Benefits
For academics:

Support from CALT and ELE and an additional resource to help develop new
approaches and tools.

Opportunities to influence practice in their departments and beyond.

Opportunities to present at ELDG events and network with other project holders.

Prestige and recognition from peers within the institution, and the potential to develop
a case study for a UCL Arena fellowship application.
For students:

Paid work

Useful work experience and the development of marketable skills

Opportunities to input into programme and course design from a learner’s perspective
and to guide UCL’s education experience

Opportunities to present at ELDG events and network with other project students

Prestige and recognition from peers and within the institution.
For departments:

Modest funding to support new developments

Exposure on the Teaching & Learning Portal

Opportunity to showcase innovation and best practice in e-learning within and beyond
the institution.
Themes
For 2015/16, we welcome applications on any aspect of using technology to support teaching
and learning, but are particularly keen to receive applications that address at least one of the
themes listed below:

Connected Curriculum: we welcome projects which help departments explore or
develop activity along any of the strands outlined within the UCL Connected
Curriculum approach, or develop aspects of research-based education

Digital capabilities for staff and students: supporting the UCL community as digital
learners, practitioners and researchers. Digital literacy will be the selected theme for
UCL’s QAA Higher Education Review taking place in 2016

Digital media and Lecturecast: UCL has invested heavily in digital media systems
(BoB, Lynda.com, Lecturecast) which have been heavily used in some areas. We are
keen to see more widespread adoption and integration in the curriculum.

Revisiting assessment: using technology to broaden the diversity of assessment or
reduce the volume of assessment that students undertake.
Criteria
All applications need to make a strong case for what is novel or developmental about their
proposal and how the outcomes will enhance or transform current practice. Projects that
involve students in guiding or evaluating project designs and outcomes are encouraged. One
of the core goals of the ELDG Scheme is the sharing of practice, and applicants must detail
how their project will be shared throughout the twelve-month cycle (August 2015 – July
2016).
Scoping and costing of projects
ELDG funding can be used for any purpose that would be over and above usual activity. This
may include paying students for work they undertake, software licenses, purchasing
equipment, external photo/videographers, conference/event fees (especially for students) etc.
However note that the project must provide a tangible outcome for any equipment/software
purchased; it cannot simply be for the purchase of equipment alone. Staff time would not
normally be funded.
We recognise that it can be difficult to scope e-learning projects and make realistic estimates
of the time required and so we recommend meeting with ELE staff to brainstorm ideas and
assess the likely student time and expertise required. The per-hour rate for student work is
left to the department’s discretion, but a rate used commonly is spine point 15 on UCL’ s
salary scale.
As you plan your application we recommend you:

Contact your e-learning champion for support for your application

Contact ELE (ele@ucl.ac.uk) for an outline discussion about the costs (particularly
for student time) for your application.
Support and funding
To support you in your project you will receive a mentor from ELE, with the chance also to
receive support from a CALT faculty-facing teaching fellow. One-half of the funding
allocated will be transferred to you following an initial scoping/planning meeting in
September/October 2015, during which you will be asked to outline a timescale for your
project and arrange a further review meeting once the project is underway. Following the
successful completion of this review meeting the remaining one-half of funds will be paid.
Dissemination
We are keen that as many people as possible are able to learn lessons and get ideas and
inspiration from your experience and that these small grants can act as a catalyst for larger
projects. We therefore require successful applicants to document progress in a format agreed
with your project mentor at the start of the project. We also expect you and your project
students to actively participate in scheduled networking and dissemination events throughout
the duration of the project.
All ELDG grant-holders are required to produce a short (approx. 500 words) reflective blog
post for our ELDG blog by the end of September 2016, outlining the aims of the project and
how these have been met, any shortcomings and recommendations for anyone wanting to
replicate the project.
Selected ELDG projects will be featured in the case studies section of the Teaching and
Learning Portal. Project winners will also be expected to give a 10 minute presentation about
their project, either in the half-way showcase (January 2016) or the final event (June/July
2016) and are invited to submit proposals for UCL’s Teaching and Learning Conference in
2016.