March 18, 2008
Grants awarded to 10 instructional technology projects
The Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT) unit of Purdue's information technology department announced the recipients of its annual digital content development grants at the TLT conference on March 5.
TLT's Instructional Development Center (IDC) awarded $141,800 to support 10 projects this year.
The grant evaluation team awarded grants to:
* Lori Snyder, assistant professor of agronomy. She received two grants and will use one for preparing fundamental agricultural resource materials, penned iFARM, and the second for developing CROPVIEW, comprehensive resources for observing plants in a visual interactive enhanced window.
* Maria Cooks, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures. Cooks will develop an online Spanish tutor, a self-assessed pronunciation primer with biofeedback.
* John Sundquist, associate professor of foreign languages and literatures. Sundquist plans to create a virtual German-language learning environment with his funds.
* Scott Schaffer, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction. He will use videoconferencing technology to promote global learning and collaboration in the classroom.
* William Watson, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction. Along with education majors in his educational technology class, Watson will design a virtual learning environment.
* Terry Burton, associate professor of technical graphics. Burton will help his students learn the cogent AIR desktop application.
* James Mohler, associate professor of computer graphics technology and assistant department head. Mohler will use his grant to develop a computer-based spatial assessment of intervention software for learners with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
* Yung-Hsiang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering. Yung-Hsiang will work with the IDCÕs educational technologists to develop on-demand lecture videos and interactive laboratories for hybrid content delivery.
* Carrie Wachter, assistant professor of educational studies. Wachter is conducting a study on the recognition of suicide behavior in students. Her work with the IDC will attempt to meet students' training needs through serious games.
Faculty members from the Teaching Academy, the director of the Center for Instructional Excellence, and TLT's educational technologists selected the 10 projects from 32 grant applications.
The goal of the IDC's annual grant program is to help implement projects that increase instructional effectiveness through the use of digital and online technology. The center's educational technologists and student interns assist grant recipients by transforming subject-matter content into educational technology.
Joe Conte, manager of the IDC's consulting and training group, says, "The grants pay for faculty release time, graduate student salaries, and interns who work on developing projects."