Transmission Project

The VISTA was responsible for maintaining and upgrading all of our agency’s computers and labs in addition to assisting in making agency-wide decisions as they pertained to technology. By recruiting and supporting technical volunteers, Brian effectively juggled all of his duties. Our VISTA provided excellent leadership as the co-chair of our ad-hoc tech committee and guided us through many important decisions regarding infrastructure, training and outreach. Please see the 04-05 VISTA’s web-blog for details of some of the projects he worked on: http://www.cpcs.umb.edu/vista/blog/brian_russell/. However, only a few of his accomplishments are listed on his web log - the rest are highlighted below.

The www.durhamliteracy.org Website
The VISTA provided superb research, advice, set-up, development and, ultimately, training to the full staff team on our new website. After research, the VISTA recommended that we use a program called Civicspace.org, freeware with customizable authoring privileges and a straightforward authoring interface. The new website has already attracted funders, individual donations, a multitude of volunteers and strengthened interaction with all of our stakeholders. Each staff member has a blog and the ability to update content. After the VISTA trained the staff on the basics of the webpage and setting policy, many staff have mastered the basics and have set up more features such as discussion forums for volunteers, calendaring and soon-to-be online forms.

IBM Grant Management
As a beta testing site during this past fiscal year, Durham Literacy Center (DLC) English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) introduced the “Reading Recognition” program to approximately 130 students. While there are still some rough spots in the early version of the application, many students indicated that “Reading Recognition” helped them improve their pronunciation, listening and reading.

The VISTA coordinated volunteers to install 3 new computer labs at DLC and its partner-sites. Work included installing software and setup on servers and clients, hardware setup. The VISTA was instrumental in training staff, partners and end users on using the new computer lab and software.

Agency Policy Development
The VISTA effectively researched and gained buy-in by staff and management on best practices for creating policies and procedures appropriate for a non-profit like the Durham Literacy Center. The VISTA identified sample policies from other non-profits and counseled the management on policies to adopt. These policies include, but are not limited to the following:
• Providing donations to partner agencies
• Laptop loans
• Use of the computer lab
• Website content and authoring

The Teen Career Academy
The Teen Career Academy and the Duke Research Service Learning Project – The VISTA created a mobile lab using donated laptops. The VISTA trained volunteers and teen students on how to use the GED interactive software program and others and tutored teens in the program.

Adult Literacy
The VISTA participated in our volunteer training on the intensive reading instruction method called the Wilson Method. From that point, Brian assisted in tutoring some adult literacy students and then led an in-service tutor training activity on the use of technology and in the initial pre-service tutor training session.

Vahid evaluated the Tech Link Up project, www.techlinkup.org. Vahid Visited ten non-profit organizations to evaluate and assess their IT needs (on going). He volunteered at four organizations, with tasks such as teaching, computer networking, computer lab setup, and data management. He helped computer recipient organizations/families through the Teaming for Technology program of Triangle United Way and IBM programs to install hardware, software, and troubleshooting. He helped with the Teaming for Technology program of Triangle United Way in receiving, transporting, refurbishing, repairing, troubleshooting, and hardware/software installation of used computers and related devices. And Vahid compiled several mailing lists.

Sue has helped us launch our project nationally, and we know have over 350 affordable and public housing facilities using “Abilities for Resident Service Coordinators” to link low income frail elderly and disabled residents to community services. “Abilities for Resident Service Coordinators” has been endorsed by the American Association of Service Coordinators and is acknowledged by industry professionals as a vital tool in keeping elderly residents in independent living. With the infusion of technology in elderly and disabled resident service coordination, properties are able to keep residents independent, and avoid unnecessary and costly institutionalization. This project is a prime example of using community technology to meet pressing needs, and impact important policy areas.

Sue helped us attend a national conference in San Antonio, Texas, in which we brought 20 laptops and set up a training lab. We taught Resident Service Coordinators how to use technology to link their residents to community services, manage their residmonitor resident and program outcomes with technology.

