Transmission Project - service

Where did you get that bright and shiny digital literacy?

Howie Fisher — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 18:19:12 +0000

Recent policy papers call for the support of community digital literacy providers, including community-based organizations, but there is little appreciation for the variety and richness of these organizations’ work. The Aspen Institute and Knight Foundation’s “Digital Literacy: A Plan of Action” admits there is “little awareness of programs and services in digital and media literacy education,” and recommends the mapping of community digital and media literacy resources. A framework for digital and media literacy training [pdf] having been established, the next question is, who is providing this kind of training anyway?

Having administered a national service corps for ten years, the Transmission Project has a unique perspective on the field of public media, and alongside the Center for Media Engagement, it is already mapping public media organizations, many of which serve as media and digital literacy providers in their communities. From this vantage point, we can see that the organizations delivering media and digital literacy training may not be seen as literacy organizations first and foremost, and many explicitly literacy-oriented institutions in fact address a variety of needs.

At Latinitas in El Paso, TX, digital literacy is being taught to Latina girls and young women through activities that promote cultural pride. These activities range from arts-and-crafts projects to digital picture-taking to creative journalism; they are primarily aimed at fostering a sense of identity and self-worth and inspiring discussion around issues like immigration, which youth learn about from various news sources. However, as Latinitas youth participate in program activities, they also engage with a variety of technologies that allow them to share their own perspectives in multiple ways. Latinitas’ website hosts two youth-published magazines. Youth create audio recordings and tie them to what they have written in relevant ways. Participants use Flip cameras to record and download digital video they take themselves. Latinitas serves the functions of media and digital literacy by creating critically thinking, civically engaged consumers and creators of media as it addresses the unique concerns of young Latina women.

Based in Albuquerque, NM, the Media Literacy Project runs similar youth programs, such as its Digital Justice for Us campaign, in which inner-city youth video-record their interviews with peers from rural areas with poor broadband infrastructure. However, youth media programming has not always been a primary focus of MLP; story sharing and media making have only recently become priorities. Traditionally, MLP has cultivated media literacy through teaching participants how to analyze and deconstruct manipulative media messages, especially advertisements. MLP has always gotten participants to take responsibility for and play a more active role in the media, but only in recent years has the organization provided community members the tools as well as the skills to share their perspectives and recruited their help to assure that the entire community maintains its right to a public voice.

Media Literacy Project’s new approach can be attributed to the fact that as comprehensive digital and media literacy has come to connote the use of new technologies, the MLP has had to extend its work to securing fair access to and affordability of those technologies if it is to continue to provide a useful service to its community. The necessary extension of Media Literacy Project’s work into a new realm reveals another blind spot of the current literature. Studies rightly assert that media literacy calls for not only effective use of new technologies, but also comprehension of the “social, cultural and ethical issues that go along with the use of these technologies.” More often than not, though, the same studies provide only vague notions of the far-reaching work such a comprehension would ultimately demand. For many organizations that serve marginalized populations, this means showing community members the social and economic opportunities that technology represents and then mobilizing communities for the purposes of securing access and affordability.

As definitions of literacy expand to accommodate new technologies, the work of organizations necessarily expands to address the social issues that attend those technologies. The Transmission Project supports these organizations because the multifaceted nature of their work – their ability to serve communities as they adapt to changing times – makes them prime recipients of capacity building and maximizes the impact that the addition of a Digital Arts Service Corps member makes.

Special Thanks

Christie McAuley, Community Education Coordinator, Media Literacy Project
MLP receives funding from the New Mexico Department of Health’s Tobacco Use Prevention & Control Program (TUPAC) to provide health education and tobacco prevention programs around media. Christie oversees the administration of this and similar media education programs.

Leticia Miranda, Digital Arts Service Corps Member
Community Outreach Coordinator, Media Literacy Project
Leticia directed and produced a counter-ad to Verizon’s Rule the Air campaign. The video was aired this past November 16 at a Future of the Internet Townhall with FCC Commissionaer Michael Copps, hosted by the Media Literacy Project, Center for Media Justice, and Free Press.

Candelario Vazquez, Digital Arts Service Corps Member
Media Justice Organizer, Media Literacy Project
Cande organized the Digital Justice 4 Us youth program.

Marisol Guzaman, Digital Arts Service Corps Member
Program Development Coordinator, Latinitas
Marisol creates volunteer training manuals and develops and refines a collection of over 100 lessons and activities for clubs and afterschool programs.

The Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, Digital and Media Literacy:
A Plan of Action, Washington, D.C.: The Aspen Institute, November 2010.

