Collaboration

Now in its third and final year, the PT3 grant at Dominican University of California, Technology Integration in Education, has made considerable gains.  Keeping close to our original goals, we have successfully served faculty in the Division of Education, student teachers in our credential programs, and others across campus and in the community.  Adapted from PT3 Video New Horizons: The Legacy of PT3, 2003, Madalienne Peters.

Margaret Golden, faculty & tech mentor
for Multiple Subject Credential students

In April, 2003, the Dominican University of California PT3 Team hosted a two and one-half day Collaborative Exchange site visit which provided an interactive forum for other PT3 implementation grantees to exchange ideas, perspectives, and experiences.

 A purpose of the Collaborative Exchange is to bring PT3 projects together in face-to-face site visits, build communities of practice around common interests and share project spotlights and lessons learned. The Collaborative Exchange Visiting Team included grantees from James Madison University, Harrisburg, Virginia; Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia and the University of San Francisco.

The Visiting Team prepared a Summary Report that included the following feedback regarding both the intended and actual outcomes of the DUC host project objectives:
The Dominican project appears to have progressed even better than originally planned. The PT3 funding at Dominican has provided the impetus for no less than a transformation in teaching and learning at Dominican over the course of the last two years. Concurrent with the PT3 funding, two state grants were also awarded and, these funds have allowed Dominican to actively explore and implement technology use in support of teaching and learning in a variety of areas, including:  1) implementation of an online teaching and learning model (primarily via Blackboard) on campus; 2) development of extensive partnerships in the community (e.g., San Francisco Bay model); 3) use of community access television for outreach and dissemination activities; and 4) implementation of a series of Using Technology in the Classroom sessions for developing effective use of technology in teaching and learning on the part of students. Further, perhaps the most impressive accomplishment of all is the fact that these effects, initiated by PT3 and related funding, have been largely institutionalized at Dominican such, that these effects and programs will continue beyond the PT3 funding period.  Adapted from Collaborative Exchange report submitted by Rich Ingram, James Madison University, April 2003.

An important key to success includes strong support from the Dean of the Division of Education, and other campus administrators.  Faculty have embraced the opportunity to learn from our two faculty-in-residence, transforming our thinking about the teaching and learning process, and taking important steps to develop an online environment for many courses.

Lin Muehlinghaus, faculty & tech mentor
for Single Subject Credential students

Partnerships have continued to work successfully, expanding influence beyond the Division of Education.  The Marin County Office of Education, the San Francisco Bay Model Association, Soroptimist International of Novato and Novato Public Access Television have been instrumental in moving our project beyond local boundaries.  There are many success stories, and new ideas emerging all the time that launch us further in our goals of integrating technology into learning for children and adults.  Adapted from PT3 video New Horizons: The Legacy of PT3, 2003, Madalienne Peters.
 
The collaborative model chosen by the PT3 Team has led to close cooperation from the stakeholders. Unlike many institutions dealing with technology, Dominican University of CA has accepted the many challenges of bringing technology into its programs. There has been no resistance to the changes which such a paradigm shift can bring. The evidence of this cooperative spirit is found in key accomplishments:

• All classes in the Division of Education now have an online component through Blackboard.com.
• State approved standards for Technology in Teacher Preparation have been adopted by the Division of Education.
• In the first two years of the grant, over 400 students successfully completed eCamp. In year three, the institutionalization of eCamp brought a name change: "Using Technology in the Classroom."

• The university's Master of Science in Education program is an established hybrid program combining face-to-face sessions with online coursework and discussion groups.
• Faculty expertise in technology use has improved dramatically.
• In Fall 2003, eCamp ("Using Technology in the Classroom") received "course" status as an integral part of the teacher preparation program.
•  Many aspects of the PT3 program are now line items in the Division of Education proposed budget for the fiscal year 2004.
• The PT3 model has been the basis for new grant proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF), Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) and Eisenhower.

The cooperative spirit engendered by the PT3 Project has made a significant impact upon the Division of Education and Dominican University of CA as a whole.  Adapted from PT3 Video  New Horizons: The Legacy of PT3, 2003, Will Fowler.