Sue has been a vital player in helping us develop an implementation plan for CTCs in affordable housing communities in Southern California, as she is at our office early every day to assist with implementation. Her involvement helped us determine that we could expand beyond 50 to now over 200 CTCs.

Sue led the effort at Pangea Foundation to develop the training manual for our users. She has helped develop the 100+ page training manual that is available to users when they log into the system. This is an ongoing effort. She also helps with phone training, and attended our training conference in San Antonio, Texas.

Sue has helped run the show at Pangea with the Resident Service Coordinators. She is the first to receive their calls when they need technical help. She continuously tests the systems. She helped create the training manuals and system forms for printed materials. Sue’s involvement as an AmeriCorp*VISTA member enables our organization to provide these services to the community. To date, this system has over 200 properties using it, which represents service delivered and managed to 20,000 low income elderly and disabled residents across the country.

As a result of her work with issues related to sustainability and donor cultivation we were able to consistently produce and distribute our newsletter and double the revenues generated from our annual event. We were able to add a new cultivation event “Lunch on Us” which has resulted in 120 new prospects/donors for our organization. She also organized and laid a system for grant development accumulating appropriate materials which contributed to the efficiency of grant development.

Amanda increased her Spanish language skills and through our leadership development program began to identify and address her own leadership strength and weaknesses.

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

Brandi has been working with CompuMentor and Citizens Housing Corporation for six months. In that time she has provided logistical and planning support, managing a number of CTN workshops including YouthLearn, Writing Great Grant Proposals, Amazing Success Stories, and Youth Media: Digital Storytelling & Animation. Brandi has also been actively involved in the Community Technology Network Steering Committee as a member and secretary. In this role, she has been responsible for keeping members informed about upcoming events and meetings as well as dissemination of meeting minutes and materials. In addition, Brandi has maintained the CTN Bay Area website at http://www.ctnbayarea.org. She has overseen the redesign of the website with volunteers from OPNet’s web design students. In her work as computer technician and consultant at Citizens Housing Corporation she has set up and maintained two computer labs in low-income housing units.

Our project to date has had good results, we finished last years with the Bridges to Digital Excellence (BDE) program donating 742 total computers and training to students in grades three through eight. As of today we are at 793 Families that have completed our program. Becky has done a good job of running operations for the Computers in the Home part of BDE.

As of the beginning of this year’s program which started the last week of February Becky has managed all aspects of the program except purchasing of computers. As I did when we first started the BDE program there were some bumps in the road but things came together. The same has happed with Becky leading the Computers In the Home program now. I have full confidence in her abilities to continue the excellence and maintain standards that we strive for. Our one outlying goal is to have the program we put on compete with the best programs in the world. To my knowledge there is not another program in the country that is striving to bridge the digital divide as quickly and efficiently as this program is. We are estimating that by the end of next year every child across Berrien County in grades three through eight will have a computer in their home. We know that with the 793 families that have completed the program we have had 1586 people in the program and that more than 3000 individuals have been indirectly affected by the BDE program providing technology to so many homes. We want to see Becky continue to take advantage of the wealth of passion for the work we do. At our monthly steering committee meetings she gets to sit with the upper level IT management from almost every major employer in our community. She has been exposed to a brainstorming technique that was developed by Whirlpool Corp. called an “Ideation Session” and how it can be used to expel ideas from a group that are there but people just don’t realize. Becky also worked on a project for a development company; she wrote a proposal for a local art house to integrate technology into storytelling.

In her second year, Becky has effectively taken on all operations of the computers in the home program and is doing a good job running the program. We are looking forward to reaching our 1000th family by the end of 2005.

