Transmission Project

Stephen was the primary link between HOME, Inc. and Brighton High School. providing technical support to four teachers and supporting teachers in two media classes by helping to develop curriculum, provide professional development support including support to the teachers as they learned new computer applications. Stephen provided additional help to some of the students and helped our Media Lab Coordinator organize his work and program at Social Justice Academy. Stephen updated our website and helped develop and update our summer Teen TV content management system for our six week long summer intensive.

Stephen is a dedicated, sensitive and creative teacher who in his low key style gains the trust of hardened and skeptical teachers and students at the schools. He has outstanding problem solving skills and accepts most difficulties with grace and a can do attitude. Stephen was able to provide a high degree of leadership during our summer Teen TV intensive, providing both technical and creative support that encouraged staff and students to excel. His work on our website has helped to ensure that the content management system will continue to be an important factor in our organization’s growth and success.

Carrie Cook Carrie has focused on developing our internal systems that support expanding services to low-income individuals. She has developed our tutorial for embedding digital stories in community maps and assisted with the development of digital stories for a Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based project supporting residents of low-income housing. She has also been involved with developing outreach materials for the silence speaks project and a blog for educators who are implementing skills learned in our workshops in their classrooms. The blog will allow them to more effectively utilize digital storytelling with their stories. In addition, she supported website development and local event organizing for the International Day for Telling Life Stories. She will also participate in strengthening our internal digital story archiving system.

Thirteen computers donated last summer and fall are to be used to replace older equipment. As of early March, eight new computers had been placed in the CTC and work was almost completed on setting them up for class use. The remaining five will replace older computers in the secondary labs; this work will begin when the CTC work is completed. Work has begun on 10 computers in the new FOTS building. Five of the Win98 computers from the CTC replaced older computers in the secondary lab on the ground floor, which is used as a homework center after school.

The VISTA helped the Program Director develop a schedule of after-school classes for the first and second semesters of this school year. Software was widely used in teaching academic classes

Open Lab was available every afternoon during the first semester and was supervised by the VISTA. There were no Open Lab activities offered. A few students used this time to complete their homework assignments.

A volunteer continued her third year of teaching Lego Robotics. The fall group prepared for and competed in the Virginia Lego Robotics competition in November.

Training/orientation of tutors to FOTS educational software has been postponed. Tutors will be encouraged to use this system to check out software and use programs to supplement their tutoring sessions.

A large TV monitor was placed in a small classroom with a computer and is currently being used by one teacher to help teach her class using a software program.

New grant possibilities identified by CTCnet were sent to the FOTS fundraisers, Kelly Williams and Ann Womeldorf to research in further detail.

CTC Net VISTA Brian Pastori continued to be a technical assistance resource to the project and to the overall work of the agency that integrates community technology across the board in all of our programs. As we completed our move, we set up the VITA e-filing site and resumed the computer recycle and refurbishing after school program. Brian held an Organizer’s Database workshop and was available for one-on-one technical assistance to the participating groups. We were also able to pilot a videoconferencing project in collaboration with a counterpart CTC in Quiche, Guatemala. Brian coordinated student interns on a variety of CEDC projects and faciliated a team of summer youth to conduct an assessment of youth needs. Brian’s ability to adapt to a variety of projects has allowed us to continue his position after the end of his VISTA assignment. A local private foundation with a particular interest in encouraging their grantee groups to engage youth in programming increased our funding by 50% this year to help underwrite the costs of this newly funded position.

Our project accomplishments were exceptional– Taylor helped NTRC to create a solid multi-media program for youth at its Northwest Tower site, and to expand our reach into a local high school, Michelle Clark. We implemented a Hip Hop Club at Northwest Tower, where Taylor has helped to develop a digital audio and literacy curriculum, and an Apprenticeship in collaboration with After School Matters at Michelle Clark High, where Taylor designed a curriculum around digital video production.

This year we had a number of major accomplishments with AJ McGuire, including establishing a new course at the Social Justice Academy called Committee, that has added a core of projects for teens to complete in after school. After school projects for example, are incorporating Action Research principles that allow students to examine issues such as Global Warming and it’s impact on energy consumption and lifestyles, and equity in education in the Boston Public Schools and at the Social eeJustice Academy. The after school Mosaic program screened their videos for the entire student body in March, and we continued to make connections with new teachers and students both during school and after school. We have increase the number of teens participating in After School to 17. Our program has expanded to three full days per week. Two of our teens from the Social Justice Academy After School continued to work in our Summer Intensive at the Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN) in the Mall of Roxbury, where AJ was the lead program developer. Working in teams of 5 with three other team leaders, AJ helped to develop the curriculum, developed a web site workspace where projects could be posted and created a web based project tracking system based on the Drupal programming language.

Both of our VISTAs have been very dedicated and resourceful in supporting the media lab after school initiatives. They have found themselves being passionate about our mission to help teens develop creative, multidisciplinary media and education projects that foster teamwork and communication skills, community building, insight into critical issues, and ways to express those issues to others.

Goal 1: Set up project
Objective 1a through 1d have been completed. Please look at previous completed Project Work Plan and narrative.

Goal 2: Provide basic computer and set up ESL classes for target population.
Objective 2a through 2c have been complete. Please look at previous completed Project Work Plan and narrative.

Goal 3: Provide basic computer and English skills to target population
a: 14 students were enrolled and 3 completed the class.
b: 11 students were enrolled and 5 completed the class.

Goal 4: Improve access to services.
a: This task has been completed. Please look at previous Project Work Plan and narrative.
b: Please see explanation in narrative.
c: Please see explanation in narrative.
d: No, this task was not completed.

