Progress 08/01/12 to 07/31/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience werecurrent undergraduate students enrolled in agriculture and food science programs, potential undeclared students enrolled in our colleges and universities, newly enrolled students,and future employers of program graduates. Changes/Problems:The major challenge faced by CariPac institutions for this project has been the acquisition and receipt of equipment and services. Due to the insular nature of the institutions, it is often challenging to get needed equipment and services in a timely manner. The time delay is often caused by transportation limitations. Some institutions are awaiting video conferencing equipment, computer equipment, internet access, satellite installation, etc. all of which will allow the CariPac members to meet their individual project goals as well as consortium project goals. Other challenges include high communication costs, limited access to educational resources, increased isolation, limited infrastructure especially affordable bandwidth, and the loss of skilled and qualified workers. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A Distance Education Workshop hosted by the University of the Virgin Islands brought together CariPac members to share ideas and discuss opportunities to share educational resources that would benefit all CariPac members. The technical requirements for the sharing of resources was evaluated as was the opportunities for the sharing of curriculum and other educational and professional resources. Additionally, CariPac members were able to take advantage of attending technical (Moodle Moot and Blackboard World) conferences to hone and evaluate technical opportunities that their respective institutions could take advantage of as well as professional academic conferences to present the accomplishments and research from their respective institutions. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The project results from individual CariPac member were presented to peers in the agriculture industry at their respective institutions as well as through community media channels and to future students of agricultural sciences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, the CariPac institutions will continue to work diligently to accomplish project goals and objectives utilizing available resources while awaiting other equipment and services. We will also continue to develop a standardized course management system, prepare and train faculty to deliver online courses, upgrade our technological infrastructure to support distance education, and develop curriculum for the distance learning environment.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The University of Guam redesigned the curriculum of their traditional face-to-face plant science class for the online environment. The College of the Marshall Islands began redesigning their agricultural curriculum for delivery via video conference. The University of the Virgin Islands and University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez invested in upgrading classroom and video conferencing technologies to make course delivery more effective for students and faculty and increase video conferencing capacity through the addition of more video conference room pairs. CariPac members such as the College of Micronesia - FSM, College of the Northern Marianas and Palau Community College focused efforts on student recruitment and retention resulting in viable agriculture programs for these institutions. American Samoa Community College developed a summer program that brings agriculture awareness to the community.
Publications
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Progress 08/01/12 to 07/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Our target audience will be current undergraduate students enrolled in agriculture and food science programs and potential undeclared students enrolled in our colleges and universities as well as future employers of program graduates. Some of the CariPac institutions offer certificate programs in the 2-year community colleges, therefore the local island communities would be a potential benefactor of such a program. Changes/Problems: The major challenge faced by CariPac institutions for this project has been the acquisition and receipt of equipment and services. Some insitutions are awaiting video conferencing equipment, computer equipment, internet access, satellite installation, etc. all of which will allow the CariPac members to meet their individual project goals as well as consortium project goals. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? A Distance Education workshop was hosted by the University of the Virgin Islands that brought CariPac members together to share ideas and discuss opportunities to share educational resources that would benefit all CariPac members. The technical requirements for the sharing of resources was evaluated as was the opportunities for the sharing of curriculum and other educational and professional resources. Additionally, CariPac members have been able to take advantage of attending technical (Moodle Moot and Blackboard World) conferences to hone and evaluate technical opportunies their respective institutions could take advantage of as well as professional academic conferences to present the accomplishments and research from their respective institutions. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Individual CariPac member results for their projects have been presented to peers in the agriculture industry at the respective institutions as well as through community media channels and to future students of agricultural sciences. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? The CariPac insitutions have worked diligently to accomplish project goals and objectives. However, due to the insular nature of the institutions it is often challenging to get needed equipment and services in a timely manner. The time delay is often caused by transportation limitations. The CariPac insitutions will continue to work to meet project goals and objectives utilizing available resources while awaiting other equipment and services.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The University of Guam has redesigned the curriculum of their traditional face-to-face plant science class for the online environment. The College of the Marshall Islands has began redesigning their agricultural curriculum for delivery via video conference. The University of the Virgin Islands and University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez invested in upgrading classroom and video conferencing technologies to make course delivery more effective for students and faculty and increase video conferencing capacity through the addition of more video conference room pairs. CariPac members such as the College of Micronesia - FSM, College of the Northern Marianas and Palau Community College have focused efforts on student recruitment and retention resulting in viable agriculture programs for these institutions. American Samoa Community College has developed a summer program that brings agriculture awareness to the community.
Publications
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