Focus on Campus Innovation: Second Round of Minigrant Recipients

The 2018-2019 awardees of the innovation minigrants, selected in Spring 2018 for work in Fall 2018, just presented the outcomes of their funded projects. A total of 10 different campuses have received innovation minigrants over the last two years, funding a diverse range of projects led by faculty and staff.

Congratulations to the minigrant recipients for 2018-2019! Videos of their presentations will be shared soon.

Tawn Gilihan Anderson, Stanislaus - Telepresence robot for remote class
Josh Callahan, Humboldt - Wireless mesh for disaster prep
Mariano Loza-Coll, CSUN - AI Teaching Bot
Dr. Young Kwon & Kim Vincent-Layton, Humboldt - Augmented reality for physiology lab
Willie Peng, Fullerton - App to help student with public speaking
Mihaela Popescu, San Bernadino - Machine learning to analyze student outcomes
Jessica Pressman, SDSU, Mapping Humanities Research
Max Tsai, Fresno - Blockchain badges
Deone Zell, CSUN - Alexa to control classroom tech

You can read about the 2017 minigrant recipients as well.

Adobe Creative Jam LIVE at Cal State

On March 1st, we had the pleasure of visiting the Cal State Long Beach campus to watch over 130 students on 27 teams across three campuses compete in the first California State University Creative Jam LIVE. The student teams at Cal State LA, Cal Poly Pomona, and Cal State Long Beach participated in one of the largest Creative Jams LIVE events.

Creative Jam LIVE is a design challenge that allows students to demonstrate and celebrate creativity using Adobe Creative Cloud. Adobe works with faculty at campuses to organize the event, write the design challenge, and recruit speakers and judges. Anthony Acock, assistant professor in graphic design at Cal Poly Pomona; Sam Anvari, assistant professor in graphic design at Cal State Long Beach; and Zachary Vernon, assistant professor in graphic design at Cal State LA worked collaboratively leading up to the event to recruit students and make sure the events went smoothly on their respective campuses.

The theme of this challenge was immigration, and the event opened with a talk by Dr. Alvaro Huerta, assistant professor in urban and region planning and ethnic & women's studies at Cal Poly Pomona, who encouraged students to consider how the immigration discussion is framed in the media. Then the students got to work to develop a prototype mobile application that would support and assist immigrant users. They had just two hours to design their app before presentations and judging began. The students were so impressive with the creative, visually appealing solutions they presented after such a short time.  The top 12 teams from Friday advanced to the final round on Saturday. The winning student team was from Cal Poly Pomona, with the second and third place teams from Cal State Long Beach.

This event was a chance to pilot a multi-campus Creative Jam. When the California State University system became part of the Adobe Creative Campus program in Fall 2018, Michael Berman considered what could make the CSU experience with Creative Cloud unique. With the size of the CSU and number of campuses, the idea was born to organize a multi-campus event to expand the opportunity. We hope to help facilitate a CSU-wide Creative Jam in the near future. If you’re interested in being involved in a future Creative Jam, you can email us at innovate@calstate.edu.

Here is a video of the final round of the competition:

Imagine Beach2030 - Envisioning a campus future via a game

Today I have the pleasure of visiting Long Beach State University to observe and participate in Imagine Beach2030, a gamified exercise in collaborative visioning. Long Beach State has embarked on a two-year process to consider the future of the university in collaboration with Institute For The Future. I recommend you take a look at the intro video.

The "game", which is essentially a threaded discussion with points, was actually pretty cool. I had fun sitting with some of the folks in Academic Technology who were very interested in the comments and looking to see who made them (and guessing on the anonymous ones). Popular topics included free tuition, data use and protection, and the changing roles of instructors.  From what I could tell, there were at least a couple of thousand participants in the first few hours.

Institute For The Future team along with Vice Provost Sathianathan (2nd from Left)

Kudos to Long Beach State for launching this discussion - I look forward to seeing the summary results in a couple of months, and how it feeds in to Long Beach's plans for the future.

Resources - AI in Higher Education

For a panel on the use of AI to support student success, I've compiled a list of articles and links on the topic. Feel free to suggest additional resources that you think would be useful. Thanks to Samantha Adams Becker for her suggestions which contributed greatly.

