e-Learning Grants

Faculty e-Learning Grants

The Purpose of Grants:

Support University of Maine System faculty to explore, test, experiment with and identify, new and emerging technology tools for teaching and learning.

The lessons learned in project findings supported by this award will be disseminated across all campuses of the University of Maine System.

Number and Amount of 2017 Awards

Approximately 10-12 projects will be awarded. Strong proposals that provide adequate rationale will receive up to $2000 per project.

Faculty financial awards are intended to be flexible in order to encourage strong proposals in line with the purpose of this grant. Submissions must provide a rationale that specifically addresses submission Evaluation Criteria. Project budgets can include costs related to the outlay of faculty time and effort to conduct the project and disseminate project findings, as well as the cost to procure hardware, software, and/or other project related expenses not already available through system-wide resources. Project budgets must be clearly justified by the rationale of the proposal.

• Eligibility: UMS faculty (regular full-time or part-time and adjunct) teaching in Fall 2017, Winter 2017, Spring 2018 and/or Summer 2018.
• The course offering related to the submission must be approved to run in any of the semesters indicated above.
• Both undergraduate and graduate level course projects will be considered.

Grant Proposal Submission deadline was May 1, 2017.

• Increase quality in online and hybrid/blended instruction and educational technology integrations through faculty initiated innovation in course design and professional development.
• Increase UMS cross-campus collaboration by facilitating the sharing of lessons learned in implementing new technologies that show promise to improve teaching and learning experiences for faculty and students. 
• Promote faculty partnerships with e-learning/instructional designers, Academic Librarians and IT. Instructional designers and e-learning specialists from each campus and at University College are resources to faculty for project implementation. Campus library staff, as well as University College Off-campus librarians, are available to faculty to assist with distance academic support services and US:IT will assist in conducting the procurement process.

2017 RFP themes/focus: Strong projects will demonstrate the following:

• • Identify and promote the effective use of technology tools that support successful teaching and learning experiences in online and blended/hybrid (broadly defined) environments for faculty and students throughout the University of Maine System,
  • Collaboration across campuses, colleges and or departments within the UMS, for example, details of how the project will partner with multiple campuses, and/or instructional designers, e-learning specialists, academic librarians and IT would strengthen this theme.
  • Strategic design to enhance student engagement,
  • Application of adult learning theory;
    • For examples of adult learning theory see TEAL: Adult Learning Theories
  • Incorporation of recognized quality standards in online course design;
    • For examples of quality standards for online courses see Blackboard’s Exemplary Course Program & Rubricand the Online Learning Consortium Quality Scorecard. Your area of study may also have online course quality standards.
• • Promise for enhancing learner-centric methods through the use of emerging e-learning tools, open educational resources, and/or leveraging existing UMS-provided technologies.

Evaluation Criteria

• Does the proposal identify and promote the effective and accessible use (specifically where accessibility is in the context of a disability and generally as related to usability) of educational technologies that support successful teaching and learning experiences in online and blended/hybrid environments for faculty and students?
• Does the proposal address one or more of the RFP themes?
• What is the proposal’s potential to innovate and/or improve the quality of online and hybrid/blended teaching and learning within the UMS?
• To what degree does the proposal incorporate industry recognized standards of quality in online instruction? (Successful proposals will provide an explanation of the industry standards drawn on in the design of the project. Examples of standards are linked in the Themes section above.)
• Does the proposal include a valid project assessment plan? A valid plan will be directly tied to the learning outcomes or goals of the project/course.
• What is the potential for adaptation/application within departments, the campus or the system if successful?
• Does the proposal include a budget rationale that adequately supports the project?
• Does the project demonstrate effective integration of universal design methods in online teaching and learning?*

2015 E-Learning Technology Faculty Grant Awards