technology planning
CTC Tech Support and Technology Planning
Organization:
Durham Literacy Center Inc. VISTA Name:
Ben Pratt
Program Start:
8/2003
Program End:
8/2004
Project Description:
Goals
1. Revise Webpage
2. Provide Tech Support/ Upgrade Computer Systems
3. Put together Technology Committee
4. Recruit volunteers to facilitate PC Basics Course
5. Offsite Tech Support
6. Documentation
7. Develop DLC’s Technology Plan
Project Outcome:
The CTCNet VISTA, Ben Pratt, has provided invaluable service to the Durham Literacy Center (DLC) this year. Ben has been able to collaborate with community partners and volunteers to specifically focus on technology and capacity building at DLC and other community technology centers in Durham. To date, he has completely overhauled DLC’s technical infrastructure, including our local area network, administrative computers, plus all computers at our CTC lab housed at our office. DLC also runs two other community labs at partner sites. Ben has made the labs more functional and accessible to our students and the general public. Additionally, Ben has spearheaded the development of an ad hoc technology committee where he recruited local leaders in technology and IT professionals to participate. This ad hoc committee has allowed DLC to establish standards for technology and implement best-practices for the use of technology with our adult learners. We foresee this committee as being adopted by our board of directors as a permanent committee and will develop a long overdue technology plan for our agency. We are also planning to get another VISTA next year to replace Ben. This technology committee will ensure a quick transition as well as training and consistent development of DLC’s technology infrastructure and instructional technology use.
Summary of Project Accomplishments
•Managed technical equipment donations
•Upgraded all PCs to W2K, installed Office XP or 2003
•Put web and mail services into production
•Managed PC Basics course
•Reorganized computer lab and replaced 8 aging lab computers
•Replaced or upgraded all of staff PCs
•Implemented and maintained Red hat Linux server with roaming profiles
•Wireless access is available throughout building by installing new Wireless Access Point
•Cleaned out technology closets
•Recruited technical volunteers and co-chaired technology committee that began the agency’s technology plan
•Came up with lab policies and implemented them
•Reorganized Network Neighborhood, making it easier to find files
•Got virus protection for all PCs
•Provided tech support to staff, volunteers, community/service partners and students
•Updated and maintained www.durhamliteracy.org website
•Organized and coordinated rollout of 40 new PCs from IBM which included software install and setup on servers and clients, hardware setup, and rollout
•Created documentation and materials for next VISTA
•Met with new VISTA to transfer knowledge and ideas
Impact Quote:
“Overall, this has been a superb use of resources provided by CTCNet and the VISTA project. It’s a win-win for both the agency and the VISTA.”
- Lizzie Ellis-Furlong, supervisor
CTC Support and Program Building
Organization:
The Wilderness Technology Alliance VISTA Name:
Tony Brown
Program Start:
6/2007
Program End:
6/2008
Project Description:
The WTA is establishing a community technology center (CTC) for the homeless as the CCNV shelter. It provides technology access and training programs for the shelter population, as well as other disadvantaged populations utilizing it. The VISTA member will train the homeless, then cultivate them to become full-time volunteers at the center.
These trained volunteers will build a self-sustaining service-learning model where trained members of the homeless community gain work-based learning experiences by performing vital technology repair and training services for local non-profit organizations and government agencies. Small fees will be charged, just enough to self-sustain the program.
Phase I: Train the VISTA member in WTA service-learning performance tasks (see above). The VISTA member spends a period of time pacticing these skills by training many members of the homeless community in the CCNV in technology.
Phase II: Provide the homeless with professional technology job experience by operating a real high-tech company. The VISTA member will be trained in the WTA Enterprise Curriculum and will use it to train and support advanced volunteers from the shelter in performing technology service-learning for the community.
Phase III: Armed with job experience provided in Phase II, service-learning volunteers have a better chance to obtain technology employment or to open their own firms. For a very small group of homeless having the skill set yet lacking the resources and confidence to start their own firms, the WTA and CCNV will provide desk space and the VISTA member will train and support them so they can open their own technology firms in the WTA/CCNV building.