“Artificial Intelligence Exploration (AIx) at CSUN”: https://www.csun.edu/it/aix

“Ask Tuffy”. http://asktuffy.fullerton.edu

Becker, Samantha Adams et al. “Artificial Intelligence”, NMC Horizon Report: 2018 Higher Education Edition, pp. 44-45. Louisville, CO: EDUCAUSE, 2018, Retrieved from https://library.educause.edu/~/media/files/library/2018/8/2018horizonreport.pdf

Cortez, Meghan Borgardus. “Universities deploy chatbots to aid students in the admissions process and beyond,” EdTech Magazine, March 9, 2018. Retrieved from https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2018/03/universities-deploy-chatbots-aid-students-admissions-process-and-beyond

“Deakin Genie,” Deakin University. http://www.deakin.edu.au/life-at-deakin/why-study-at-deakin/deakin-genie

Gelbach, Hunter , Page, Lindsay C., “Freezing ‘summer melt’ in its tracks: increasing college enrollment with AI”, Brown Center Chalkboard (blog). Retrieved from: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2018/09/11/freezing-summer-melt-in-its-tracks-increasing-college-enrollment-with-ai/

Guzman-Lopez, Adolfo. “CSUN Is Using A Bot To Get Freshmen To Show Up For Class,” Laist, July 30, 2018. Retrieved from http://www.laist.com/2018/07/30/csuns_new_chatbot_nags_students_to_show_up_for_class_--_and_theyre_listening.php

Johnson, Sydney, “What Can Machine Learning Really Predict in Education?”, EdSurge 9/26/2018. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-09-26-what-can-machine-learning-really-predict-in-education

Lacity, Mary, et al. “Reimagining the University at Deakin: An IBM Watson Automation Journey,” June 2017. Retrieved from http://www.umsl.edu/~lacitym/LSEOUWP1704.pdf

LeBlanc, Paul, “Reading Signals from the Future: EDUCAUSE in 2038” (2018, July), EDUCAUSE Review. Retrieved from: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/7/reading-signals-from-the-future-educause-in-2038

Matthews, David. “AI bot ‘more than halves’ time students spend finding courses,” Times Higher Education, May 28, 2017. Retrieved from (registration/subscription required) https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ai-bot-more-halves-time-students-spend-finding-courses

Microsoft Australia Education, “The University of Sydney: Exploring AI and implementing Chatbots to achieve operational efficiencies,” March 6, 2018. Retrieved from https://educationblog.microsoft.com/2018/03/the-university-of-sydney-exploring-ai-and-implementing-chatbots-to-achieve-operational-efficiencies/

Oblinger, Diana, “Smart Machines and Human Expertise: Challenges for Higher Education” (2018, August), EDUCAUSE Review. Retrieved from: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/8/smart-machines-and-human-expertise-challenges-for-higher-education

Yates, Heath and Craig Chamberlain, “Machine Learning and Higher Education,” EDUCAUSE Review, December 2017. Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2017/12/machine-learning-and-higher-education

Badging Innovation

Since 2017, Cal State Innovate has awarded minigrants to members of the Cal State community to give them resources and recognition to encourage the exploration of new areas that have the potential to benefit our students. This innovation work has been led by staff and by faculty, and has included important contributions from students.

With some assistance from the Teaching & Learning Innovations team at CSUCI, we've developed the capability to award digital innovation badges, and our first badge has gone to our 2017 minigrant innovators. You can find a list of our badge recipients here, and you can learn about their work by taking a look at their presentations on our YouTube channel. Congratulations to our innovators, and look for more information here soon about our 2018 innovation grantees!

Growing the Innovation Team at CSU

I'm extremely pleased to announce that I am recruiting for an Assistant Director for Innovation. This person will work as a partner with me to build the innovation function at the Cal State Chancellor's Office in Long Beach. Some of the details appear below, but for full information, and to apply, visit this link and then select the Assistant Director for Innovation position. Please share this information with anyone you know who might be interested. I'm hoping very much for an interesting and diverse pool of candidates. Applications will be accepted at least through September 7. And yes, the position does require you to be in Long Beach. - Michael

