Grants Information
Overview | Grants | Eligibility | Support | Resources
Overview
Effective utilization of technology for teaching and learning requires not just the ability to use a technological tool, but occurs by fusing technology, effective pedagogies, teaching strategies, assessment and analysis, wisely. Funded grants will contain evidence of collaboration, exploration, analysis, continuous improvement, and broad sharing and dissemination of resources, knowledge and effective practices in e-learning.
The five OLN Regional Centers will administer this grant program. They will provide networked learning opportunities by offering regional events, professional development, and web-based resources. OLN will enable statewide networking among our five regional centers; ensure public sharing of knowledge and resources through statewide events, websites, webinars, and listservs; and showcase the excellence and successes within the communities.
Outcomes include technological and pedagogical innovations, digital resources that increase student success, up to 200 shared digital resources available to all educators, at least 25 reVisioned courses (including high quality fully online courses and large enrollment courses), advancements in utilizing student success plans, and creating efficiencies in resource utilization.
Please review OLN LCI Goals and LCI Core Philosophies for supplementary information that further explains the goals of this initiative.
What Grants are Available in this RFP?
There are three types of grants:
Innovation Grants - These grants provide an environment for collaborative experimentation with a purpose. The core purpose of these grants is members’ professional development: specifically in gaining proficiencies with learning technology/ies. Learning Communities will utilize technology/ies with the ultimate purpose of creating improved learning environments for students. A wide variety of projects will be selected, ranging from community initiatives that may be more exploratory in nature to pedagogy initiatives that consider both the process and the outcomes of student learning.
Innovation grants are designed for those who are just beginning to integrate technology into their work and to date, have not yet had the opportunity, time, collegial support, or resources to do so. These grants are also for those who have already worked with technologies and now want to move even further out onto the edge of possibilities.
The CORC will award up to five (5) $6,000 Innovation Grants.
Innovation [Continuing] Grants - These grants are for learning communities that wish to continue their progress from the 2006-2007 Grant funds. The purpose of these grants is continue and extent the work a current community is already doing. The processes and criteria for the Innovation grants apply to Continuing grants.
The CORC will award up to three (3) $2,000 Innovation [Continuing] Grants.
Please review RFP Resources for supplementary information that further explains innovation grants.reVisioning Grant - These learning community grants are designed to support the integration of established/emerging technologies and established/emerging pedagogies into existing courses. The REVISIONING process must result in one of these four course transformations:
- a face to face course becomes technology enhanced*
- a face to face course becomes a fully online course,
- a hybrid** course becomes a fully online course, or
- a technology enhanced* course becomes a fully online*** course.
- an online course becomes a significantly more technologically/pedagogically robust
*technology-enhanced = a primarily f2f course with integrated technology Note: institutions may have existing definitions of course types. Please provide the definitions/assumptions you will use in your proposal. |
reVisioning Grants are for
- improving existing courses through a collaborative team REVISIONING process,
- improving student success by integrating learning/teaching strategies and pedagogies that optimize the technologies used.
- defining student learning goals and outcomes assessment practices, and implementing and assessing them,
- demonstrating effective use of a rigorous standard for ensuring course quality,
- increasing effectiveness and efficiency of resource use and/or decreasing cost of course, and
- increasing enrollments by 20% in large enrollment courses (top 10% largest by enrollees)
OLN Regional Centers will give preference to supporting learning communities using reVisioning to improve large enrollment courses.
The CORC will award up to five (5) $10,000 ReVisioning Grants.
Please review RFP Resources for supplementary information that further explains reVisioning grants.
Application Eligibility
Proposals will be accepted from OLN member institutions.
Eligible learning communities can come from Ohio public or private not-for-profit 2-year or 4-year universities and colleges and their partnering organizations, if any. Partnering organizations can include community agencies, PK -12 schools, hospitals, social service agencies, alternative content providers (e.g. museums, zoos, historical centers), businesses, and not-for-profit agencies.
Projects previously funded are eligible for these grants, however, the intent is to expand the reach of the OLN by involving a wider array of individuals, institutions, and partners. Those who have never applied for an OLN Emerging Needs Grant, a Technology Innovations Course Redesign Grant, or Learning Community Grant are especially encouraged to do so.
Support & Match Requirement
Without the support of the college, university or school, the members of professional learning communities are likely to work in isolation – which is counter to the goals of the LCI. The work of each learning community must align with the goals and mission of their home institution/s or organizations. Each is to provide a supportive environment for the pioneering work expected from each learning community.
No less than 35 percent of grant award is to be matched by the institution. This match can be cash or in-kind services. Examples of match contributions include, but are not limited to:
- Registration, travel and/or accommodations, as necessary, for learning community members to attend LCI-related, Ohio Commons for Digital Education Conference (March 2008) and other events; give presentations about their learning community work, or visit an Ohio campus for consulting and/or resource sharing.
- IT, technology, software, peripherals that support PLC work and professional development of members
- Re-allocate/support time for the learning community facilitator to
provide leadership for the project.
