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January 04, 2021Century College Biology faculty Rahul Kane has received $146,000 from Minnesota State to fund the multi-campus collaborative grant, “Expanding the Reality of Campus”. The grant is co-authored with colleagues from three other institutions: Saint Cloud Technical and Community College, Saint Cloud State University, and Minnesota State University Moorhead.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed gaps in the technical skills needed to deliver classes remotely. Since I have been teaching online for several years, I wanted to find new ways to improve teaching technology literacy for faculty. This grant will lead to the training of immersive teaching and learning through workshops and instructional sessions within the Minnesota State system, as well as provide hands-on experience with immersive technologies such as 360 degrees imagery, extended reality, and virtual worlds,” Kane says. ”This cross-disciplinary project will contribute to faculty, students, and staff on Minnesota State campuses becoming digitally fluent users of current and emerging technologies.”
An open house to kick off the project is planned for February 2021.
Kane is working on another collaborative grant with faculty from St. Cloud Technical & Community College and Georgian College, Ontario, Canada, to develop Anatomy and Physiology laboratory training in virtual reality.
In addition to his work with online training, Kane won the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society National Distinguished Advisor 2020 award for his work with students. He serves as the national STEM representative on the PTK Honors Program Council and is one of their National Faculty Scholars. As the PTK faculty advisor, he has helped navigate several of Century College students earn thousands of dollars in transfer scholarships to various universities.