Jason Worked with MIT Graduate Students for a summer learning program with youth and provided network support and administration of 25+ machines at our CTC. Jason aldo maintained network support for employees and instructors on a daily basis; including lab setup and supervision; equipment maintenance and administration; in house and phone technical support; file/print/terminal server and workstation performance monitoring, repair, and configuration; troubleshooting connectivity issues for local area network. Jason also administered and instructed web design, A+ Certification, MS Office; and youth technology programs.

Jason led our Network Security Enhancement including installation of Security Software on the Network and Client Machines (Fortres 101) which has led to an 75% increase in system performance along with anti-virus and firewall software on all machines not including two which are designated for other purposes

Beginning April 8th 2003 youth will be given the opportunity to learn skills in video production including the Final Cut Software, Film and Television Studio Technologies and Techniques, Web Design using HTML, Photoshop, Dreamweaver via classes set up by Jason.

Molly has worked consistently to improve marketing through various efforts: identifying untapped resources (i.e., high school interns from an arts magnet school who can create fliers for the lab), making ongoing marketing more consistent (by working with the museum’s PR and Marketing person), and helping ensure that information about the program on our website is up-to-date. During the first quarter, she coordinated an Open House for the community classes program (which is targeted towards artists and professionals and designed to bring in revenue) that drew approximately 60 attendees (a definite increase over the last under-attended Open House) and was supported through sponsorship by Bacardi.

Molly cultivated contacts with artists and graphic designers, a company that produces multimedia and graphics presentations for use in courtrooms and legal cases, Miami-Dade Community College, and Miami Ad School, which we can use when finding internship opportunities for youth program participants this summer and at the end of the school year. She has also compiled valuable online resources about career possibilities in the arts and new media, and will be contributing to a section of our forthcoming online curriculum guide, The Documentary Project: A How-to Manual (funded by the America Connects Consortium Field Innovation Grants program). Recently, Molly also initiated and coordinated a visit to the program from a professional graphic design and storyboard artist, who talked to youth program participants about career opportunities available to them and his experiences working for MTV, The Discovery Channel, Sony, and other companies.

The AmeriCorps VISTA project has helped grow the capacity of the program in many ways, including by beginning to improve our systems of documentation, evaluation, and tracking. Molly has been working on developing an Access database which would improve on the previously existing one by allowing staff to track class registration, Open Studio (drop-in) members, and demographic and contact information in the same place and produce better reports. She has also augmented research of funding sources and developed ideas for ways that the Lab can be more self-sustaining, including by restructuring class registration fees.

As an Americorps Vista volunteer, Shlonda has supported and enhanced four Durham County Literacy Council (DCLC) projects; the Parent’s Part Family Literacy Project, Techcelerated Pre-GED and GED, PC Basics, English as a Second Language and has gained valuable experience as a teacher and trainer. She has recruited and trained volunteers to teach or assist in all projects. The VISTA has maintained a working relationship with partner sites CET, NCCU and the YMCA.

Shlonda successfully taught Parents’ Part in Cornwallis Road public housing neighborhood in Durham, NC.

At the Durham Literacy Council’s main office, Shlonda taught students by using technology-assisted GED software.

As a tutor Shlonda has taught ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes, which includes creating lesson plans, leading small group conversations and trained new tutors to teach the traditional and computer-assisted ESL software.

Shlonda has been instrumental in establishing and maintaining an after school program for Kestrel Heights Charter School.

Shlonda has improved technical support at the Literacy Council, Kestrel Heights Charter School and assisted in maintaining and installing computers in all labs.

Career Passport is a portfolio or notebook containing documents certifying you have met specific academic and workplace standards. The latest implementation is the Internet career interest/personality inventory. Shlonda is the field test manager of this project and has successful coached 4 individuals in completing their portfolio. Shlonda expanded upon DLC’s Career Passport by initiating mini-workshops with focus areas such as “Preparing for the Job Interview.” The project is now nationally recognized and endorsed by the Literacy Volunteers of America. The Career Passport can be found on the LVA’s Promising Practice website.