The Extended Reality Initiative (XRI) Faculty Fellows Grant provides faculty with technical and instructional support and funds to implement Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) assignments/projects/activities into their course(s) that are designed to improve student learning and success at IU.
The purpose of the Extended Reality Initiative (XRI) Faculty Fellows Grant is to introduce extended reality technologies to faculty and inspire the development and implementation of these innovative technologies into their courses. This may be done through the development of a particular AR/VR assignment, project, or activity during the semester that students will participate in and that will help fulfill a specific learning outcome(s) for the course.
A total of twelve (6 among IUPUI, IUPUC, IU Fort Wayne and 6 at IU Bloomington) fellowships of $1,000 each will be awarded in spring 2024 with the following timeline:
- Proposals for the XRI Faculty Fellowships will be due by 11:59 p.m., Friday, January 19, 2024
- Awardees will be notified whether their proposal was accepted by Friday, February 2, 2024
- Development of assignments/projects/activities will take place in spring and summer 2024, with final implementation in fall 2024
- Fellows will showcase their projects at a future IU teaching and learning event
- Fellows will submit a final report on their project by Friday, January 31, 2025
Funding for these fellowships comes from IUPUI Center for Teaching and Learning and University Information Technology Services (UITS). For more information about the initiative and the programming supported by this funding, visit the XRI website.
Support from the grant: Fellows will have consulting and development support from the:
- IUPUI Center for Teaching and Learning
- IUB Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning
- IU Center of Excellence for Women & Technology
- UITS Advanced Visualization Lab
- IUPUI University Library Virtual Reality Lab
- UITS Digital Education Programs and Initiatives
The funding awarded to each Fellow will be used to pay for:
- AR/VR development/programming services
- specific apps that would need to be purchased
- or AR/VR technology purchases needed to help complete the project
Eligibility: The XRI Faculty Fellows Grant program is open to any faculty member at IUPUI, IUPUC, IU Fort Wayne, and IU Bloomington who will be teaching during the fall 2024 semester.
Proposal requirements: Applicants will submit a proposal describing how they would like to incorporate the use of XR technologies into their fall 2024 course. Successful proposals will include the following elements:
- A detailed description of the assignment, project, or activity that will be implemented into the course using XR technologies and the specific outcomes that will be achieved by the students
- A proposed timeline of development and implementation
If their project is selected, the faculty member will then meet with the XRI Faculty Fellows Grant Team to begin planning for the development of the specific assignment, project, or activity for their course. The fellows will have spring, summer, and fall of 2024 to develop, refine, and implement their proposed projects.
Applications for the XRI Faculty Fellows Grant are due by 11:59 p.m., Friday, January 19, 2024. Awardees will be notified by Friday, February 2, 2024.
