Name: EchoInsights: e3 Tech Grants Info Session
Uploaded: 2025-03-27T19:00:44.335Z
Duration: 25 min 28 s
Description: EchoInsights: e3 Tech Grants Info Session

Transcript for "EchoInsights: e3 Tech Grants Info Session": Hello. Hello. Welcome, everybody. Feel free to introduce yourself in the chat. We have a chat function and a q and a function we'll cover in a little bit, but go ahead and feel free to feel free to start introducing yourself. See a bunch of people joining, so we'll just give it a minute here as people continue to join. Just dropped a message in the chat in case some of you are first time Goldcast, users. It might be in a different place than you're normally used to, so hopefully, that give you a little ping. But, hey, it looks like we're gonna get started here. So I'm gonna go ahead and start with some introductions, turn it over to my counterpart, Jeff Peterson. Hey, everybody. It's great to see you all here. I have to tell you this Goldcast, platform is super fancy. Like, I was on a I was backstage, and then I got on stage. And so I'm feeling very very celebrity. And, I'm I'm, it's my, pleasure, honor slash not only to welcome all of you, but to introduce Ben. So those that haven't met Ben Velani yet, he's our, manager of Global and Community Impact as you can see there on the screen. And, this, group gathering today is both global and is a community, that is designed for impact. And so the work that Ben is doing here at Echo360, in case you haven't met him yet, is to really help, help you create even more impact in your respective communities. And this specific training, session or this specific workshop here is around the grants program and, where Ben is gonna be able to, impart, a lot of wisdom that he has, given his background in the nonprofit space. In the grant writing space, He's written grants like the ones you will be writing, so he knows of what he speaks. And we're just very pleased to have him here at Echo360, leading efforts like our e three grant program, leading efforts like Echo360 Eco, leading efforts like our EPL community, online community, which hopefully all of you are already active members of. So, anyway, just, thank you all for your interest in, continuing to advance, the work that you're doing around equity, evidence, and engagement. And, I'll turn it back over to Ben, and, you're in great hands here in in, in in in the work that Ben is doing here at Echo360. So take it away, Ben. Thank you so much, Jeff. I really appreciate that warm intro. Definitely giving me a lot of credit there, and I appreciate it. So here, we're gonna jump right in. So GoCast functionality, there's a chat function similar to a lot of other platforms. So feel free to use this to connect with colleagues from different schools and organizations. Like Jeff said, it's a global network here joined today, and so feel free to use this as a time to network and connect. And then also, we have a q and a function. So for me, it's like, as soon as you have a question, write it down. Otherwise, you're gonna forget it. And we have that nifty q and a function there just for that. So feel free to take advantage of those definitely, for a productive q and a session at the end. Here's a little quick rundown of the things that we're gonna cover. So first, the eligibility for any grant applicant and then understanding both types of grant opportunities. We have two different kinds and what are they as well as, you know, opportunities to acknowledge some inequities in North America. We're gonna cover them the nitty gritty of just applying. What are the, you know, what does the application look like? What are the deadlines? And then turn to how am I gonna make a good application? And hear from some of our twenty twenty five recently announced grant winners to kind of, give you a flavor for that. And then run through the most boring part, but the most essential part and kinda take away some fears around what are expectations and acknowledgements. And then finally, give you some links to apply so you can take action at right after this meeting, and then conclude with some q and a. So let's jump right into it. Eligibility. Any application, from an accredited educational u institution as well as any legitimate organization, that's listed and has can prove that they have legitimate training demands, are the kinds of folks that we're looking for. So whether you're in the higher education space or in the business space, these grants could be for you. Additionally, there's no application fees and no purchase is required. So there's zero barriers to entry this grant to enter this, need to apply. And so that's why we would encourage, a lot of folks to. But every applicant must agree to our expectations and acknowledgments. And if you can't do this, then you will automatically be disqualified. So that's why we wanna kinda run through and understand some of those. First, let's break down though the two types of grant opportunities available. So the first one is our Echo360 Impact Grant, and this one is tailored towards current customers. And so what it is is it's a $2,000 USD cash grant for customers currently using the Echo360 system, whether that's point solutions, whether that's Echo360 video, an aspect of Echo360 engagement, or whatever to whatever solutions that we have, within our ecosystem. These are the folks who can apply for Echo360 Impact Grants to basically advance a project, work on a project, help support fund a project that advances equity, evidence, and engagement in your learning environment. And so what kinds of questions are seeking to understand that? These are folks who are asking questions like, how do inclusive teaching strategies influence student engagement and academic outcomes among underrepresented groups in blended learning environments? Right? And so we have an element of tech, an element of engagement, an element of