Applications for the Educational Support Grant are due on February 28, 2013.

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Educational Support Grants are made available to College of Medicine faculty to encourage advancements in health professions education.  Grants are awarded to faculty to support the implementation of innovative educational programs or for the purchase of educational technology.  Grants are for a one-year period and are selected on the basis of benefit to students in a degree program, the faculty member, and the College of Medicine.

Examples of past grants that have been awarded: purchase of equipment for us in clinical education, development of a web-based educational program/course/tutorial, participation in educational seminars, educational research, purchase of digital images used for instruction and/or equipment to view slides, scan slides, etc.

Staff or faculty salary support is not available through Educational Support Grants.  Grant funds may be used to pay part-time, temporary workers, such as students who are contracted exclusively for this project.

Grant Guidelines:

• Eligibility: Any COM/SAHP faculty member who is involved in the teaching of students.
• Frequency: No more than one grant is awarded to any individual in a two-year span.
• Amount: Up to $5000 per grant is available.
• Application: A one to two page application is required (see requirements below)
• Selection process: Applications will be reviewed by the Educational Support Grant Committee which will make recommendations to the Dean for final approval.
• Application deadline – February 28, 2013

Applications should be approximately two pages long (plus any supporting documents) and must be submitted electronically (via email).  Please include:

• Applicant’s name, department, position, and educational credentials (i.e. involvement in education, not a comprehensive CV)
• Description of the proposed project
• Amount requested, with an itemized budget (include a quote or catalogs for equipment purchases)
• A description of the measures of success for the project
• A description of the benefit to students, to the applicant, and to the College of Medicine, including an estimate of the number of students who will be impacted by the project

At the end of the grant cycle, in April 2014, a summary letter to the Dean will be required.

Submit applications electronically to sarah.risuglia@unmc.edu by February 28, 2013, for consideration.

Contact Sarah Risuglia for additional information (sarah.risuglia@unmc.edu or 559-2505).

Thursday, January 3, 2013

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Linder Reading Room in the Sorrell Center

Dr. Stoddard has accepted a position at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.  His last day with UNMC will be January 4, 2013.

The Dean’s Business Office regrets to announce that Hugh Stoddard, M.Ed., Ph.D., will leave UNMC in early January.  He and his family will relocate to Atlanta, Georgia, where he’ll join the College of Medicine at Emory University as the Assistant Dean for Medical Education.  He’ll focus on educational research in his new role.

Dr. Stoddard currently serves UNMC as the Assistant Dean for Medical Education and Director of the Curriculum and Educational Research Office.  He has played an active role in overseeing the undergraduate medical education program since he joined UNMC in 2004.  His contributions include but are not limited to: data analysis, curriculum development and management, and coordination of the LCME accreditation process.

Dr. Gerald Moore, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, commented, “Dr. Stoddard has made a positive impact on UNMC during his tenure here.  His expertise and dedication to the college’s mission will be missed.”

A farewell reception honoring Dr. Stoddard will be held on the afternoon of January 3, 2013.  Details to be announced at a later date.

Most faculty members are familiar with using multiple choice questions in computer-based exams via Blackboard.  Blackboard offers a variety of question formats in addition to traditional question formats.  In the coming months, we’ll feature some of the less-common question types Blackboard makes available to you.

Hot Spot

A Hot Spot question asks the test-taker to click on an area of a graphic image.  The instructor provides a prompt and the image file before identifying coordinates in that image that are considered correct.

Advantages:

• allows instructors to move away from using images with leaders and letters (therefore eliminating student error in recording responses)
• highly-sensitive coordinates
• use images, diagrams, charts, histological sections, radiographs, EKGs
• allows three file types:  .jpg, .gif, and .png

Limitations: 

• only one area of the image can be identified as correct (may be problematic in an image where more than one area of the image could be correct)

In this example, the test-taker is asked to click on the area of map in response to the prompt.Shown below is an example of a correct response.  The student’s response is the bulls-eye inside the red square.  Because the student’s response is inside the yellow correct coordinates (entered by the instructor), the student would receive credit for answering this question correctly.

Click here to view an instructional video produced by Blackboard, Inc.

Use the comments section below to share your ideas for how other UNMC Faculty could incorporate Hot Spot questions into Blackboard examinations.