Grants and Funding
Call for Proposals: Digital Learning Sprints 2023
The Office of Digital Learning (ODL) and the Teaching and Learning Technologies Team (TLT) in OIT welcome applications for Digital Learning Sprints for 2023. A Digital Learning Sprint is a short project to learn quickly about a tool or strategy or to explore a focused topic/area/practice in a time-limited manner.
In keeping with ND Learning’s commitment to embracing educational equity and inclusive pedagogy and to exploring and evaluating emerging technologies and creative approaches to teaching and learning, we invite applications in the following areas:
- Open Educational Resources (OERs)
- Extended Reality (XR)
- Equity & Access
All members of the regular Notre Dame faculty are eligible to apply for support through this competition. Successful applicants will work collaboratively with the ODL and/or TLT to assess the learning efficacy of the implementation/pilot and share those results in some public format to be mutually agreed (including potentially a blog post, working paper, interview, or feature story to be posted on the ND Learning website and/or shared through other channels).
The Teaching and Learning Technologies team in OIT invites applications from Notre Dame faculty who want to improve course material affordability and to create engaging learning experiences for students using only freely accessible, openly licensed learning materials.
Selected participants will receive an Innovation Grant in the amount of $3000. In addition to the monetary award, the Teaching & Learning Technologies (TLT) team, in collaboration with Hesburgh Library and Notre Dame Learning, will provide selected participants with assistance in course redesign, course material curation, technical integration of technology tools into Canvas courses, and ongoing support throughout the duration of the study.
Open educational resources have several potential benefits for faculty and students:
- Faculty are able to customize their course materials to fit the unique needs of their students, increasing their opportunities for pedagogical innovation.
- The total cost of education is lowered for students, while equitable access to learning materials is increased.
Participants will help us evaluate OER tools and resources, in order to assess the degree to which these resources:
- Save faculty time in course design and preparation.
- Increase the ability to customize courses.
- Provide students with immediate access to course materials at the start of the semester.
- Reduce overall educational costs to students.
- Integrate well with the larger educational technology footprint at Notre Dame.
Timeline
- Deadline – May 15, 2023
- Selection of participants – Summer 2023
- Planning, curation, course building – Fall 2023
- OER transformed course offered and feedback collected – Spring or Fall 2024
Application Process
This opportunity is open to all members of the regular Notre Dame faculty. Applicants may submit on behalf of other faculty and faculty teams. Applications should be submitted using the Digital Learning Sprints 2023 Application Form. The deadline for submissions is May 15, 2023. Please contact Steve Varela at svarela3@nd.edu with any questions related to this call for participation.
Extended Reality (XR) is an emerging umbrella term for all the immersive technologies. The ones we already have today include augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR), plus those that are still to be created. The Office of Digital Learning welcomes applications for Extended Reality Digital Learning Sprints to be completed between May and Dec 2023. Successful applicants will receive seed funding up to $5,000 and/or support from the learning design and academic media specialists in the Office of Digital Learning to develop a XR learning experience for Fall 2023 or Spring 2024.
We are looking for a small number of committed collaborators who
- Are interested in creating a XR video learning experience;
- Would like to explore the use of extended reality in a classroom setting;
- Have a great idea relating to virtual reality that isn’t listed here.
Timeline
- Application Deadline – May 15
- Applicants Notified – May 28
- Project Kick Off – June 1
Application Process
This opportunity is open to all members of the regular Notre Dame faculty. Applicants may submit on behalf of other faculty and faculty teams. Applications should be submitted using the Digital Learning Sprints 2023 Application Form. The deadline for submissions is May 15, 2023. Please contact online@nd.edu with any questions relating to the Extended Reality Digital Learning Sprints.
Criteria for Selection
Submissions will be assessed per the following criteria:
- Clarity of idea or problem to be explored
- Availability during between May – December 2023
- Originality / creativity of idea or methodology
- Potential impact
- Want to increase equity and access in their course or program through a digital learning implementation;
- Are interested in developing a learning experience designed to address equity and access in higher education;
- Would like to develop a project that is informed by inclusive design and design justice or;
- Have a great idea for a project that isn’t listed above.
- Application Deadline – May 15
- Applicants Notified – May 28
- Project Kick Off – June 1
- Clarity of idea or problem to be explored
- Availability of applicant during June – August 2023
- Originality / creativity of idea or methodology
- Potential impact
Call for Proposals: Major Project Support
Notre Dame Learning regularly calls for proposals for major projects that support academic unit or institutional goals related to teaching and learning. The call will be announced via email and appear here when active.
Prochaska Fund
The Joe and Gina Prochaska Family Endowment for Excellence funds faculty participation in teaching development activities such as a Lilly Conference on College and University Teaching and Learning; Diversity, Learning, and Student Success conference (AAC&U); Transforming STEM Higher Education (AAC&U); or Wakonse Conference on College Teaching. Kennesaw State University maintains a directory of additional conferences that may be eligible. This is a rolling grant; funding will be determined as applications are received.
“The overarching goal of this Fund is to make resources available to improve faculty members’ communication, presentation, and teaching skills, thereby helping hone, improve and enhance their pedagogy in the classroom. Specifically, funds will be used to support and aid faculty in learning about and using new instructional technologies and formats, and/or supporting faculty in attending conferences and workshops focused on pedagogy in their respective disciplines. Where appropriate, this could also include one-on-one coaching for faculty from qualified experts.”
Joe and Gina Prochaska Family Endowment for Excellence Proposal Expectations and Process:
Funding recipients will be expected to:
- Participate in the approved teaching development activity.
- Participate in a meeting with ND Learning Kaneb Center staff to explore possible changes to their teaching practice.
- Submit a 250 to 500-word description, suitable for posting on the ND Learning web site, of the experience and how participation in the activity has impacted, or will impact, their teaching.
- Work with the Learning Research practice area to explore the possibilities for the assessment of the impact of any adopted changes on student learning.
Proposals including a description of the proposed activity and estimated budget should be sent to learning@nd.edu.
Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the available funds are encumbered.
Funding of other activities with a focus on development of pedagogical expertise or communication/teaching skills will also be considered.