equity, and an element of evidence. Similarly, we could be asking, you know, what forms of evidence based feedback practices most effectively promote equitable student participation and sustain engagement in active learning classrooms? So these are research focused questions for not just you see here, instructors and trainers, but really instructional designers, technologists, PhDs, Emeritus professors. If you're doing work with the ecosystem and want to advance equity engagement and evidence, this is an opportunity for you. Next, we're gonna move on to our Echo360 grant opportunity, which is open to everyone who wants to apply and start benefiting from the ecosystem. So these Echo360 grants, they're up to $5,000 value in kind of software. So this is distinctly not a cash grant. This is value in software. So you will receive $5,000 worth of either Echo360, Inc., Echo360, Echo360, or Echo360 depending on what your project requires. And, similarly, this is also meant to expand access and expand, educational opportunities in areas where it it needs to needs to be done, and where it kind of historically has been, at a deficit. And so we're gonna continue on now to the acknowledging inequities part. So both of these grant components have an aspect that's unique to North American applicants, and that is for folks who are working at HBCUs, historically Spanish serving institutions, as well as, sorry, historically Spanish institutions, as well as oh my goodness. I'm getting tongue twisted. I apologize. Hispanic serving institutions as well as, career and technical education institutions. So more community college focused people developing, within two years for the workforce. And so educators, trainers, folks working at these kinds of institutions, they have the opportunity to up to double the size of their, grant proposal. So taking $2,000 cash from an Echo360 and turning that into $4,000 cash, Or similarly, $5,000 from an Echo360 value in kind software opportunity to up to $10,000 in value in kind software opportunity. And so that's an element that is a little bit newer to our application process and something that we wanna make sure that any potential applicant from these institutions is aware of. So now turning to kind of for both of these at grants, what does the process for applying look like? It's super straightforward. There's four short response questions to be answered in 300 words max. And so we hope that by not making it too long that you're able to really concentrate and focus on exactly what you want to execute with the course of this grant because these projects are typically six months long. And so, you know, having a really focused proposal to be able to fit in those four questions is essential. Additionally, every, applicant must submit a three minute video presentation, excuse me, which is not an optional component to the application. Applicants who don't apply with the three minute video presentation will be disqualified because we need to see who you are, that you're a legit person, and that you know how to present. And so that's a key component to this. Right? Especially now that we're living in the jet aid, era of gen AI, it can be increasingly easy to kind of fake mock up responses. And so understanding that you are as competent of a presenter as you are a writer is essential. And then, of course, at the end of each application, you have to confirm that you agree to all of our e three tech grant expectations and acknowledgments, and we'll kind of run through those here. But before we do, let's take a second to write down some deadlines. So for North American applicants, the deadline is April 7 at midnight, and that's when they'll close. And then for EMEA applicants, folks over in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, that's gonna be April 8 at four in the morning. And so make sure that you submit your ahead of deadline. Right? We know we all are guilty of saving work to the last minute sometimes, especially with these applications. And so getting ahead of the deadline will be super helpful, especially in us assessing those. By the April, we'll have issues, decisions issued, sorry, and everybody will be made aware of the kind of opportunity that they've had or, unfortunately, if they need to be applying again next year. How could they be improving their opportunity or be improving their application? And then right afterwards, as soon as everybody's kind of caught up to speed, then we're gonna start onboarding and kicking off with our projects, which, like I said, are typically around six months, planned out for around six months. I wanna turn to now, basically, how are we determining these grants? What makes for a good application? What components should you be speaking to throughout each of those four, short response questions, those short essay questions? And those are our e three formula. So equity, engagement, and evidence. That's Echo360 formula for transforming institutional outcomes, and that's why these grant opportunities that are focused on expanding educational opportunities are also incorporating each of these three pillars into our criteria for successful applicants. I'm not gonna read them out loud, but these three are, listed on our website echo360.com/grants. And I would encourage you all to read those little paragraphs underneath because it will give you an idea of basically how do these ideas show up in my work, show up in my in my responses. And that is gonna kind of help us queue you queue into, okay. Is this person, you know, on the same mission as us, you know, trying to fulfill the same mission as us? So giving you an idea of kind of what are we looking for ahead of time, this is what it sounds like. So here's a sizzle reel of our twenty twenty five APAC grant winners, and just listen to the kinds of things that they're speaking to in their video submissions. My name is Carolyn Bell, and