staff training
Media Watch Team Social Media Development
Organization:
Project: Think Different / Amplifyme VISTA Name:
Colleen Kelly
Program Start:
6/2006
Project Description:
- Develop fund raising campaigns
- Develop personalized blogs for Media Watch Team members and citizen journalists
- Assist in the training Media Watch Team members and other staff in absic digital media authoring, such as video blogging
- Create a packaged curriculum for train-the-trainer workshops for digital media creation and facilitate the actual workshops
- Implement a membership system for online resources
- develop relationships with community leaders and organizations for building a strong youth media network in Boston
Project Outcome:
Organized web resource area and assisted in the production of outreach and PR materials.
CTC Development
Organization:
Lowell Telecommunications Corporation VISTA Name:
Terence Kennedy
Program Start:
11/2001
Project Description:
The VISTAs duties will include strategic planning, staff training, technical support, seeking funding, and providing computer access to the populations served.
Website Development and Online Community Management
Organization:
National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) VISTA Name:
Morgan Sully
Program Start:
6/2007
Program End:
12/2008
Project Description:
Our Technology Infrastructure and Content Development project will focus on the next phase of developing our online suite of tools to help our members. We have begun to put the Plan in place by building a new “Mapping the Field” database; preparing for 2007
For the 2007 Technology Infrastructure/Content Development Project we ask the VISTA volunteer to:
1. Manage and contribute to NAMAC’s 2007 technology planning project which will help our membership connect and work with each other more fully across the field.
2. Develop NAMAC’s website, with special attention to building it out with Web 2.0 platforms.
3. Assist program staff in creating a variety of new content and participatory areas of the web site.
4. Contribute to helping the national media arts community to build capacity through online participatory technologies.
5. Work with program staff to upgrade our website with a new “look and feel.”
6. Work with programming staff to build out the online historical “media arts movement” timeline.
Project Outcome:
Morgan’s primary focus has been on the complete redesign of the NAMAC website – from complex technical programming to taxonomization of data and content to social networking and blogging. It launched in the end of August and is becoming the nervous system of the NAMAC offerings. We are very happy with the results and look forward to our next phase of community building online, educating our membership in social networking through the site, and extending its reach to other nonprofits, communities and the public. Morgan has been a kind, reponsive and patient staff member throughout this process, always thinking strategically about how our online offerings can benefit new members, communities and organizations.
Morgan wrote an article about the website-building process for our member newsletter and produced a short video on how to use the site to its maximum capability. Now he is transitioning into the role of online community manager. He is managing our website content, troubleshooting any technical problems, and most importantly creating an online community of dedicated users from the NAMAC membership and other nonprofits, to the public at-large.
It was a hard challenge to solve a lot of the technical problems that the transistion to a Drupal environment posed. But we were very pleased to see that not only was Morgan a problem solver, but he was a solution seeker, reaching out continuously to the technical community and his network of programmers to find ways to deal with the small to large issues that would arise.
Impact Quote:
“The work accomplished by Morgan Sully will have a long lasting effect on the organization, and by extension to the field of media arts and public media. He has transformed our online presence into an interactive Web 2.0 environment. He is becoming an online “community manager” developing networks of users and supporters that will have great impact in the future of the organization and how we offer services and programs to our membership and beyond.”
- Helen DeMichiel, supervisor
CyberY Outreach and Program Building
Organization:
YMCA of Greater Boston VISTA Name:
Jenny Lee
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
The goal of our VISTA is to create, run, and document activities in the CyberYs that enhance current YMCA programming and speak to the challenges in each community. The CyberY activities will be observed by other Boston-area YMCAs with the intent to expand successful projects to other branches.
Project Outcome:
Overall, Jenny has been a positive force for the lab. Everyone (staff) thought the effort was a success. Jenny was the first dedicated person for the computer lab, which was a huge step forward. Specifically, she continued working with the weekend Passport youth, and did more one-on-one training with preschool staff. The passport is a free access program for low-income Chinatown residents on Saturdays. Jenny also helped implement the E-newsletter.
Jenny completed the first newsletter, built relationships with Saturday Passport youth, collected resources, and worked on the first MIT Astronomy project.
Youth and Volunteer Outreach and Training
Organization:
Zumix VISTA Name:
Samuel Russell
Program Start:
6/2005
Program End:
6/2006
Project Description:
The VISTA will assist in training volunteers for the radio, preparing youth to assume positions of responsibility at the station-including training new station volunteers themselves. He or she will also help to prepare technical infrastructure for the new firehouse facility that Zumix will move into during summer ‘07.
Project Outcome:
Since Sam’s arrival, we have put a radio station on the air and are also streaming on the internet. We have undergone several rounds of training, preparing youth and adults to participate as music hosts and news reporters for the station. Sam has been involved in all phases of this process, helping to build the infrastructure, train radio staff and conduct outreach.
Sam also assumed partial responsibility for starting “The VIllage,” a weekly meeting of youth and staff that allowed for wide-ranging discussions of issues important to the Zumix community, Also, he was the key link between Zumix and the B.U. School of Digital Imaging, which resulted in a video documentary on Zumix. This video has already proven to be an effective outreach and fundraising tool for our organization.
Online Community Manager
Organization:
Project: Think Different / Amplifyme VISTA Name:
Dina Vecchiarelli
Program Start:
9/2006
Program End:
1/2007
Project Outcome:
The Youth Media Institute and Electronic Community have had a very succesful six months, in no small part thanks to our two VISTAs, Colleen and Dina. Dina’s technical expertise was critical in determining what type of content management system to use in creating the beta site for Project: Think Different’s Electronic Community. In addition to driving the design of the site and the management of the forums and other features, Dina was active in training other staff members, including the Media Watch Team in using the site, so that they could share their expertise with other users and actively participate in the online community.
Staff Technology Training and CTC Support
Organization:
Homeless Prenatal Program VISTA Name:
Britney Fosbrook
Program Start:
9/2006
Program End:
9/2007
Project Description:
-Teaching weekly Community Health Worker class - including developing original curriculum.
-Staff training - HPP’s staff has a low computer literacy and needs training. Brittney is surveying this need and will advise on the creation of a personalized assessment for staff. Then she will help with the development of the staff training curriculum.
-Working to control technology issues through organization and standardization. Activities include creating computer inventory, set-uping standard desktop configurations, writing policy and working on long-term goals for Technology Center and HPP.
Project Outcome:
Brittney teaches the Community Health Worker (CHW) Class. (The CHWs are paid interns, often former clients, who are usually hired as staff at HPP after they finish their internship.) She has created a dynamic and engaging curriculum for the CHW class.
Brittney also gives private weekly staff tutoring as well as ongoing staff tech support.
During open lab drop-in hours every afternoon, Brittney offers housing and job search support for clients.
Brittney is also in charge of maintaining our websites, and our organization wide forms system. She was put in charge of the phones, created a phone user guide and manages new staff phone needs.
Brittney is active in writing policy and long-term planning, including helping in the hiring process of the new Technology Manger.
Another large project that Brittney has taken on gracefully is overseeing the ailing database, which has not been able to handle our staffs’ needs. She is working as the intermediary between staff, consultants and database programmers and is working to prepare HPP for a new database system.
Impact Quote:
Brittney has been instrumental at every step, on nearly every project. She has been able to assess where her time and talent could be better used during her stay at HPP.