		Position DescriptionThe California State University, Office of the Chancellor, is seeking an Assistant Director for Innovation to be responsible for the overall development, integration, and management of the innovation programs. The Assistant Director will deliver efforts that will develop, support and enhance the innovation program that spans the California State University. Some of the duties assigned to the Assistant Director include oversight of the development and implement strategy and programming, researching trends in innovation, managing resources, and assuring timely and accurate communication regarding innovation programs. This position will be the primary liaison between the Chancellor's Office and systemwide campuses regarding events, accounting and policies and procedures.
	Responsibilities
		Under the general direction of the Chief Innovation Technology Officer/Deputy CIO the Assistant Director for Innovation will:-Provide guidance and counsel, oversee and develop a wide range of innovative programs and services, analyze the effectiveness of, and make recommendations for, future programs; -Design, implement and evaluate mini-grant programs; -Synthesize existing quantitative and qualitative data to estimate current offerings, identify themes, and inform future work including strategy and design; -Independently execute and administer day-to-day assessment activities in collaboration with the Chief Innovation Technology Officer/Deputy CIO; -Collaborate with others to help resolve program issues and concerns, interpret policies, and mediate complex and sensitive issues; -Oversee and manage funds provided for innovation programs and projects, tracking expenditures and providing timely reports/information to the Chief Innovation Technology Officer/Deputy CIO; -Lead virtual and in-person meetings with campus innovators to support and promote their activities; -Lead, create and contribute to the development of business practices regarding the innovation programs; -Develop and maintain systemwide community relationships by providing guidance and fostering support among the campuses in support of innovation; -Design, implement and develop polls and other research instruments, collect and analyze the data, present results to senior management and others including campus CIO; -Monitor trends in innovation and technology and keep Chief Innovation Technology Officer/Deputy CIO informed; -Write, edit. and publish articles and blogs relating to campus innovations as well as issues and technologies of interest to campus innovators; -Develop and implement social media strategy to promote the innovation activities; -Lead, design, organize and execute meetings and seminars that encourage innovation across the university; -Collaborate in design planning and innovation forecasting sessions with the Chief Innovation Technology Officer/Deputy CIO and other ITS and campus personnel; -Develop and manage the process of scoping, evaluating, and awarding mini-grants and other campus support; oversee the campus mini grant budgets and documentation and dissemination to assure appropriate use of funds; -Other additional activities as needed in support of the Chief Innovation Technology Officer/Deputy CIO.
	Qualifications
		This position requires: -A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in any field, or equivalent combination of education and related experience, is required. -5+ years of experience in an area such as project management, information technology, software development, communication, instructional design, or similar. -Experience in higher education is desirable. -A Master's degree in a field related to innovation, technology, or the arts is desirable. -Polished written and oral communication skills to address a wide variety of audiences. -Strong writer, creative problem-solver, and nuanced thinker who is flexible, adaptable, and insightful with the ability to manage both the big picture vision and the day-to-day details of a project. -Able to work successfully with a high degree of independence in a complex organization and ability to work simultaneously on multiple projects with different timeliness, managers, stakeholders, and scopes. -Excellent writing skills, including the ability to write and edit in various formats and for multiple audiences required. -Ability to build communities of diverse individuals to work together to achieve common goals is required. -Excellent verbal communication skills and ability to listen well to others required. -Tech-savvy and proficient with online platforms and survey instruments. A high degree of facility with technology tools, such as Google Suite, Microsoft Office, Slack, Smartsheet, Photoshop, Qualtrics, and data analysis and management programs required. -A general understanding of technology trends including advanced innovation is required. -Ability to make intelligent use of social media tools required. -Experience managing budgets required. -Experience designing, developing and maintaining websites using WordPress and similar tools desirable. -Understanding of design thinking principles and ability to lead design and innovation sessions desirable. -Able to cultivate and sustain collaborative relationships with colleagues and partners working across cohorts and departments. -Receptive and responsive to feedback and able to conduct analyses and offer a range of viable, contextualized options. -Ability to communicate visually through drawing and graphic design desirable.
	Application Period
		Resumes will be accepted until September 7, 2018 or until job posting is removed.

A Return to Embodied Labs

When we last visited Embodied Labs, they had just moved from Chicago to a house in LA, they had just published their first VR title Alfred (simulating Alzheimer's Disease and Macular Degeneration) and they had yet to prove that their concept of using VR to develop empathy in care givers would really work and find a market. What a difference a year makes!  

Founders Carrie Shaw & Thomas Leahy at the LA office of Embodied Labs

Of course, as founder and CEO Carrie Shaw says, they are living in Start-Up Years, where one calendar year is like 18 years of a normal life! 

Embodied Labs has a second title on the market and is just about to launch a third, Clay, dealing with the experience that patients and their families go through at end of life. I got a chance to preview it at their office on LA's Miracle Mile and it's just as intense as it sounds. Carrie and Thomas are having discussions with educators about how to prepare students for this experience and how to debrief them afterwards. Not surprisingly, many of those who have seen Clay have been brought to tears after embodying the mind of a man going through the last few months, and then the last moments of his life.

In the last year Embodied Labs has contracted to provide their software to a number of institutions to help caregivers develop understanding and empathy for the experience of their patients. They are also very interested in working with education institutions to use their software in the curriculum, and also to partner with faculty to research the impact and effectiveness of their VR experiences. During the past semester, Associate Professor Jaime Hannans at Cal State Channel Islands used the Alfred Alzheimer's simulation with her nursing students, and reported very promising results.

Embodied Labs has also received recognition from several quarters, including XR Education Prize of $250,000 funded by the Gates Foundation. I'm glad to see their fan club growing because I think their work is very high quality, quite innovative, and has the potential to be one of the most impactful applications of immersive reality for education. We had fun talking about possible future directions but for now they are focused on the health care industry, which is of course one of the fastest growing parts of the economy.

We've agreed that I will visit again in another year - or is it 18?