Over the past decade, Ontario has witnessed a growing demand for postsecondary education, resulting in substantial enrolment increases and greater pressure on already limited resources. Institutions and individual instructors have responded, in part, by investing in or introducing new technologies designed to maintain or enhance teaching and learning quality and opportunities. As a result, Ontario’s higher education sector needs to identify the unique challenges, opportunities, and advances associated with the introduction and increasing use of new technologies in college and university courses.
HEQCO invites expressions of interest in conducting research on pedagogical practices that aim to enhance the quality of student learning through the introduction and integration of new technologies. For the purposes of this EOI, technologyenhanced courses can be face-to-face, blended or hybrid, but not fully online/distance delivery. To be eligible for this
EOI, proposed initiatives must demonstrate the effective integration of technology in areas such as course design, digital literacies, assessment strategies, the development of innovative teaching methods, mobile learning strategies, and problem-based learning. The proposed research project should also not be focused on the assessment of a specific commercial software or hardware product; the emphasis should be on practices that introduce and integrate technologies into teaching and learning in an effective manner.
This invitation is extended to faculty members, researchers, teaching and learning centers and others at universities and colleges across Canada.
We are interested in receiving expressions of interest for two types of projects:
1.
Proposals to evaluate innovative approaches to technology-enhanced teaching and learning that are already in place or are scheduled for implementation in the 2011-12 academic year;
2.
Proposals to develop and evaluate new interventions designed to enhance learning outcomes in technologyenhanced courses.
Submissions must satisfy the following criteria:

The primary focus of the approach or proposed intervention is on pedagogical practices that enhance teaching and learning outcomes through technology-enhanced techniques or practices. (NOTE: The initiative may also involve addressing the challenges of large classes, but the primary goal should be the introduction of technology-enhanced teaching and learning techniques. A separate EOI, 002, seeks expressions of interest for proposals where the primary objective is to evaluate new initiatives designed to address the specific challenges of large classes);

The institution and the project leads are committed to evaluating the impact of the existing approach or the proposed intervention on learning outcomes and to having the results published by HEQCO;

There must be a clear and defensible strategy for evaluation;

The existing approach or proposed intervention must have the potential to be adapted for use in/at other postsecondary programs and institutions.
Institutions interested in participating must complete and submit the attached form to RFP@heqco.ca
no later than
16:30 on July 14, 2011. Please use the text boxes to include a brief summary in response to each question. Background

documents can also be submitted as appendices to this document. Please email any questions to Richard Dominic
Wiggers at rwiggers@heqco.ca
by Tuesday, July 5, 2011. All questions relating to this EOI, and the accompanying responses, will be posted to the HEQCO website on July 7, 2011.
HEQCO will review the EOIs submitted, and invite a smaller group of applicants to participate in the next phase of the competition. These respondents will be asked to provide further detail on the existing approach or proposed intervention, the procedures to be used for evaluation, and the timelines. They will also be asked to submit a budget and to indicate any other type of support they would require from HEQCO. HEQCO will select a number of these proposals for support, based on quality and financial considerations that will be set out in an evaluation rubric. A further consideration in selecting the final group of projects is to have a range of institution types and programs represented in the overall project.
NOTE: This expression of interest does not constitute a call for proposals or bid solicitation. No contract/agreement will be awarded on receipt of responses. Responding to this expression of interest will create no obligation on the part of HEQCO.
Please forward your responses to
RFP@heqco.ca
by 16:30 on July 14, 2011.

Project Title
Contact Name
PSE Institution
Telephone # Email
Existing Approach New Intervention
1.
Provide a brief description of the existing approach or proposed new intervention. If you are proposing to evaluate an existing approach to technology-enhanced teaching and learning, indicate as well how long the approach has been in place; if you are proposing a new intervention, indicate when it would be implemented.
100-150 words
2.
Briefly indicate how the existing approach or proposed intervention is grounded in relevant research from the established literature, scholarship and professional practice, or in practices or examples already implemented at other postsecondary institutions.
100-150 words

3.
Provide a brief description of the strategy you would use to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing approach or new intervention. How would you define success? What techniques (e.g. random assignment, pre/post outcomes, qualitative methods) would you use to measure success? Do you have the required expertise available? What expertise or resources would you seek from HEQCO?
150 words
4.
Are there any preliminary findings, observations or lessons learned that can be shared at this time? If included as attachments, please list and provide a brief summary or description of those attachments.
100 words