Transmission Project

- Develop and implement an afterschool arts, media and technology program, with academic support
- product outreach material for volunteer and student recruitment
- identify hardware and software needs for the project
- recruit volunteers for the project
- Develop and implement partnerships, program material for marketing and fundraising
- Obtain donations of equipment and software and locate sources of funding
- Research funding resources to ensure project sustainability
- Recruit volunteers to help raise money

- Reach out to community based organizations, faith based organizations, social service organizations and educational organizations to drive attendance and volunteerism at the WTA center
- Bring WTA programs to Baltimore-area organizations. This involves marketing programs to these centers, increasing volunteerism to deliver the services and managing the logistics
- Bring the WTA’s “WildTech” program to Baltimore area schools. This task involves marketing the program to schools, training teachers in the service-learning tasks that will be performed by the students, an providing raw surplus technology that students in WildTech programs can process.
- Build an empowerment center at the WTA center by running technology service-learning as a high-technology company. Facilitate the acquisition of technology work for non-profit and government agencies for students and community members to execute. Facilitate students and volunteers to: repair computers, provide network services, design web sites for non-profit organizations, generate eCommerce transactions, host a community technology access lab, and provide a community technology help desk.
- Recruit and train teachers and community center leaders to implement

Jenny will assist Waite House to staff its CTC by building capacity. Develop a a technology task committee for the Phillips Neighborhood. She will also be in charge of coordinating Waite House Community Technology Center and all the activities that related to the program.

Volunteer Recruitment, curriculum development, creation of a neighborhood CTC task force, training of youth and adult workers in technology.

The VISTAs duties will include strategic planning, staff training, technical support, seeking funding, and providing computer access to the populations served.

Goals include rolling out a computer skills training program, designing a plan to utilize computers to improve the literacy of students attending our after school program, doing the same with an English as a second language program, and working on community outreach partnership building to raise awareness of our programs so as to attract community and corporate support.

To strengthen the capacity of the Long Island City CTC by improving self help materials, supporting neighborhood volunteers use of technology, and conducting a needs assessment. The VISTAs will also help the extend the organizations reach to a more diverse constituency of new Americans living in New York.

- Support and organize a more robust outreach campaign targeted at local block, tenant, and neighborhood association members to encourage use of the CTC
- Schedule training sessions and develop self-help materials related to getting neighborhood and civic groups online
- Conduct an information needs assessment of the information and technology needs and interests of 60 neighborhood groups located in low-income, immigrant dense areas of New York City to determine which self-help materials are needed and how they are most likely to be used
- Develop and design five new top sheets based on the specific needs of immigrants

The CTC/VISTA member’s duties centered around four main concerns of MCL’s CTLC: Coordination of volunteers and students, developing resources and documenting progress, and assisting with public relations and awareness.

Her coordination duties included: recruiting and screening of potential tech tutors and students for the CTC at MCL; matching tutors with students seeking 1:1 help and scheduling small group computer instruction; and overseeing instruction – checking with tutors and students to ensure all was progressing well and giving support where needed.

Development of resources included: creating and implementing a quality training process for tech tutors, implementing assessment tools to measure student’s progress; collecting and organizing curriculum and activity ideas for use in the CTC; and researching instruction options for special needs populations such as the disabled, limited English proficient, and low-literate adults.

The documentation of progress included developing and implementing systems to collect student and volunteer data, and collecting and reporting data to the CTLC Project Manager. The VISTA member was also asked to assist with the planning and execution of public relation activities, research best practices at similar CTLCs, research funding opportunities, and serve as a member of MCL’s Technology Committee.

The mission of DSSA’s Computer Learning Center is to connect the disconnected.

The role of each VISTA member is to move the computer learning center he or she manages toward a sustainable program that relies on volunteer resources in the community. The first step to a self-sustaining CLC is making the connection between our CLC and the neighbors of our CHA senior-disabled building. Historically, DSSA’s CLCs have been labor-intensive centers. The VISTA member will examine the success of other CLCs which are more self-sustaining and dependent on volunteer labor. The goal will be to move our CLC in the direction of sustainability.

1. Each member will use the designated space to create an inviting atmosphere for the CLC where residents and neighbors feel welcomed. Market the CLCL so that every resident of the CHA building visits at least once.

2. Outreach: Conduct presentations for community groups about our CLC.

3. Work with local schools to develop an afterschool program for the children who want to use the CLC

4. Develop a steering committee that meets monthly to establish goals and remove barriers related to participation in the CLC

5. Turn your CHA building’s CLC into a community center for the neighborhood. Expand programming beyond the simple use of computers to multi-media educational and one-shot activities.

The anticipated outcome of this project is a functioning, responsive technology support service for Triangle Area Centers for Technology (TACT) that will assist technology centers which are primarily in low-income neighborhoods.

Duke University currently provides one person to oversee technical support for community tech centers in Durham. The AmeriCorps*VISTA member will work with this person and other members of the tech support committee to plan and develop a working technology support group.

The VISTA member will identify and document support services to be provided by the TACT support committee, develop an expertise list that the Help Desk will use to forward problems, develop lists of recommended hardware and software for technology centers, as well as installing and troubleshooting computer systems and providing routine maintenance.

To coordinate the program designed for expanding and sharing Internet access in the community; assist in developing computer/Internet educational programs for school and community use. To provide setup and management of computers in the community; work with the senior citizen mentor program to provide ongoing training and model life-long learning and proved access to the Internet in the home through a computer loan program. Work with and provide leadership to other staff members who assist with the KCnet Computer/Internet Education Program.

Tasks may include, but are not limited to, teaching, creating news releases, reports and charts pertaining to current and projected program, assistance with 5-year business plan, maintenance of the member database and daily contact with program participants.