Photo by Robert Couse-Baker.
OXFORD, Miss. – Full-time University of Mississippi faculty members are invited to submit proposals for the 2015 travel grant program offered by the UM Office of Online Design and eLearning. The grant was created to encourage the exploration of distance, online, blended or hybrid education, and instructional strategies at the university.
“This grant can assist faculty with the costs of traveling to professional conferences, meetings, or workshops where they can learn more about nontraditional educational formats,” said Anne Klingen, director of online design and eLearning.
The Office of Online Design and eLearning previously sponsored UM faculty to attend the Mississippi Creating Futures through Technology Conference, but recently decided to offer those funds for out-of-state conferences as well, Klingen said.
“It’s all about education and expanding knowledge for our faculty,” she said. “We wanted to give them opportunities to learn more about incorporating online and hybrid educational ideas into their disciplines and bringing those ideas back to Ole Miss.”
Award recipients do not have to be teaching online courses, but preference will be given to applicants who will be presenting results of research or scholarship at the conference they attend. The grant can also assist faculty members who are unable to attend a specific professional conference without financial support. The financial award caps at $1,500 for travel expenses to a proposed conference.
Several UM faculty members were awarded the travel grant in 2014, including Shennette Garrett-Scott, assistant professor of history. She attended the Sloan-C Blended Learning Conference and Workshop in Denver last July.
“I chose a conference that would help me promote effective instruction and increase student classroom performance through the use of digital collaboration in some of our most popular classes,” Garrett-Scott said. “The African American History Survey and The Experience of Black Mississippians are two courses with great potential as hybrid courses.”
“Faculty members may also be interested in a virtual conference,” said Mary Lea Moore, assistant director of online design and eLearning. “This travels grant award can go to cover the registration fee for a conference or workshop that may not require actual travel but instead may be viewed online.”
The application deadline is no later than four weeks before departure, but applicants are encouraged to submit applications as early as possible for the limited funding. Interested faculty members should visit http://www.elearning.olemiss.edu for more information. Each applicant may receive only one award for one trip per year.