CTEP another example of service in support of digital literacy

Ben Sheldon — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 17:31:35 +0000

TECHdotMIN published an article about the Community Technology Empowerment Project (CTEP) in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. CTEP was a result of organizing efforts by Digital Arts Service Corps members, and has received further capacity building support from our Corps.

While CTEP’s model focuses more on direct service (e.g. teaching) than capacity building (e.g. writing curriculum), like the Digital Arts Service Corps, they recognize that digital literacy needs go far beyond just getting computers into the hands of community members:

“In the 21st Century, access to technology is a crucial social justice and literacy issue,” says Aaron Mendelson, second year CTEP member serving as the News and New Media Training Assistant at KFAI Radio. CTEP arose from discussions in 2001 and 2002 about the technology needs of local organization and the communities which Americorps wanted to serve. The assumption could easily be made that the communities and organizations were lacking computers, but in reality, donated computers always seemed to be the easiest to procure.

Although hardware is essential, it is also the part of a technology center that donors are most likely to fund; what was lacking were the people to design, develop and lead programming around digital literacy.

Like the Digital Arts Service Corps, CTEP is a sometimes overlooked model for digital literacy development:

The work of CTEP received national attention when, in March of this year, the FCC unveiled its National Broadband Plan to Congress. One of the plans major goals is to ensure every American has the opportunity to become digitally literate. The FCC’s key recommendation to achieve this goal is to launch a National Digital Literacy Corps, which would “organize and training youth and adults to teach digital literacy skills and enable private sector programs addressed at breaking adoption barriers.” It is a great approach, and one that was crafted by the founders of CTEP over six years ago.

Visualizing 10 years of impact

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:26:26 +0000

Yesterday we posted an infographic showing all of the service members we’ve placed. Since our focus is on building the capacity of organizations that use media and technology to strengthen communities, it’s equally important (if not more) to chart out all of the nonprofits and institutions we’ve placed Digital Arts Service Corps (and CTC VISTA before it) members over our 10 year history. (160 organizations is a tough fit, so you can download this visual as a full-sized PDF for easier reading.)

Digital Literacy Corps Resource Roundup

Ben Sheldon — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 16:47:56 +0000

The newly proposed Digital Literacy Corps—part of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan recommendations—has been a source of pride for us: a recognition of the importance of our 10 years of service through the Digital Arts Service Corps and the CTC VISTA Project before it. Of course, back then we were trying to get folks on dialup… nothing has changed but the speeds.

Here are some recommendations and articles on the role national service can play in connecting and strengthening communities:

National Broadband Plan: Recommendation 9.3: Creating a Digital Literacy Corps.

Some Corps members might be based out of urban schools where they could work with teachers, staff and administrators to create digital literacy lesson plans and integrate digital skills into the teaching of other subjects. Other members might work with broader social service programs to provide digital literacy training as part of a workforce development program. Still other members could incorporate demonstration projects into training activities in rural areas to show the relevance of broadband technology to rural non-adopters and to encourage people to invest time in digital skills training.

Corps members will help non-adopters overcome discomfort with technology and fears of getting online while also helping people become more comfortable with content and applications that are of immediate and individual relevance. For example, Corps members might help people research health information, seek employment, manage finances and engage with or utilize government services.
Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy: Recommendation #12.

Imagine a “Geek Corps for Local Democracy” where, as a post-college opportunity, American youth volunteer to help connect a physical community to the networked infrastructure. They would be assigned to diverse communities to help local government officials, librarians, police, teachers, and other community leaders leverage networked technology. Geek Corps participants would teach community members how to use technology. They would help local leaders to understand technological shifts and how they can leverage new technologies for community practices. Participants from all the communities involved would be connected into a national network of participants to share best practices, develop collectively usable code, and build a network of information systems for local democracy.
Huffington Post: A Plan to Connect All Americans to the Digital World:

Like the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, the Digital Literacy Corps will recruit youth and adults as volunteers to work in underserved communities, helping people get connected – not only to broadband, but to the educational and economic resources that broadband can bring to the next generation of Americans.”
Computerworld: FCC to propose national digital literacy corps:

The National Digital Literacy Corps, modeled after other volunteer programs like AmeriCorps, will target communities with low numbers of broadband subscribers, including low-income housing developments, rural areas and tribal lands, said Mignon Clyburn, a member of the FCC, speaking Tuesday during a conference on the digital divide in Washington.

“The Digital Literacy Corps will mobilize hundreds of digital ambassadors in local communities across the country,” she said. “This is about neighbors helping neighbors get online.”

