2012 IDEA Grants RFP Released

On April 24, DELTA will release the Request for Proposal (RFP) for this year’s cycle of IDEA grants (2012-2013). DELTA’s Innovation in Distributed Education Applications (IDEA) Grants are a competitive awards program that promotes innovation in the use of instructional technology in online distance teaching and learning, builds expertise in this area, and enhances the technology-rich learning environment at North Carolina State University. DELTA provides assistance in the form of personnel hours and funds to faculty and staff.

Grants are available in two categories: Course grants and Exploratory grants. Course Grants focus on developing instructional materials for distance education courses. These courses can be delivered through combinations of synchronous and asynchronous methods. The Course Grants can support (1) the development of new distance education courses or (2) the creation of materials for the expansion or substantial revision of an established course.

Exploratory Grants have a dual focus. One, they support the exploration of targeted emerging technologies and their application to teaching and learning, and two, they support the exploration of unique challenges in presenting, delivering, or engaging the students in learning. The investigation can take place in the context of a course, but the purpose of the project is not to develop or substantially revise an entire course. The central outcomes of an Exploratory Grant are to inform faculty and staff about the applicability of a targeted technology for teaching and learning, particularly in a distance learning environment or to find or create a solution to a challenge, which can be used more broadly to solve similar challenges on the university campus.

Detailed program information is available online at https://delta.ncsu.edu/ideagrants. Consultation requests and any questions can be sent to ideagrants@lists.ncsu.edu. The application deadline is May 24, 2012.