Category Archives: Tech Grants

Apply to the 2018 Summer Academic Technology Institute

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Join your Lesley faculty colleagues for an exciting, immersive professional development opportunity!

The Summer Academic Technology Institute is an opportunity for faculty to participate in a learning community across disciplines and schools engaged in an exploration of the effective uses of technology in teaching, learning, collaboration, and scholarship. This event is sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Center for Teaching, Learning and Scholarship, and organized by eLearning and Instructional Support.

All faculty — core or adjunct — are welcome to apply.  Faculty who consider themselves basic technology users or who do not currently use technology in their teaching are especially encouraged to apply. Faculty selected through the application process receive a $500 stipend for participation in the institute. Applications are prioritized to select faculty who have not participated in past institutes, depending on demand.

The program features a 4-day institute in June, held at University Hall. Faculty engage in a rich mix of dialogue, hands-on practice, project-based learning, reflection, and application to explore innovative ways technology can be integrated into their teaching.

Examples of workshops from past Summer Tech Institutes include:

  • Putting Technology in Its Place
  • Designing Lessons for Engagement
  • OneDrive: Collaboration Made Easy
  • The Student Experience in Online Learning (panel)
  • Designing and Facilitating Online Discussions
  • Introducing Media Into Your Blackboard Course

Expectations for Summer Academic Technology Institute Participants

Faculty are expected to:

  • Participate in all four days (~9am to 4 pm) of the institute: June 4-7, 2018
  • Develop a technology-enhanced learning activity for a 2018-2019 course
  • Attend or participate in at least one professional development outreach activity during the 2017-18 school year

Important Dates

March 30, 2018 Applications Due
April 20, 2018 Participants Announced
June 4-7, 2018 Summer Institute


Application

Coming Soon

Academic Technology Innovation Grant Awards Spring 2018

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Lesley professors Jo-Anne Hart and Matt Nash were recently awarded Lesley University Academic Technology Innovation Grants. Jo-Anne’s grant award will supplement the cost of student enrollment in a virtual exchange with students in the Middle East. Matt’s award will fund the purchase of professional audio production resources that include a sound effects library and a Mackie-controlled DAW audio mixer. 

This Spring, twenty undergraduate students enrolled in Jo-Anne Hart’s Modern Middle East History course will engage in an 8-week virtual cross-cultural exchange with English-speaking undergrad students in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Using the virtual exchange tool Soliya, each Lesley student will be enrolled into an online discussion group of about 12-15 other students. This technology platform allows students to explore how their identity impacts the way they view and approach the world, as well as how they communicate with those with different perspectives.

Screenshot of Soliya Exchange Portal

Soliya Exchange Portal from https://www.soliya.net

According to Jo-Anne, the live discussion forum, as a complement to the face-to-face course sessions, will “help bring the Middle East alive in important ways for my students. I will build my syllabus around their direct, active, learning experiences. In class I will have the Lesley students report back to us about their virtual exchanges each week. Students will keep a journal and write a reflection about their experiences and I will ask my students to draw on their exchange learning as part of their analyses in their exams.” 

Matt Nash, Chair of Digital Filmmaking, was awarded a grant for the purchase of a Mackie-controlled DAW professional audio mixer and a Hollywood Sound Effects audio library. The pairing of the hardware with the audio library will provide a full set of audio resources for faculty and students at all four levels of the Digital Filmmaking and Animation and Motion Media programs. The audio libraries will be installed on all computers in the LUCAD labs and available for students to use in their projects. The mixer will be permanently installed in the sound booth or editing workstation in Lunder 017 (or, alternatively, made available as a checkout item for students through Lockup).  

If you are interested in applying for an Academic Technology Innovation Grant or you would like more information on grant qualifications, please visit the Academic Technology Innovation Grant info page or email your questions to: tech.grant@lesley.edu. 

Giving Students Access to Film Footage and 3D Models to Enhance the Studio Experience

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Matt Nash, Chair of Video and Animation at the College of Art and Design, received a $2,500 Academic Technology Innovation Grant in Fall 2016 for the purchase of professionally-produced data assets for students to use in Digital Filmmaking and Animation and Motion Media courses. The data assets are raw film footage and 3D models, which will be edited and manipulated by students in courses that focus on concepts of 3D animation, editing theory, advanced technical proficiency, audio design and other aspects of post-production.

Two sets of digital assets were purchased through the grant: professional produced film footage ($1,050) and 3D animation models for Autodesk MAYA ($950). The grant award also includes the purchase of portable hard drives ($500), which will store the assets that will be available for check out by faculty and students.   The acquisition of these sets of video assets allows the Animation and Digital Filmmaking faculty to focus on their primary pedagogical goals without the distraction of creating and managing assets that are outside the learning outcomes.

The Teaching and Learning with Technology committee reviewed the proposal and found it aligned with the criteria for grant funding including:

  • Funding request is primarily to purchase hardware or software
  • The hardware or software represents innovative use of technology to advance teaching and learning
  • Priority is given to projects that would have a direct impact on students

If you are interested in applying for an Academic Technology Innovation Grant and would like more information, please email tech.grant@lesley.edu.

Technology Innovation Grant: Infusing iPads into EEDUC 5104: Literature for Children and Young Adults

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“Through the support of this Technology Innovation Grant I hope to further my own knowledge, improving my abilities to model effective and innovative technology integration for the practicing and prospective teachers in my courses.” Erika Dawes, Associate Professor, Literacy

Erika Dawes, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education is the most recent recipient of a Lesley University Technology Innovation Grant. The grant award will be used to purchase an iPad Pro (Wi-Fi 32GB), essential accessories and iTunes credits for purchasing apps. Access to the iPad Pro will allow Erika to test and evaluate content creation apps, prepare presentations and platforms for content exploration, as well as increase her competence with using a tablet as an instructional tool.

This spring, in her Children’s Literature course, Erika will be employing a set of 11 iPads (previously purchased for the GSOE with a Verizon grant) with the goal of trying to understand how this type of technology can improve the learning experience of teacher candidates while simultaneously serving as models for ways they could incorporate technology into their teaching methods and curriculum design.

EEDUC 5104: Literature for Children and Young Adults is a survey course focusing on resources for locating and evaluating literature across a wide range of genres and serves as an introduction to teaching strategies. Erika’s objective is for her students to become familiar with a range of content creation apps that can be used to encourage, facilitate, and share responses to literature and text sets. Her other goal is for the students to articulate an orientation toward the integration of technology in curriculum design and instruction. By incorporating the use of iPads, Erika plans to assess “whether a tech tool exists that would improve either [her] delivery of content or the students’ opportunity to process and innovate on content.” As part of this assessment Erika will be administering a pre and post course survey where she will ask the practicing and prospective teachers about the potential effectiveness of tech tool integrations. Lesley University sets aside dedicated funding each year to support faculty who are integrating technology into their academic work. The Technology Innovation Grant is open to Lesley University faculty and the application deadline is rolling. For details on grant program and the application process, contact eLearning and Instructional Support at elis@lesley.edu.