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GGC faculty teams recently won more than $41,000 in grants for the development of digital materials and related research that will result in significant savings for students. Following are GGC’s winning team leaders and project descriptions:

Dr. Rebecca Flynn, professor of English, won a $22,912.00 ALG Transformation Grant as part of a collaborative initiative between ŷ������ (GGC) and Kennesaw State University (KSU). The project aims to increase pass rates and achieve substantial student savings of more than $260,000 by delivering no-cost course materials for English 1102 classes.

Dr. Caroline Hanson, senior lecturer of biology, anatomy and physiology, won a $28,390 ALG Transformation Grant for developing a no-cost, customized laboratory manual for human anatomy and physiology I (BIOL 2251K) that will provide potential savings of more than $50,000 for about 750 students annually. The project seeks to reduce the course’s DWF rate and increase overall course grades.

Dr. Todd Lindley, associate professor of geography, won a $8,000 ALG Continuous Improvement Grant for updating, and creating new ancillary materials for, “Introduction to Human Geography, 2nd Edition,” an open-source textbook that has saved more than 10,000 GGC students about $70,000 per year since Lindley and his team published the first edition in 2018. The textbook has been downloaded 107,000+ times from the ALG website. It is used at several universities outside of Georgia. It has been translated into Korean and is being translated into Pashto and Spanish.

Dr. Ekaterina Nathanson, associate professor of mathematics, received a $8,000.00 ALG Research Grant to evaluate students' perceptions of the usability, quality and adequacy of instructor-created open educational resources in an online precalculus course. The project will also assess the impact of these resources on enhancing student engagement and fostering a sense of belonging in the online mathematics course.

Sarah Park, instructor of mathematics, won a $15,000 ALG Transformation Grant for streamlining the foundations of numbers and operations (Math 2008) course and providing a faculty manual, student workbook, interactive learning activities and assessments – all designed for both in-person and online learning. These materials should save elementary education and special education majors more than $10,000 annually. 

Dr. Binh Tran, associate professor of information technology, won a $4,000 ALG Continuous Improvement Grant for developing a hands-on lab manual to complement previous ALG-funded, open-source materials for ITEC 3300, a cybersecurity course. Teaching cybersecurity effectively requires more than just theory; it demands active, hands-on experiences that foster deep understanding. The new lab manual will be provided at no cost to students.