it support
Youth Media Coordinator
Organization:
Boston Neighborhood Network VISTA Name:
Julie Bohnlein
Program Start:
1/2007
Project Description:
Julie will be working with youth to build a youth-lead media production club. Her role will be to help the youth members to establish a program structure, volunteer mentoring and instructional, and production guidelines for youth lead video projects. She will be working closely on these activities with our Multimedia Coordinator. Part of the position requires that she assist in the development of new media/technology curriculum based on past participant evaluations. A major goal is to increase youth participation and leadership to the point that the club is able to produce a once a week program made by teens for cablecast on our channels.
- Assist in further development of BNN’s youth media arts and technology services and training, including assessment, curriculum development and coordination of instructional offerings.
- Outreach to Boston teens, especially at-risk youth, to recruit interest in media-making at BNN. Work with other youth-serving organizations, develop promotional materials (print and video), survey past participants, and assist with planning improvements.
- Develop youth media club to provide regular opportunity for sustainable involvement of youth participants beyond duration of workshops.
- Help identify potential funding sources for club, mentors and training scholarships
- Provide individual assistance to youth and other BNN members as they develop the technical and creative skills necessary to assume leadership roles within the program
- Collaborate with and support youth-based initiatives with community partners and organizations
Policy, Planning and Program Development
Organization:
Collins Center for Public Policy, Inc. VISTA Name:
Diego Barrera
Program Start:
1/2007
Project Description:
The VISTA will work with the Community Technology Initiative to build community technology-related capacity across the South Florida region via policy, planning and program development.
- Update, maintain, and promote zip code searchable database mapping system for community technology access throughout the region
- Provide support for the development of the South Florida Regional Equitable Connection web portal and provide outreach to local agencies to expand access to a wide array of resources
- Provide technical assistance and support to existing and emerging community technology programs
- Organize and document findings for a series of focus group discussions targeting potential or current end-users of community technology programs
- Research sustainable best practices relevant to community technology in the South Florida region.
- Assist with policy-related research and field activities relevant to community technology issues in the region.
- Where feasible, provide assistance with other policy and program development related to the initiative’s plan of work through activities that develop capacity and consensus building
Software Engineer
Organization:
Community Software Lab VISTA Name:
Kamala Kalluri
Program Start:
2/2006
Project Description:
Ms Kallrui will be part of the group working to automate our processes so we can grow from serving 30 organizations to serving 100 or more organizations.
- Create or select customer relations management database
- Automate services provisioning
- Improve tech support processes
- Other related technical duties assigned
Project Outcome:
- Completed the downtime database
- Worked with several community groups to improve their websites
- Designed new business cards
- Participated in our presentation at the NTEN conference
- Updated our customer directory
- Developed application to measure server failures and failure causes
- Developed interface between teen center donor database and website to allow people to add themselves to the database
- Worked on installing and configuring photo gallery software on web server
- Installed and configured blog software, integrated it to website
Wireless Network Deployment
Organization:
Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network (CUWiN) VISTA Name:
Matthew Isaacs
Program Start:
9/2006
Project Description:
CUWiN develops and deploys wireless networks across the US, focusing on areas that are either priced out of the broadband Internet market or areas that telecomm incumbents won’t connect. The VISTA will work closely with the CUWin core staff to facilitate the growth of the CUWiN project.
- Identify ideal node locations. Install and troubleshoot network nodes in Champaign and Urbana
- Provide technical support to local residents and partners to maintain the local wireless network
- Participate in solving problems within CUWiN networks nationwide.
- Help update and maintain cuwireless.net
- Answer questions on the support list
Project Outcome:
Matt Isaacs has been a remarkably productive member of the CUWiN team. His development work has included numerous upgrades to CUWiNware (e.g. porting uDHCP, adding nightly builds and an automatic upgrade script, as well as a firmware builder web-application). He has been actively involved in system administration of the Tribal Digital Village network and has worked closely win CUWiN’s Chief Engineer
Tutor and Event Documentarian
Organization:
Lowell Telecommunications Corporation VISTA Name:
Thomas Konieczny
Program Start:
7/2008
Program End:
7/2009
Project Description:
Thomas’ current duties consist of tutoring and mentoring individuals who are involved in various youth and community projects and organizations, and technical support for LTC’s various media and infrastructure upgrading projects.
Project Outcome:
He is good at working one-on-one with individuals and as a utility person on video projects. For example he helped set up and break down the mobile TV rig at a recent Lowell Symphony concert and at this summer’s Lowell African Festival. In between setting up and breaking down he participated as a camera man. He also has video editing skills and has completely edited a few TV shows highlighting community organizations, eg., a half hour show on (The Merrimack River) Clean River Project.
Tom has played a vital role in the LTC’s media work in a number of Lowell’s festivals such as the Lowell Folk Festival, the Lowell African Festival, the Southeast Asian Water Festival. He has worked as a youth project mentor with the River Ambassador Project, the Light of Cambodian Children project, Lowell Catholic High School’s media project, the UMass Lowell GEAR-UP summer project, the United Teen Equality Project and others. He has helps with one-on-one tutoring of new producers involved in two or three religious organization’s TV shows. He has helped out in our vast infrastructure upgrading program as well.