I teach microbiology to first year students. To enhance student engagement, we will be implementing Echo360 video case study assignments where students will create their own video after identifying the cause of an infectious disease in a fictitious patient. So it's a good way to make the, classes more active and engaging for students, and it also helps promote deep learning by being a less passive environment. This project is a collaboration between Latrobe University and Monash University and aims to improve the quality and efficiency of comments and feedback provided by educators on video assessment submissions using AI generated time coded comments in the Echo Video platform using the Echo360 Quick Commenter browser extension. So the ability for students to progressively check their mastery of content is going to be enormously beneficial. Now with Echo360 Quad Vision, we have a solution. This technology will allow us to produce top quality videos that accurately demonstrate skills of 360 degree visualization. No more worrying without blocking the view. We can complete videos in one take and add in interactive quizzes, improving learning and engagement. And I believe this will actually create a more inclusive and interactive learning environment because the use of Echo360 will be anonymous, So I can actually encourage students to participate actively without, without the feel that they are being judged. I feel it is important as these, targeted interventions strongly help to improve student learning and to support the student learning journey. By understanding which areas do apply challenges, we can tailor methods to better meet their needs. And then collaboration is key. So I will continue to work So gives you a flavor, hopefully, some inspiration for the kinds of projects that we're looking to fund as well as the kinds of projects that you might be interested in doing yourself. So it's a whole bunch of different use cases. You can see we have folks evaluating, you know, peer under peer review, in person peer review with a kind of enhanced, digital version of that using Echo360. We have folks, using Echo360 to expand active response in classes. And so there's a lot of different elements that you can do with our super dynamic ecosystem, and this gives you the opportunity to explore that without taking on some of those financial, burdens. Right? Especially for those Echo360 innovation grant opportunities, You're looking to reduce your tech stack. You're looking to under you know, do something different, approach your teaching in a different way, try to find a, you know, simpler and more effective approach. Well, this Echo360 innovation grant opportunity is the ticket then to, you know, giving you the software enhanced to be able to test your assumptions about, oh, maybe this method will work better or that will. And so adding some context then, this is how these grant opportunities play out in real life. Now let's go through the kind of boring stuff that I, you know, wanna expose you to. Right? Because this is language I wanna walk you through because all applicants need to understand and agree to these different components. But I don't wanna go line by line and make it overbearing. And so we're kinda just gonna focus on the key aspects within each section, break it down, and then hopefully kinda give you a starting point for what we're really asking of you, excuse me, when we when we, when you do apply for one of these grants. So this first list of, of acknowledgments and responsibilities, this is pretty standard grant language. It's just basically saying, you're not using this grant, if it's an Echo360 impact, this money for something other than what you're writing within your proposal, your team and manager or whatever support, you know, team members you have at your organization that need to be on board are on board. And then also looking forward, what kind of things do we expect you to produce as a grant applicant? And that's a report back document kind of documenting either your experience or the research outcomes that you've had. And it's all pretty standard stuff here. But if you have any questions about this stuff, it's on every application at the bottom as well as, here, you can feel free to drop a question in the in the question q and a section. And then turning now to the community leader expectations. And so this is one that I wanted to kinda make you aware of, like, what is EPL? So echo EPL is Echo360 professional learning community. It's a global audience of educators from a diverse range of teaching and research institutions. And we basically stay connected through all the ways that we list here, but not all at once. Right? This is there's a lot of different opportunities to engage with our community here. And, you know, being a grant winner means you understand equity, evidence, and engagement like nobody else in our community because you've designed and executed a whole project around it. And so to come and champion those values in our community, that's why we have chosen grant winners to kind of, you know, carry this responsibility. And so some of these things as well too are, you know, pretty pretty asynchronous, and a lot of it also is a dynamic and energizing dialogue between us, you know, our team at Echo360, but then also your peers who are showing up to all of these different events and engaging with these stories. And so, you know, supporting each other through the common challenges that we face is a huge part of this community. You know, we all use the same technology. And so how can we support each other, bolster each other? What resources can we offer to each other, to kind of do some good quality peer learning? And then Echo360 is just helping curate all of that. Part of us part of, a new part of this, community that has launched recently is our customer community site. And so that QR code, if you wanna