Supporting excellence in technology through communities of learners

The Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers to use Technology Project (PT3) at the University of Pittsburgh encompasses public and private schools, a nonprofit educational consortium, industry partners and the University of Pittsburgh. The purposes of the project are (a) to encourage throughtful technology integration by mentor teachers, student teachers and university faculty; and (b) to support innovation, adoption and resource sharing by creating Collaborative Communities of Learners (CCOLs). These goals are achieved by engaging participants in a number of activities, including individualized training, summer camp, monthly professional development meetings, a Celebration of Successes for sharing projects, and technology skill workshops. Support is also provided through project on-site support staff, an interactive Web site, minigrants, and loans of equipment and software. Evaluation of the project is an ongoing iterative process. Data are collected through self-reporting instruments, event evaluations, journal entries, project checklists, videotaped presentations, and interviews. Currently, in its third year of four including a pilot year, the project involves 98 mentor teachers and 20 university faculty. This project documents the importance of technology support people who have excellent interpersonal skills, experience with instruction and the flexibility to adjust strategies to adopter needs, skills, and personalities. They are coinvestigators for the PT3 project described in this article.