Some other proposed, existing and just-launched programs based upon a service model:

National Black Programming Consortium: Public Media Corps: “Creating engaged communities, for a networked world”
Community Technology Empowerment Project: “helping youth and adults use technology to better access social, civic, educational and economic opportunities.”
OneCommunity: Connect Your Community: “charged with increasing broadband awareness, teaching basic skills related to broadband technology, and stimulating household adoption of broadband.” (BTOP Fact Sheet)

A national service consensus on capacity building

Ben Sheldon — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:28:35 +0000

In addition to being native to the islands of public media and technology, the Transmission Project is also a bright star in the constellation of national service initiatives. Over the past few months we have been participating in stakeholder dialogues with the Corporation for National Community Service on the topic of capacity building in nonprofits.

The summaries of those dialogues have been shared and the results are quite fascinating. While the Corporation for National Service is quite obviously interested in volunteerism, it is good to see that they recognize that fielding community resources requires more than many hands. Through the dialogues the following capacity building needs were identified:

The most critical capacity building issues facing small and midsize nonprofits right now are sustainability (cash flow and consistent funding, particularly for infrastructure), leadership, ability to nurture partnerships and relationships, capacity to manage and retain volunteers, weak understanding of the role of governance, short-term thinking and stagnation, capacity to use technology, and capacity to manage and cultivate human capital, both paid and volunteer.

Interesting also were the recommendation on the role the Corporation for National and Community service can play. On a small scale, they sound very similar to the role we see for the Transmission Project as we build to scale:

The most critical role the Corporation can play and where the Corporation can have the greatest impact for limited investment is in continuing to convene the stakeholders across sectors – government, nonprofit, and foundation/corporate; conduct and disseminate research on what’s working and not working in the nonprofit sector; establish a “framework of standardized or effective practices – “be the go-to place” for tools and funding opportunities; help to define the metrics for measuring social impact and train nonprofits on this; recognize and affirm what works; train the trainer; invest in the development of emerging leaders; support interagency collaboration; and streamline our grant processes. The Corporation was strongly encouraged to not duplicate what already exists, to work with
existing intermediaries, encourage other funders to invest in nonprofit capacity building, and to encourage interagency communication and collaboration. Cultural competency is critical to the effectiveness of capacity building strategies.

Lastly, I think the qualities of effective intermediaries and partners is quite enlightening (and also similar to the traits we seek out in our partners):

The Corporation should select intermediaries who demonstrate an ability to convene and partner with other intermediaries, have a solid infrastructure to measure their success…[and] a track-record of ongoing assistance with recipients

You can download a copy of the report below.

National Conference on Volunteering and Service

Mira Allen — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 20:32:39 +0000

The 2010 conference, taking place June 28-30 in New York City, comes at a time of unprecedented need and momentum for service. As the economic downturn puts more Americans at risk, service is needed more than ever to meet our national challenges. The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act has set the stage for a new era of expansion, innovation and impact for the service movement. Come learn how to seize this momentum and engage citizens in solving problems and making lasting change in your communities.

National Conference on Volunteering and Service, 2010

Ben Sheldon — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:01:15 +0000

The National Conference on Volunteering and Service is the world’s largest gathering of volunteer and service leaders from the nonprofit, government, and corporate sectors. Convened by Points of Light Institute and the Corporation for National and Community Service, the annual event provides attendees with an opportunity to learn, connect and shape the future of service and volunteering through a wide range of sessions, workshops, special events, service projects, panels, and special dialogues. More than 4,000 attendees are expected to attend the 2010 conference, June 28-30 in New York City.

Guide: Service Corps to Social Impact Career

Ben Sheldon — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 22:47:29 +0000

Amy Potthast of Idealist.org just released a new guide for service corps members who wish to transition to a career in nonprofits. The guide is a free download and a companion to their Idealist Guides to Nonprofit Careers.

Your participation in national or international service gives you an incredible starting point for a career and life with social impact. This is true whether you are a recent high school or college graduate, or an encore professional. For people early in their careers, service also offers an opportunity to build hands-on experience before applying to college or graduate school.

…

As a service corps participant, your transition to a career or school is unique for several reasons. Right now you have an awesome opportunity to become part of the next wave of public service leaders. Projections indicate that from 2006 to 2016, U.S. nonprofits will need to attract and develop 640,000 new senior managers, or 2.4 times 2006 levels.

By learning career transition skills during your term of service, you can plan your professional growth and prepare to assume leadership roles throughout your career.