The Ontario government recently announced an additional $8 million of Virtual Learning Strategy (VLS) funding that builds on the previous $50 million investment that will again be administered through eCampusOntario.
Funding will focus on one of four priority areas:
- digital content
- digital content – extended reality
- digital capacity – targeted supports
- digital capacity – international marketing
Once again, CEL will be coordinating the submission process for all Waterloo proposals.
Timelines
- Nov 22 – CEL information session - view the recording. WatIAM login required.
- Dec 3 – deadline for ideas to be submitted to CEL via extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca for feedback
- Dec 10 – deadline to request CEL development support (e.g., project management, learning design, multimedia, quality assurance, accessibility, copyright, copyediting) if desired for the project and receive input on budget, roles, etc.
- Dec 17 – deadline to share your written proposal with CEL if you desire feedback
- Jan 10 – internal deadline to submit proposals to CEL for Provost signatures (required)
- Jan 14 – eCampusOntario deadline for submission of Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to their portal (CEL will submit)
- March – successful applicants notified (no date specified)
Please consider the following if you’re interested:
- successful projects would start work March 2022 and must be completed by February 2023
- the resulting assets of funded projects must be shared through the eCampusOntario website as open educational resources (OERs) under an Ontario Commons license.
- there are budget incentives for microcredentials; sector wide impact; learner engagement; employer partnerships; remote access; and translations
- EOIs cannot duplicate any previously funded project (see Database) but building on a previous project is encouraged
Priority will be given to applications that best align with the criteria for each funding category. We encourage applications that intersect with the Developing Talent Theme of the University’s 2020-2025 Strategic plan. Anyone thinking of submitting a proposal is strongly encouraged to email a brief description of the idea (or interest) to extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca as early as possible.
This will allow CEL to:
- provide feedback on the idea itself
- advise you on its eligibility and chances of success
- tally what institutional supports may be required
- identify duplicates or like-minded proposals within the institution and possible collaboration
- help identify possible external collaborators within Ontario
- add you to a contact list to share further information
Please feel free to share this message with colleagues who you think might have interest and be in a position to advance a feasible proposal in response to this call. If you’re interested, please sign up for our information session on November 22. Requests to register or further questions can be directed to extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca.
For more information, including video recordings of the eCampusOntario orientation briefings, see https://vls.ecampusontario.ca/vls-2/.