scan it right now, you can go ahead and register for our community site. If you aren't customer, we have firewall, and I check it regularly so you will be caught. This is for customers only. And so, you know, if you wanna become a customer and start engaging with this community at a deeper level, take up the echo innovation grant, become an ecosystem, you know, user, and then a community member. There's a pathway to all of this, and you get to join some of the organizations like you see listed here below as well as just a wealth of other global globally ranked and globally recognized organizations and institutions. So our last bit of expectations and acknowledgments here are just the technical components. So, basically, you just have to affirm that if you are doing an echo innovation grant, you're assuming this new software that you have all of the IT infrastructure personnel already on board to be able to execute that effectively, that echo innovation grant effectively. And then also, you know, the kind of standard of we're gonna be, you know, super excited that you guys have, you know, won this opportunity and are gonna be working with us on on, you know, having to hit all of the outcomes that you've laid out in the beginning. And so, to share out that stuff and communicate that with our global audience of educators, you know, basically just saying, hey. We can use your photos. We can use your logos, etcetera. That's kind of the meat and bones of this presentation. And so what I'm gonna throw up on the screen for a little bit, for each is the application QR codes. So these will take you directly to the form to submit. But if you wanted to kind of review some of the information that I've covered ahead of time, then I would say go to echo3sixty,excuseme,.com/grants. Read through that information there. And, otherwise, feel free to take action right now. So here are again those ones, the one on the left, that is that cash grant for current customers. And then on the right, that is the software grant available to anybody. So whether you're a current customer or you're looking to start benefiting from the LTP, that's, the grant for you. Similarly, if you are in Europe, Middle East, or Africa, here are the same two grant opportunities made available to you. Left impact, right innovation. I'll leave these up on the screen for a minute. And I'm seeing several questions coming in. So just as I have these on the screen, the next slide I have is a q and a one, so I'll start answering. I see from Simon Lancaster. Are these links accessible from the same from the email we received today? So if the email you received today that you're referencing, Simon, is to register for this webinar, it is not. And so what I will do is actually throw the, the grants, the, the links in the bottom here in our chat. Steve Garwood asks, that's a tight timeline to get internal approval, signatures, etcetera. Indeed. This is kind of our last call. Right? Because we've been promoting these grants since January 8. And so here is kind of like a last bit of information to get those, turned around quickly. You're right. We have eleven days left to apply. And so if you're currently an Echo360 customer, what I would encourage you to do is to reach out to your contact here at Echo360, and they'll work with you on putting together an accelerated application. Basically, you know, helping you get the answers straight, helping you apply for the correct one, etcetera, to make sure that you can still take advantage of this opportunity. Rebecca Blanchard. I'm just gonna swap here to the q and a. If you have any questions that you think of later, you can also email me at grants@echo360.com. I'll receive all of those. So Rebecca Blanchard asks, for the four short response questions, is that 300 words maximum for all questions? That is correct. It is 300 words per question. So across all of them, what would that be? 1,200 words? And so, we can access the chat only here. Oh, so you guys aren't able to access the q and a. I apologize for that. I will make a note of that. This is also only my second time using Goldcast, and so thank you for, bearing witness to some of my, you know, learning moments here. Awesome. We're approaching our end time here. If you have any other questions, oh, here we go. There's some the application form doesn't seem to be working in Chrome. If that's the case, then I would try Safari, but I haven't had issues in Chrome. So perhaps it's a cookies thing. Maybe if you try opening in a incognito, it might work, Steve. Okay. I'm not seeing any other questions here, but I am seeing some in the q and a as well as some in the actually, just in the q and a. Correct. The chat must be disabled. Apologies for that. Well, not seeing any more engagement in the q and a section. And so if that's the case, we can give you guys some time back because I recognize that you almost have very busy schedules. And I'm grateful for, you know, the twenty four minutes, twenty five minutes that you've spent here with me learning about this opportunity, recognizing it's a tight turnaround. And so, hopefully, we can see within the next week some new applications come flooding in, which, you know, being only four three hundred word questions I mean, with the approvals and etcetera, I do understand that that's gonna be probably the the longest to turn around. But, hopefully, the rest of the application itself isn't too overbearing that within eleven days, you still have enough time to kind of turn it around and act on this. So, yeah, with that, I guess I will just sign off. Thank you all very much for your time. Again, my name is Ben Velani. I'm the manager of Global and Community Impact at Echo360. You can reach out to me personally at benv@echo360.com or here at grants@echo360.com, either way. So thank you so much for your time, and take care. Have a great rest of your day. Thanks, everybody.