Tufts Educational Technology Services (ETS) is excited to offer the Educational Technology Innovation Seed Grant, a partnership opportunity for instructors. The goal of the Innovation Seed Grant is to provide the financial, resource, and planning support necessary for the implementation of new and creative technology-based enhancements that improve the learning experience of students at Tufts.
We encourage instructors, either individually or in teams, to submit grant proposals on integrating educational technology in ways which support:
- Creating a more equitable and inclusive classroom environment (e.g. by incorporating universal design and accessibility)
- Fostering student engagement with course materials in new and creative ways beyond what is possible with current Tufts-supported technologies
- Enabling new pedagogical approaches
- Promoting student peer engagement
- Developing new flipped classroom methodologies and strategies
- Exploring new and emerging technologies
- Utilizing existing Tufts technologies in new, innovative ways
What will the instructor provide?
Instructors who receive an Innovation Seed Grant should be prepared to devote time to meeting with ETS in order to discuss, plan, design, and implement the project. Setting milestones, sending timely responses to ETS inquiries, and participating in synchronous design meetings will be vital to project success.
Toward the conclusion of the grant-funded project instructors will be asked to participate in a short assessment of its outcomes. This may include but not be limited to an instructor and student survey.
We will also ask instructors to help write a short reflection & critique article for the ETS website in order to share with the Tufts community the successes, constraints, and challenges of the project, along with the overall experience and outcomes.
What will Tufts Educational Technology Services provide?
ETS’ team of academic technology/pedagogy experts will provide dedicated, one-on-one, support to instructors who are recipients of an Innovation Seed Grant. Your support team will help you plan the design, implementation, and evaluation of the technology integration for your project.
In support of your project, ETS staff can facilitate:
- Software/hardware evaluation and purchase
- Student employee recruitment and training
- Management of other design and development needs (e.g. media production, software development/customization, etc.)
- Funding from $500-$10,000 per grant
When should I submit a proposal?
The Educational Technology Innovation Seed Grant has a rolling submission date. You are welcome to submit a proposal at any time, and project approval will be based on merit and current ETS workload capacity. If you are proposing the development of a new technology integration for an upcoming semester, we ask that you submit the proposal at least one month before its initial use.
How do I apply for the grant?
Applications are accepted via a Qualtrics form. With this form we will ask for a brief description of your project and your perceived needs. Please be prepared to provide an overall description of your idea, including:
- How you believe this technology will improve the student experience and course learning outcomes
- Why current Tufts-supported technology options do not adequately meet the needs of students
- An estimated budget for any hardware or software purchases
- How you define the overall success of the project
- How you imagine measuring the metrics of success
- Name and date(s) of the course(s) this will apply to, and the estimated number of students.
To complete and submit an application access the Qualtrics form here.
How will applications be reviewed?
Applications will be evaluated by an ETS committee for acceptance via a scoring rubric which will measure:
- A feasible timeline for design and implementation, including your own time on task to ensure successful implementation
- Likelihood of positive student impact
- Budget requirements
- Scalability of the implementation (e.g. can other courses or programs benefit from this?)
- Likelihood of sustainability of the project should it prove successful. (e.g. cost of ongoing support).
We look forward to reviewing your grant proposals for an Educational Technology Innovation Seed Grant! Please contact edtech@tufts.edu with any questions about the grant, and the application process.