CBO Technology Planning
Organization:
ScienceQuest/EDC VISTA Name:
Lauren Penney
Program Start:
8/2003
Program End:
8/2004
Project Description:
Lauren’s primary assignment throughout the course of her service year at YouthLearn has been to redesign our web and email tools and resources to help us better serve our community.
There were three primary tasks detailed in Lauren’s workplan:
• Leverage existing and new tools/content/resources to enhance website/discussion list/newsletter and related services
• Develop a more systematic, integrated way of identifying and/or creating resources for YouthLearn community and broader field
• Evaluate and improve systems (automated and otherwise), especially our choice/use of technology tools, for efficiency/cost-effectiveness/appropriateness and advise on new technology
Project Outcome:
Lauren’s work has led to three major changes in our online services. She has converted our discussion list to a new format using mailman software that offers us much easier facilitation. She has created a member database where we are able to collect feedback from our community as well as demographic information. Lauren also created an incredibly effective blog format for our online newsletter that can be continually updated by any member of our team and automatically delivered to subscribers on a regular basis. These and other contributions from Lauren’s year have greatly improved YouthLearn’s capacity to harness new technologies and better serve the field.
Impact Quote:
“Lauren has been an extremely dedicated worker and possesses many impressive qualities including commitment to our work, her conscientiousness, her follow-through on tasks, her professionalism, and her willingness to receive constructive criticism and learn/adapt accordingly. We were all consistently impressed with the ownership she felt toward her tasks and the initiative she took with them, as well as her strength as a team player and commitment to other YouthLearn staff members.”
- supervisor