Technology grant program fosters teaching innovation

Thoughtfully incorporating technology into teaching can enrich students’ learning experiences by giving them new ways to engage with content, deepening their interactions with one another, or offering them learning opportunities that otherwise would be infeasible due to cost or logistical constraints. As students build their digital literacy in technology-rich learning environments, they also gain transferable skills and prepare for future roles.  

At Virginia Tech, Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS) facilitates this work by fostering digital fluency, partnering with faculty to design and develop successful digital learning experiences, and creating technology-enhanced learning environments for flexible and online learning. Through the Technology-Enhanced Learning Grant program, TLOS partners with faculty to promote and recognize innovation. These grants, which support the design, implementation, and evaluation of new approaches to teaching with technology in support of for-credit courses, are awarded to faculty who are pushing the boundaries of digital learning in their fields and advancing Virginia Tech’s culture of pedagogical and technological innovation.

“Technology-Enhanced Learning Grants accelerate and refine some of the cutting-edge ideas faculty are already incorporating into their teaching,” said Dale Pike, associate vice provost for technology-enhanced learning. “Although each of these grants is small, they help TLOS identify tools and practices that might be ready for an expanded pilot across multiple departments or even campuswide implementation. The investment we make in emerging technologies elevates the entire digital experience for our students and faculty.”

The Technology-Enhanced Learning Grant recipients represent six academic programs in five  colleges. Each of these faculty members used their award to pursue a unique solution to a complex teaching problem. 

Brewing process simulation

In Food Science and Technology 4014, Applied Brewing Science and Engineering, students may only have the chance to operate brewing equipment twice during the semester. However, industry partners expect that students who complete the fermentation option of the food science and technology major will be able to run equipment and conduct testing proficiently. Herbert Bruce, assistant professor of practice in food science and technology, sought a way to simulate the brewing process so students could increase their skill and confidence when operating brewing equipment. Building on Bruce’s proposal, TLOS media developers created an interactive simulation that allows students unlimited opportunities to experiment with the virtual brewing equipment. The new tool will be piloted with students during the spring semester of 2025.

“The students had a few times to actually work on the equipment that they’re using. So what I’m looking for is to give them practice in it,” Bruce said. I remember my first meeting at TLOS, I explained my problem, and we came up with a virtual solution, which is going to be perfect for what I need.”

Teaching point group symmetry using a generative AI tutor

Teaching the skill of assigning point group symmetry in 4000-level physical inorganic chemistry typically requires 30 to 60 minutes of individual instruction per student. Although students are provided with an algorithm to follow to learn the skill independently, they often struggle to identify their errors. Gordon Yee, associate professor in chemistry, working with recent chemistry graduate Rosemary Thompson ’24, explored prompt design with generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to see if AI could adopt a tutor-persona capable of accurately helping students identify their mistakes while guiding them to the correct answer. Rosemary presented a poster on this project at the Fall American Chemical Society national convention.

“The breakthrough occurred when we realized that it was possible to prime the engine with a PDF file,” Yee said, “and once we did that, the reliability improved tremendously.” Yee is planning to gather student feedback to inform future use of this tool.

Teaching cross-cultural musicality with virtual world instruments

Future music educators need exposure to diverse cultural instruments from around the world. The challenge is these instruments are expensive and difficult to find. Providing virtual instruments on iPads allows students to perform as a virtual music instrument ensemble. In this project, Hyesoo Yoo, associate professor of music education, sought to improve students’ cross-cultural perspectives on musicality and their technology literacy by playing various virtual world musical instruments. Yoo hopes to expand this work by implementing an Immersive Technology Integrated in Music program.

“We cannot bring all the authentic instruments from different countries into the classroom because it’s really expensive,” said Yoo. “TLOS helped us purchase the equipment we needed to allow students to play diverse cultural instruments and to digitally mix the audio.”

Teaching rhetoric with hip-hop technologies

In introductory writing courses, students encounter a wide variety of media to read, watch, listen to, and analyze, but they have fewer creative ways to compose multimodally. Defining a course theme engages students in the writing process and results in improved writing skills. Spencer Bennington, instructor in English, wanted to find a way to increase engagement in his first-year writing course. He partnered with librarian Craig Arthur and the VT Digging in the Crates Community Engagement Fellows to develop a themed section of the course focused on the interconnectedness of anti-racist and political texts in and around the hip-hop genre. For this course, grant funds helped provide technology such as drum machines, samplers, and turntables as well as the modern software equivalents of these analog tools so that students could chop and “remix” audio essays. Students learned the basics of sound engineering alongside more traditional writing pedagogy with the expectation that they will be able to compose multimedia in digital environments for a wide array of public, academic, and professional audiences.

“Engagement is always a problem,” Bennington said, “so any way of making learning more interactive and any way of allowing students to get their hands on technology that they may not have had access to before is a win in my book.”

Teaching building codes through XR escape rooms

Interior design students need to produce work demonstrating the ability to apply knowledge of building and fire protection codes, laws, and standards. However, the codes are entirely text, without visuals, and the textbooks do not always reflect recent building code changes. As a solution, Alp Tural, assistant professor in the interior design program, wanted to work on creating educational escape rooms in mixed reality as an experiential pedagogical tool. By offering an immersive means to learn for sophomore-level interior design students, this project aimed to improve students’ knowledge retention and flexible learning.

“Retaining information on building codes is not easy. So that’s why I started thinking about incorporating VR [virtual reality] and extended reality environments to help students better understand and retain code-related concepts,” Tural said. “TLOS provided constructive feedback, especially with regards to making those spaces accessible.” 

Scaling peer instruction in large programming courses

How can teaching in a 300-student classroom achieve the same learning outcomes as one with just 30 students? Yan Chen, assistant professor in computer science, wanted to use AI to help instructors orchestrate in-class exercises, such as coding and group discussion, in large programming courses. Using an app that leverages AI, instructors generated tasks such as code examples, formed groups, and identified critical issues such as common code errors. Through continuously analyzing class-wide performance, AI directed instructors’ attention to the students who were struggling and student groups who were not working together. The app also assisted the instructors in co-creating feedback through a structured process.

“With this AI-powered scaffolding,” Chen said, “our goal is to empower instructors with tools to comprehend and cater to the myriad mental models of students in large-scale classrooms, thereby elevating the learning journey and its outcomes.”

From idea to reality

“The seed funds offered by these grants can mean the difference between an idea that remains an idea and one that makes a real impact,” said Quinn Warnick, assistant vice provost for technology-enhanced learning. “TLOS loves partnering with faculty who are passionate about innovating in the classroom and just need some additional resources to realize their vision. Our Technology-Enhanced Learning Grants also help us keep a pulse on instructors’ experiences adopting new technologies, gather student feedback about these technologies, and consider how to broaden the reach of those with the most promise.”

TLOS invites proposals for Technology-Enhanced Learning Grants each fall, with the review of proposals taking place on a rolling basis through the deadline for submissions. Awards are typically announced beginning in late October. Grant awards are normally capped at $5,000. Questions about the application process can be directed to tlos@vt.edu.