas tool.
August 6, 2025Introducing Gradescope
Gradescope allows for faster and more consistent grading while also helping instructors give students detailed feedback.
August 4, 2025Gradescope: coming August 2025
Gradescope allows for faster and more consistent grading while also helping instructors give students detailed feedback. Learn@UW will offer training sessions for instructors next month.
July 19, 2025Make your next presentation or meeting interactive with Top Hat’s Guest Mode!
Top Hat makes it easy for you to engage an audience during a presentation, workshop, meeting, town hall, training, or other event. Learn more.
July 18, 2025
Harness the power of teaching & learning data: Apply today to become more data savvy
Interested in learning how to use course data to better understand how students engage with your online content? Apply today. Deadline: May 22.
April 7, 2025- More Academic Technology News posts
Events, help, and consultations
- October
- October 20
- October 20
- October 22
- October 29
- October 30
Get help or schedule a consultation