Teaching Advancement and Research Grants in Educational Technology (TARGET)
About
Pacific University is committed to encouraging the purposeful integration of technology into teaching and learning and to the exploration of course and program delivery in online and blended formats. To encourage innovation in these domains, the Center for Educational Technology, the Provost’s Office, and the Library created the Teaching Advancement and Research Grants in Educational Technology (TARGET) program in the fall of 2012. The program provides structured support, funds technology costs, and offers stipends or course release time for projects that pilot or develop a compelling use of online technology to deliver or enhance courses across the University.
For a full list of requirements and expectations of the grants, please see the apply tab.
TARGET grants have been awarded each year since 2013. Successful projects ranged from an innovative undergraduate Civic Engagement course in Art and Environmental Studies that will use online technologies to tie together fieldwork, community-based projects, and classroom activities to an online professional course on teaching and learning in higher education that is a collaborative project between faculty in the Colleges of Education and Health Professions. For a full list of previous TARGET awards, see Previous TARGET Awards tab.
Target 2022
How to Apply
Pacific University is committed to advancing the purposeful integration of digital technology into teaching and learning to improve student learning, increase access to the university, and further academic inquiry. To help reach these goals, the Provost’s Office, the Libraries, and the Center for Educational Technology and Curricular Innovation are soliciting proposals from Pacific faculty interested in using digital and online technologies to improve or redesign existing courses.
Goals
The goals of TARGET 2022 are:
To understand how different physical and digital learning environments, emerging technologies, and e-learning methods may be best employed to increase student learning and engagement.
- To understand how different physical and digital learning environments, emerging technologies, and e-learning methods may be best employed to increase student learning and engagement.
- To identify how online technologies and e-learning methods can increase access to the University and its resources.
- To foster faculty, student, and community engagement in the new modes of scholarship and inquiry that are afforded by digital and online technologies.
- To identify e-learning strategies and methods that will have broad impact on curricula and programs in a department, school, college, or the University as a whole.
Themes
Based on these goals, we will be looking for projects that:
- Improve student engagement and learning
- We encourage projects that increase student engagement and/or improve learning outcomes in face-to-face classes by the thoughtful integration of online technologies or technology-enabled pedagogic strategies; adopt or develop teaching and learning strategies or methods in blended or online classes that improve engagement and/or outcomes; explore new technologies to deliver engaging online experiences for students; develop new fully online or blended classes that meet educational, program, or institutional needs.
- Increase access and broaden the reach of the University
- We also encourage projects that use online technologies to facilitate access to Pacific University by engaging new constituencies of students (particularly for groups traditionally underserved by Pacific), by helping existing students more easily access Pacific courses or resources, and by reaching out to alumni and professionals.
- Explore new modes of scholarship and inquiry
- We also encourage projects that use virtual and digital environments for faculty and students to re-imagine the who, what, when, where, and how of traditional courses. Of special interest are projects that: allow students to engage with the community beyond Pacific; explore, use, or develop open educational resources; gamify learning experiences; or engage in multimodal composition or other projects that increase digital literacy.
An over-arching theme is the “impact factor.” We will be selecting projects that promise to have the greatest impact on other courses, programs, or curricula. We are particularly interested in projects that will act as a pilot or first step for a larger initiative, model an effective or innovative e-learning method or strategy that can be adopted by other courses within that discipline or across disciplines, or that demonstrate the feasibility of a particular e-learning method or strategy.
We also encourage proposals that utilize resources freely available to Pacific faculty, staff, and students. We are particularly interested in seeing projects that use the capabilities of Moodle, Boxer Apps, WordPress, and other software and resources currently supported by Pacific University.
All proposals will be considered, but preference will be given to those that address one or more of these themes and considerations.
Eligibility
All Pacific University faculty are eligible to participate in the TARGET program. Priority, however, will be given to those who have not received a TARGET award in the past three years.
Proposal and Selection Process
A review committee comprised of the Director for Educational Technology and Curricular Innovation, a faculty representative from the Library, and faculty representatives from the Teaching and Learning with Technology Advisory Group will recommend proposals for final approval by the President’s Cabinet. Successful proposals will:
- Demonstrate the significance of the projects’ contribution to student learning or engagement.
- Have potential to affect or inform an entire curriculum (either at the departmental, school, or college level) multiple curricula, or across disciplines.
- Have a feasible timeline and budget.
- Provide evidence of departmental and college support.
A complete proposal will include:
- project description that includes the course or curricula that will be affected, the learning outcomes that are expected from the project, the specific activities or learning processes for the project, who is included on the project team, the potential for broad impact, and an assessment and evaluation plan. The description should be no longer than 5 pages.
- A timetable and budget that will include both hardware and software requirements and any additional support that might be necessary. The budget and timetable should be no longer than 3 pages.
- Evidence of institutional support must include a letter of support from the head or director of each PI’s home department or school and a completed project support form from each PI’s College.
Completed proposals should be e-mailed to the Center for Educational Technology and Curricular Innovation (edtech@pacificu.edu) by April 15, 2022 (Deadline Extended).
Institutional Support for Accepted Projects
Accepted projects will receive:
- Instructional design support from the Center for Educational Technology and Curricular Innovation.
- Up to $3,000 for technology or software costs related to the project.
- Up to $5,000 per project that can be applied to either release time or stipends for project participants. Individual stipend awards will not exceed $3,000, and release time is contingent upon approval by Department, School, and Dean.
- The opportunity to attend the Summer Online and Blended Learning Retreat.
Awards will be disbursed during the 2022/2023 fiscal year. Awards, therefore, cannot be applied to any expenses that will arise after June 30, 2023.
Timeline
- Proposal shared with Department Chair or Program Director by March 18, 2022.
- Proposal shared with College Dean by April 7, 2022.
- Proposal Submitted to CETCI April 15, 2022 (Deadline Extended).
- Awards announced in May, 2022.
- Course/program development occurs during Spring and Summer 2022.
- Courses delivered during Summer/Fall 2022 and Winter/Spring 2023.
Expectations and Reporting
Each TARGET participant is expected to work with their department to ensure that their project is aligned and coordinated with other e-learning efforts. In addition, TARGET participants must also:
- Meet individually with the Director of Educational Technology and Curricular Innovation or other Center staff to identify specific goals and objectives for the project, define a detailed assessment and evaluation plan, and establish project milestones.
- Attend regular small group meetings with the Director of Educational Technology, other TARGET participants, and members of the TLT committee to address issues of common concern and to engage and learn from other Participants and projects.
- Agree to present their results at the OTEN annual conference or other Pacific University sponsored event with approval of the Director of Educational Technology and Curricular Innovation within two academic years of accepting the grant.
- Submit a report of the findings to the Director of Educational Technology and Curricular within one academic year of receiving the grant.
- Participants are also encouraged to present or publish the results of their project in academic journals and conferences.