Shafer was able to accomplish all of this by applying for a grant that covered stipends for students who helped him create web pages and configure the animations. Getting any instructional technology project off the ground requires significant effort, resources and commitment. Many different elements go into these projects including thorough planning, instructional design, programming, graphic design, testing, and redesign. The guidelines for the grants are very broad. Consequently, past recipients represent a wide range of projects.
Some projects involve developing teaching modules from scratch.
For example, Chris Cullander, in the School of Pharmacy's biopharmaceutical sciences department, worked with David Bourne, Professor of Pharmaceutics at the University of Oklahoma, to develop a series of data animations using Java. Students access the interactive animations over the Web and see how varying the parameters in chemical equations changes the data output. By seeing the graphs immediately change in response to their input, students gain a clearer understanding of the equation's meaning and application. In recent years, more proposals involve creating instructional web sites. The PODS site combines text, images, video and audio to provide health professionals with the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to become culturally competent providers.