Project Outcome:
Tony recruited 5 executive board members (all volunteers and all homeless) to lead the governance of WildTech-CCNV. ed the acquisition of all surplus technology for refurbishing.
Tony single-handedly landed a 200 computer donation from AARP, which will be distributed across the region.
Tony rebuilt two technology access labs in the shelter, providing technology access for 1300 people.
Implemented three sets of 12 week training classes for shelter residents. These included:
1. MS Word
2. MS Excel
3. Introduction to Computers
4. Computer refurbishing
Tony refurbished enough laptop computers to award to every homeless graduate of the 12 week training sessions.
Tony began building an eBay ecommerse training class so homeless can start selling on eBay.
Tony began building a city-wide computer recycling program and assisted in writing a proposal that was submitted to federal GSA and the District of Columbia to have homeless people manage their recyclable electronics.
Managed the writing of 5 grants to five agencies. All writing was done by homeless people.
Impact Quote:
“We now have a fully self-governing volunteer board of directors. All are homeless and all are equally helping to sustain the program. Tony developed a solid supply of computers, resources and more.”
- Lou August, supervisor
Technical Support
Organization:
Lowell Telecommunications Corporation VISTA Name:
Dan MacNeil
Program Start:
9/2000
Program End:
9/2002
Project Description:
Dan has been responsible for leading a crew of volunteers, interns and VISTAs working on creating central web-based services for nonprofits.
LTC and the Consortium expect that access to additional technical support and training personnel will result in increased access to computer technology for the community and increased efficiency within organizations through better and easier to-access expertise.
The VISTA member will work with members of the Consortium and the larger Lowell NPO community. The range of activities will vary from organization to organization. In general, VISTas will supervise public access computers, train the community in a wide assortment of computer applications, provide technical support, assist in the setup of new computer labs (including small LANs), and improve and support information systems (i.e., websites, databases, electronic mail, access to the Inernet). We do not expect that every VISTA will have all the necessary skills to accomplish these, but we would like to see the bringing together of a team of individuals that can support and build upon their individual strengths.
Project Outcome:
We’ve gotten the following new services working in production:
• DNS
• CVS
• SUEXEC
• samba (MS file serving domain controlling on Unix)
These service work in a test environment.
• calendering
• email w/ virus checking
• databases
• SSL
• automatic creation of test systems
• programmatic manipulation of images
We’ve done this additional work outside our charter:
• Trained 40 people in basic UNIX
• Kept the Mercier public access center open and staffed.
• Some other dinky stuff like cleaning up lowellhabitat.org
The SUEXEC project pretty well sums up our experience. It is essential for the future, yet not very incomprehensible to management and time consuming. Further, the available person to lead the project was smart and hardworking but completely inexperienced
Dan spent most of his Fridays and many Saturday’s this year working with a volunteer to get this project finished. It would have been quicker to do the work himself, but the volunteer benefited greatly from the experience and is eager to contribute more next summer.
Website and Database Development
Organization:
Lowell Telecommunications Corporation VISTA Name:
Kevin Loechner
Program Start:
11/2001
Program End:
11/2002
Project Description:
The goals Kevin has been working on are:
1.Creating a strong network infrastructure that is affordable, stable and easy to manage for non-tech people.
2.Developing a website presence and plan for 3 local nonprofits.
3.Contributing to the development of a Computer Training book to teach Microsoft Office programs to adult learners. Progress has been made toward completing the Excel training.
Project Outcome:
In terms of capacity building, we have had the greatest success with goal 1. Kevin has been leading the project to transfer our network from a Windows to a Linux operating system, while training two staff members to be able to take on the technical duties when he leaves.
With regard to goal 2, the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Lowell site is essentially complete, although has not been launched due to decisions still to be made on the part of the club. Unfortunately, we fell short on this goal, which was to complete three sites by the end of Kevin’s term. . We hope to have Kevin create a template that can be used by other nonprofits that would like a website.
As a result of Kevin’s work on goal 3, we have a rough draft of the first part of a project based Excel training near completion, and hope to have the beta version done by Kevin’s departure.
We had two other goals Kevin was going to work on that we did not pursue. One was helping with the development of an information-interviewing library; the other was working on developing a volunteer program for the Lowell Community Technology Consortium.