When James first joined Boat People S.O.S. (BPSOS) as an AmeriCorps*VISTA Member he was assigned multiple tasks as set forth in his AmeriCorps*VISTA Member Assignment Description. He was able to successfully complete the objectives of Goal 1 for Quarter 1. However, he was not able to complete Objective 2a, to implement an ESL class at the House for Senior Citizens at the Lockwood/Elmwood in Arlington, Virginia for two reasons. First, the occupants did not feel the ESL class was necessary (they were only interested in learning about the Internet and computers). Second, James was not able to recruit a volunteer to teach the class. He did successfully complete Objectives 2b and 2c.

For Quarter 3, James assisted a BPSOS staff in setting up new program for Victims of Trafficking. He worked on this program for approximately one month and then he assisted another staff member with the Tax Assistance for Vietnamese Immigrants with Low Income (TAVILLI) program. From January 1 through April 23, he organized tax preparation sessions 3 days a week, 2 hours each session. He recruited volunteers and established a database containing names of volunteers that may help with future tax clinics. He went out in the Vietnamese community and distributed 800 flyers advertising free tax preparation. He enrolled 300 individuals for tax preparation, and kept a database of those individuals. When he enrolled the individuals for tax preparation, he gave out a needs assessment/opinion survey for them to complete. This survey informed individuals about programs available at BPSOS (computer, ESL and etc…).

Unfortunately, he was unable to complete the objectives as stated in Quarter 4 before the end of his one-year service because the first issue of BPSOS Mach Song was not published until July 2002. However, he did update BPSOS newsletter database. This database contains names of past and current BPSOS clients as well as others who want to receive the newsletter in the mail. Articles written in the newsletter highlight human-interest stories as well as provide information of services available to individuals.

Goal 1: Community volunteers have taught the Americorps VISTA Volunteers enough basic computer maintenance and troubleshooting techniques to sustain the computer lab. A Technical Committee of five community volunteers was formed to help troubleshoot technical problems too large or difficult for the VISTA to fix.

Microsoft Access has been used to create databases to track software, hardware, community and technology contacts, and student, tutor, and parent contacts. Each database has easy-to-use interfaces to update information. Equipment evaluation sheets are cataloged for all incoming and outgoing donations.

A Web Committee was created to re-develop the FOTS website, and contains two volunteer web-professionals. The new website http://www.friendsoftylerschool.org was launched in September 2002. Easy to use templates were created so that future VISTAS and volunteers can easily update the web content and sustain the site.

Goal 2: Open Lab has fostered a lot of insightful learning due to the one-on-one attention students receive from the VISTA and volunteers. In addition to Open Lab, three computer courses have been successfully established. Nine students are currently enrolled in other after-school and evening computer classes. Curricular resources for the computer classes have been identified and cataloged in curriculum binders. Additional classes and projects are being developed for the spring and summer sessions.

Student files were created to track an initial general assessment to measure computer skills, keyboard efficiency, and technology interests. General program assessments occur quarterly.

Goal 3: The computer center has been operating on a five-day week schedule. Basic computer literacy skills are being addressed in current computer classes and Open Lab. Additional classes and projects are being developed by the VISTA in cooperation with community volunteers.

The summer program, Cool Camp, is currently being developed. Software, websites, and volunteer teachers are being identified.

Goal 4: A second lab has been established and maintained for tutors to use during tutoring and mentoring. A software database and computer procedures have been created and posted near computers. An introductory computer workshop was given to tutors, which covered the Digital Divide Initiative and computer center procedures.

In cooperation with Digital Sisters, seven parents attended a workshop on how to effectively use technology as an educational tool for young girls and teenagers. Shireen Mitchell, Director of Digital Sisters, presented this workshop.

Goal 5: Assessment of parents was done over the phone and included getting an idea of technology interests and availability. Based on initial conversation and meetings, a survey has been completed and will be distributed during future workshops.

Saturday Parent Workshops have been developed for selected weekends through April. Each workshop is built around a particular topic that can be covered during one workshop.

Goal 6: Sources have been identified and utilized for receiving equipment donations. A Verizon grant was awarded for the CTC.

Numerous computer programs, resources, and websites have been identified and catalogued in the computer office for future reference.

Many of the volunteers working with the FOTS Computer Center have been found through www.volunteermatch.org. For example, two volunteers were found for the Technical and Web Committee, and an additional volunteer was recruited as a lab helper.

Digital Sisters, a technology program that promotes technology among women and gender issues, has agreed to help FOTS conduct both parent and youth workshops. This partnership increases the capacity of FOTS by offering technology training that addresses relevant differences and opportunities between genders.

Once the VISTA completed the development of the PC Basics curriculum in the spring of 2002, the VISTA recruited and trained 6 volunteers. Consequently 4 classes were taught entirely by volunteers. A total of 39 students enrolled with 26 finishing the class.

The VISTA developed the PC Basics curriculum in Spanish using lessons in Spanish found on the Internet, translating current lessons from the classes taught in English, and creating new lessons. The curriculum in Spanish is now posted on the Internet. The classes in Spanish have been taught by a group of 5 volunteers.

The curriculum for middle school technology classes was completed and posted on the Internet. Students began taking the NC Computer Skills test in March – 19 students successfully passed.

Technical Infrastructure Capacity-Building
Luke also achieved the following technology objectives for DCLC:

-Configured Linux server for file sharing and email
-Set up all workstations to run ABE/GED and ESOL software from the DCLC server
-Inventoried and setup all laptops in mobile lab for categorized use
-Prepared tech help sheets for all tasks so that someone else could do them
-Inventoried software on all workstations and set them up to have appropriate software, including virus protection software
-Worked on computers at partner site and troubleshot 8 PCs to get GED/Pre-GED software working
-Ran the summer camp computer time at the YMCA for school-aged children