Dear Faculty,

The submission of proposals is now open for the annual Faculty Technology Grants for 2019–2020. The Faculty Technology Grants are sponsored by the President’s Office as an initiative to promote technology-enhanced teaching and learning at the University of Redlands.

Overview

The Faculty Technology Grants are aimed at supporting faculty initiatives and projects to enhance student learning and engagement through the effective use of technology. The grants support adoption of effective pedagogical practices and active learning models that may be applied across multiple courses by faculty at the University of Redlands.

Faculty members are encouraged to submit collaborative proposals working in discipline-specific or cross-discipline teams. Proposals that reflect a broader impact across multiple courses and disciplines, or otherwise involve collaboration and sharing of resources among faculty, will be rated favorably. Successful proposals will clearly describe the implementation plan of a technology initiative or innovation in the classroom, and its positive implications on student learning and engagement. Faculty may consider emerging or existing technologies that are most impactful, and focus on active learning to engage students in the classroom and beyond. The project may involve using technology tools to develop out-of-class reading, homework, and research activities to engage students in interactive and collaborative work during class meetings.

Strategic Focus Areas 
Projects on any topic that involves the integration of technology in teaching are welcome. Based on emerging trends in instructional technology and University’s strategic goals, proposals aligned with one or more of the following themes are encouraged.

• Digital story telling. Implementing narrative techniques to engage students. Some examples of the narrative technique include media development by students (video-based projects), case studies, simulations, and role-playing.

• Digitization of courses by utilizing tools such as Moodle, OneDrive, Padlet, and Polleverywhere. Substituting paper-based submission of assignments or assessments with digital alternatives.

• Adoption of Open Education Resources (OER) in place of traditional textbooks. With the rising cost of textbooks, many higher-education institutions are implementing OER where faculty collaborate with instructional designers and librarians to provide curated course content to students, which is free.

• Incorporation of immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), or Mixed Reality (MR) into the curriculum to provide a rich, multi-dimensional learning environment for students.

• Integrating maker-activities into the classroom to facilitate experiential learning. The University’s makerspace offers hands-on tools such as 3D printers, 3D scanner, VR & AR apps and hardware, including gamification and robotics-building software.

• Development of new courses, or transformation of existing courses to the online, hybrid, or flipped format applying effective pedagogical practices.

• Applying gamification to enhance student engagement. E.g. using BreakoutEDU or other web-based apps and game-building tools to develop classroom activities.

• Usage and application of mobile devices and mobile apps for teaching and learning, with an emphasis on enhancing student active learning.

• Applying GIS, mapping, geospatial analysis, 3D, and big data to for analyses, forecasting, and research. E.g. use of ArcGIS or ArcGIS Online to explore and analyze spatial data.

• Use of social media and/or web tools to engage students in active learning. E.g. using tools such as Padlet, ThingLink, Twitter, or Facebook.

• You may also pitch your idea for a topic or theme that has not been listed. 

Please click here to review project summaries from grants awarded in previous years.

Eligibility

Grant funding is available to full-time University of Redlands faculty members. Visiting faculty who partner with a full-time faculty member are also invited to submit proposals.

Grant Recipient Expectations

• Stipend amount for work completed will be paid through the payroll process and will be subject to income tax.

• Requests for course releases cannot be granted.

• Grant funding may not be used to upgrade/refresh an existing computer system issued by the University.

• If equipment/software is purchased (at the discretion of the grants review committee) to support a project, the equipment/software will remain the property of the University of Redlands.

• Prior to submitting a proposal, faculty should seek assistance in assessing project needs and determine if the available loaner hardware/software from the Academic Computing and Instructional Technology Services (ACITS) may meet certain needs.

• Available loaner items include: laptops (complete with video and image editing software), Web cameras, video cameras, and mobile devices/tablets. For more details, please call 909-748-8699 (ext. 8699) or email acits@redlands.edu.

• Faculty members will work closely with the ACITS team to implement their proposals.

• Brief check-ins, via email or by phone, will occur throughout the project––please see the Dates and Deadlines section below.

• Student evaluation of the technology enhancement will be conducted near the end of the term. The Instructional Technology team will provide technical and administrative support to faculty in conducting the student evaluation.

• Faculty members will be expected to present their findings and final project as part of a technology showcase event in Fall 2020. Details and the specific date will be announced. 

Funding Limit

The maximum amount that may be granted per project is $5,000.

Application Process

Please click here to access and submit the online submission­ form

Proposals must be submitted online by Monday, October 28, 2019, at 5:00 p.m. 

Dates and Deadlines

If you have any questions or need additional assistance in preparing your proposal, please contact Shariq Ahmed at 909-748-8352 (ext. 8352), email: shariq_ahmed@redlands.edu, or Cheyne Murray at 909-748-8321 (ext. 8321), email: cheyne_murray@redlands.edu.