Program Development
VISTA Name:
Naomi Jimenez
Program Start:
1/2007
Program End:
1/2008
Project Description:
Naomi’s responsibilities were many and varied. At the beginning of the year, she assisted in the major redesign of our website, www.otxwest.org. Using tools such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and others, she added to visual elements as well as rewrote a significant amount of the content and reworked the navigation. Her technical duties consisted of helping to coordinate the installation of labs in schools and community centers. She worked with our network specialists to set up and occasionally maintain labs both in in schools and at community centers in various locations around Oakland. In addition, she often participated in our Tech Support Day, which is the day when recipients of our refurbished computers can come in and have their computers repaired or receive one-on-one instruction. She also assisted in the instruction of both our Take Home Computer Program, as well as four digital storytelling workshops, which varied in length from 2 days to four weeks. She would also occasionally supervise our volunteers.
Project Outcome:
Naomi enhanced the existing curriculum for our Take Home Computer Program curriculum, adding about 10 additional pages to our training manual, which covers basic computer maintenance and internet safety. She also created various instructional handouts for our digital storytelling classes. She was directly responsible for an increase in the attendance of our Take Home Computer Program by at least 300 students, which is roughly one third more than last year. She also helped upwards of 270 students become confident in the use of multimedia software during our digital storytelling classes. She also increased her technology skills, both software and hardware. She went from having little to no experience using audio and image editing software, to being knowledgeable enough to teach others how to use them. She went from being slightly nervous speaking in front of a group, to being a commanding and effective presence in the classroom.
Although it isn’t particularly specific, Naomi’s digital story “California Dreaming” inspired many students to learn to use the multimedia programs. It never failed to get applause when we played it in class.
Taylor Center Media Program Technical Manager
Organization:
U Mass Boston/College of Public & Community Service VISTA Name:
Shannon McCue
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
As technical manager of the Taylor Center Media program Shannon will manage the equipment flow, checkout and maintenance process as well as provide technical and production assistance to both faculty and students, conducting one on one and workshop instruction in the use of video, computer and web production and editing.
Project Outcome:
Shannon McCue has served successfully as the technical manager of the Taylor Center Media program. She continues to manage the equipment flow, checkout and maintenance process. She provides technical and production assistance to both faculty and students, conducting one on one and workshop instruction in the use of video, computer and web production and editing. Along with her VISTA partner, she coordinated a digital media mini conference for students, faculty and staff. Shannon also has worked with her VISTA partner, Danielle Martin, to set up and schedule a number of production workshop and learning events in the course of the year [video blogging, video lighting and sound to mention just a few] in addition to working effective in the on-going maintenance of communication flow, production planning and coordination of the Tactical Media project, a project-based learning initiative of the program. Shannon is extremely trustworthy and thoughtful in carrying out her duties. Shannon has made an enormous contribution to the CMT program’s development.
CTC Support and Assistance
Organization:
netCorps VISTA Name:
Aliya Abbasi
Program Start:
9/2005
Program End:
9/2007
Project Description:
The VISTA will provide assistance in the form of technology assessments, planning and budgeting, computer repair and refurbishing, securing new and used technology hardware and software through donation and/or purchase, assessing the computer skills of each organization’s staff and providing training to fill in the knowledge gaps, establishing computer networks, both wired and wireless, and enabling the sharing of network resources such as printers and files, setting up email accounts for staff, writing best practice computer/network/security policies and procedures for each organization, identifying funding sources for each nonprofit that will enable them to afford their top-priority technology needs, creating and updating websites, and creating new databases and improving on the data collection and reporting of existing ones. The non-technical services that the VISTAs will provide will be equally important: helping techno-phobes and technology novices ease into the daily use of technology by using a non-intimidating vocabulary and non-judgmental computer-side manner.
Project Outcome:
To date, this project has accomplished much. Aliya has worked with a variety of nonprofit organizations in Greensboro and the surrounding community, offering direct assistance with technology training, implementation and support. She has coordinated a number of trainings and outreach events, exposing a significant population of nonprofits to this project. She has made connections with other community organizations and foundations, helping to lay the groundwork for making this project a more permanent part of the nonprofit landscape in Greensboro.
Impact Quote:
Our VISTA experience, a very positive one to date, is helping our organization in a number of ways. Aliya’s placement in Greensboro is allowing us to work with organizations we would not be able to serve otherwise. She is exploring and implementing new strategies that others in our organization can now also use in their own work. She is helping to identify other community resources to take the project beyond its original scope, making sure that the organizations served will continue to benefit long after this project ends.
Fundraising and IT Support
Organization:
Carlos Rosario International Career Center VISTA Name:
Mark Betz
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
The AmeriCorps*VISTA will research and develop prospective sources of funding and new programs and analyzing industry trends. The project will also enlist volunteer support for direct service through teaching a technology program, increasing the use of technology in our ESL program, and providing technical support and tutoring assistance.
Project Outcome:
Mark was able to implement an open computer lab at the school that provides basic to advanced technology to help students. With regular lab hours he is able to make himself available on a consistent basis for the entire student body. Mark also helps teachers with class projects that include working with students on particular software programs or internet research, etc. Responding to staff IT needs, Mark is able to work on a one-on-one basis providing training and helping staff identify ways in which technology can make their work more efficient.
Mark has also been working with the Family Literacy program, an off-site program where we provide literacy classes to parents in partnering elementary schools.
Mark has also been instrumental in integrating the community wide technology workshops offered during our Community Days. Community Days take place on periodic Saturdays and are open to the community at large, especially the immediate neighborhood. They offer a variety of educational workshops and social services. During Community Day, Mark was able to hold an open computer lab with activities designed for children, as many of the Community Day activities were family oriented.