The Online WNY Learning Alliance assists working adult students needing the flexibility of fully online degree options. OWL’s 6 member colleges provide holistic advisement to students from the outset of their college careers, which can include early exploration of post-degree options. This project will develop web-based orientation / training materials, and internal procedures, so that career and transfer exploration and assistance for online degree-seeking students occurs from day one of their college studies. This maximizes course alignment with goals, shortens time-to-completion, helps keep students in NY for career and/or baccalaureate degree opportunities, and contributes to regional workforce and economic development.

Our project uses a citizen science project model to engage students in science and sustainability. Students gather scientific data from their local environment and contribute to the development of a virtual map of Japanese beetles across the state. Through observations of their local environment, students examine the interconnectedness of species and climate and consider ways environmental change may alter species distributions. With assistance from the IITG, we will share and support the Beetle Project learning module and the open source code to the Citizen Science Project Template. We will provide and environment for the exchange of ideas and will generate interest in the development of other citizen science projects across SUNY by hosting a SUNY Citizen Science Conference.

Awarded Grant: $4,706 Principal Investigator: Amy Dohm, Clinton CC Students in two English Composition, ENG 101, courses will create a community partnership with local non-profit organizations and design a Prezi presentation and promotional brochure for the organization. Students will develop the documents using a professional subscription to Prezi and Microsoft Word. Prezi is a cloud-based, non-linear program accessible beyond the classroom. The submission of comments on the process and rough drafts of the projects will begin on a Web site. Throughout the semester the student groups will be communicating with the partners and sharing drafts of the brochure. Students will also send their community partners a student-designed rubric asking them to evaluate the working relationship and final products. Effectively doing/demonstrating all stages of the process means that course materials, technologies, concepts, activities are utilized in effective ways, improving student engagement and learning across the disciplines. Co-PI’s and Key Partners: Nathan Franklin, English Dept., Clinton Community College Reports and Resources: Service Learning Class Project Timeline Grant Overview Project outcomes report Note: Students thought the project was useful and enjoyed the experience. For the second semester, student used clubs on campus to help and provide promotional materials. This was very successful as well because students had an interest in the organization. Creative Commons License:  

Awarded Grant: $10,000 Principal Investigator: Katharina Dittmar, University at Buffalo This proposal builds on an ongoing NSF Cyber-Infrastructure project, which seeks to develop a cloud-deployed, scalable, virtual tool for the instruction of theory and practice of population genetics in K-21 settings. We pursue two aims by expanding this tool to mobile devices: Aim 1) Technology Development, and Aim 2) Strategic Assessment. One outcome from this project will be a stand-alone app (Google Android and Apple IOS platforms) that will further expand flexibility of course completion for undergraduate students at UB, SUNY, and other institutions across the country. The other outcome will be the systematic assessment of the pedagogic/educational effectiveness of mobile device instruction in STEM education through controlled qualitative and quantitative research on a large scale. Co-PI’s and Key Partners: Bina Ramamurthy, Computer Science and Engineering, University at Buffalo Jessica Poulin, Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo Reports and Resources: Final Grant Report, reports on mobile apps that were developed, their distribution, as well as assessment outcomes: IITG_Grant_Final_Report.pdf Installation Guide for apps: Popword-Installation-Guide.docx Project Website: http://popworld.buffalo.edu/ Pop!World app for iPad: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id649670263 Project outcomes report Creative Commons License: