training manual
Technology Coordinator
Organization:
Sanctuary for Independent Media/New York Media Alliance VISTA Name:
Chris Gang
Program Start:
9/2009
Program End:
9/2010
Project Description:
We are seeking to recruit a Technology Coordinator who will help organize our audio, video and computer infrastructure and create a strong technology platform on which we can build for the future.
The Technology Coordinator would work with staff, college interns and volunteers to develop and maintain the facility. Most of our equipment was donated; we consciously avoid cutting edge applications to the extent possible to avoid the problems commonly experienced by early adopters that we do not have the staff to troubleshoot. A major benefit of this strategy is that we can take advantage of cast-off equipment with plenty of life remaining. Our plan for technology upgrades is to constant solicit donations in good working order to replace dated and aging inventory. We use earned income and grants to selectively purchase modern technology when absolutely necessary.
We’re now at the point at which we need to inventory our gear, eliminating anything of questionable usefulness. The remaining technology needs to be properly installed and documented, with a training plan developed and implemented. Finally, a technology plan needs to be developed to guide future strategy.
This project will increase community engagement because media technology is at the forefront of our outreach and training efforts. Virtually everything we do revolves around the technology infrastructure we have put into place.
Goal 1: Assess our technology infrastructure, inventory and organize it, install and troubleshoot gear, dispose of surplus items, develop user manuals and training procedures, and work on development of short and long term technology plans
Project Outcome:
Chris Gang achieved the goals of assessing, inventorying and organizing our technology infrastructure. He also achieved the goal of developing user manuals and training procedures, and helped us move forward with our short and long term technology plans.
Chris vastly improved our internet infrastructure, particularly in the area of social media and open source software. In order to ensure that it can be sustained, he trained staff and volunteers and maintains a consulting relationship with us.
Chris also helped to develop our live video web-streaming capability. After going to several conferences and workshops, he noted the importance of web-streaming in the digital age, and strategized with our Executive Director to create an action plan to bring this capability to fruition. Although beyond the scope of our proposed project, this accomplishment in fact helps sustain our infrastructure, mission and outreach. Also, Chris Gang helped to develop our media archive infrastructure, after observing the need and creating a system, both in the physical space and with a computer interface.
Lab IT Coordinator
Organization:
Media Arts Center San Diego VISTA Name:
Chris Anderson
Program Start:
9/2010
Program End:
9/2011
Project Description:
The Corps member would support the Lab Program Manager in developing and refining web-based systems to manage day-to-day operations and growth of the lab. This includes projects like implementing an inventory system for all computers and media equipment, managing current and procuring new equipment, and developing training manuals for all devices.
Curricula Development and Program Building
Organization:
Coalition for Asian Pacific American Youth (CAPAY) VISTA Name:
Molly Higgins
Program Start:
9/2009
Program End:
9/2011
Project Description:
While being involved with some of CAPAY’s youth/community/media programming plans, our proposed 2009-2010 VISTA member, will primarily be responsible for enhancing CAPAY’s current and future organizational capacity
Goal 1: Activate and mobilize CAPAY’s alumni network to provide increased/ongoing resources
Goal 2: Using Web 2.0 tools to support and streamline organizational communications, mapping of organizational assets (including alumni networking), and outreach/promotion.
Goal 3: Initiate and nurture long-term organizational partnerships in addition to shorter-term project-based collaborations.
Goal 4: Develop assessment and reflection tools with which to document short-and long-term impact of CAPAY program and project participation on youth participants, community members/organizations, and CAPAY alumni
Goal 5: Expand CAPAY’s financial base, including earned income, donations, and grant development.
Molly’s main role in the 2010-2011 service year will be to collect and organize pre-existing content, produce some original content, and produce/package training materials for staff and volunteers to take over the project. This includes archiving CAPAY’s collections of resources and workshops and digitizing them for the CAPAY website and also developing a training curricula that could potentially be used as a revenue stream for CAPAY in the future. The VISTA will also partake in fundraising and grant writing for the program.
Project Outcome:
our VISTA member goals for 2009-2010 were: - Provide staff support to assist organizational members in convening and revitalizing the CAPAY Alumni Network. - Develop community partnerships and collaborations, including youth/community internship sites, to build sustainability of the program into future years. - Develop grant/funding proposals and enhance CAPAY’s funder networks in conjunction with CAPAY staff and Adult Advisory Board. - Organize grassroots fundraising events for CAPAY programs. - administer/maintain CAPAY’s website and Web 2.0 presence (e.g., updating Facebook, Youtube, Google maps, etc) while exploring possibilities for online revenue streams and other relevant sources of earned income. - Develop assessment and reflection tools with which to document short-and long-term impact of CAPAY program and project participation on youth participants, community members/organizations, and CAPAY alumni. Molly was successful in implementing Web 2.0 tools to support and streamline organizational communications. She took over the management of CAPAY’s communications, including CAPAY’s Facebooks and listserve. She worked closely with the CAPAY coordinator Tri Quach to integrate Web 2.0 tools into the new CAPAY website. This includes the development of CAPAY’s media portal, designed to gather Asian American media such as digital stories, blogs, and artist websites (including original CAPAY content). She also worked with one of the CAPAY youth to develop a city-wide blog for youth organizing. Molly made progress in initiating and nurturing long and short term partnerships with other organizations. This includes the promotional video she made with other UMass Boston students for MASAE, a local basketball team. She successfully planned and administered all of the CAPAY YouthLearn internships at other organizations, including UMass Boston’s Asian American Studies Program, BCNC, AACA, ATASK, AFH, and Close to Home. Molly re-established connections with CAPAY alumni, the Alumni Network, which has been meeting actively since June to develop fundraising initiatives and to provide planning assistance and support for the November 2010 CAPAY youth symposium. Molly developed several grant proposals that are pending review.
Molly’s organizing and facilitation with these other Asian American youth programs led to the creation of a Steering Committee (SC) representing the Asian American Civic Association’s Youth Center, the Asian Community Development Corporation’s A-VOYCE, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center’s YouLead, and the Chinese Progressive Association’s Chinese Youth Initiative, along with CAPAY. This is an unprecedented accomplishment in terms of Boston Asian American community youth capacity-building and provides an organizational framework to foster programmatic collaboration and coordination, shared research and advocacy, and joint grant submissions.
CTC Development
VISTA Name:
Morgan Sully
Program Start:
9/2005
Program End:
9/2006
Project Description:
Develop capacity of our two community technology centers focusing on youth digital media programs, through volunteer recruitment, digital media curriculum,and volunteer training. Establish an online repository (knowledge base) for both internal documentation as well as resources shared by the community. San Diego Community Technology Coalition. Improve the quality of workshops, trainings, and resources offered to CTCs, and implementing more rigorous evaluation measures. Develop, in conjunction with the SDCTC directors and advisory council, three proposals for continued funding of SDCTC activities.
Project Outcome:
Morgan created a digital media committee composed of diverse community members, planned 3 large digital storytelling nights cumulatively drawing over 300 attendees, and created a digital toolkit which includes training on how to create digital stories.
Morgan helped the San Diego Community Technology Coalition move from a very static website, to a drupal/civic space website which allows for staff to enter data in the site and for community members to search a GIS based maps to find CTCs near them. He also helped to establish many community collaborations, in particular where SDCTC is now placed to help San Diego build it’s capacity for free wi-fi access in our underserved communities.
Morgan also helped set-up a new computer lab at our Youth Housing Project which serves 23 formerly homeless youth.
For SDCTC, Morgan brought together some of the more cutting edge technology advocates to our Annual Symposium and to several workshops put on throughout the year. He helped open the eyes of other Community Technology Centers to how they could use technology to advocate for their clients.
Program Documentation and Evaluation
Organization:
Organizers' Collaborative VISTA Name:
Catherine Hersh
Program Start:
9/2005
Program End:
3/2006
Project Description:
OC is looking for assistance from Americorps Vista members to document our novel technical assistance model, to help evaluate and document low cost software solutions and training methods that we are using in our technology assistance work, and to bring this assistance model to one low-income neighborhood of Boston. We are also planning to produce, with Vista volunteer help, a concise publication for small organizations that helps them understand how to improve their technology setup. The publication will address critical needs of nonprofits, including acquisition of basic infrastructure, backups and virus protection, database management, setting up membership and donation systems, volunteer tracking, outreach, online fundraising, and gathering data on constituents.
"DigitalBicycle" Program Development
Organization:
Lowell Telecommunications Corporation VISTA Name:
Ben Sheldon
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
Ben will serve in a capacity building role related to the social network and technical infrastructure of the DigitalBicycle project. This will include some work in PHP/Drupal, working on user interface and workflow issues, assisting in the development of custom Linux installs for organizational “seeds”, and serving as a liaison with partner organizations. Writing will be a key part of Ben’s service, including documentation, training materials, and grant application materials. He may also serve as a representative of the DigitalBicycle at conferences and meetings, and may be asked to participate in presentations and panel discussions.
Project Outcome:
Ben successfully created a content moderation module for Drupal using PHP for comments, users, and submitted content. Ben also created an Amazon Lists type module, that allowed users to create lists of things like on Amazon, and get them in an RSS feed.
Ben also did a huge amount of outreach and networking for the “DigitalBicycle” project. He spoke on the New Media Distribution panel at the B&H Photo conference in NYC and at the Beyond Broadcast Conference.
Ben also created logos and graphics for “DigitalBicycle” using inkscape.
CTC Development
Organization:
Madison Park Development Corporation VISTA Name:
Patrick Otton
Program Start:
2/2006
Program End:
2/2007
Project Description:
The VISTA position will continue to emphasize hardware and basic skills training and as well develop specific content and workshops to train residents in information literacy in accessing, evaluating, and applying information found either on the web or in traditional sources such as a library.
Project Outcome:
The Vista Volunteer worked with the Center’s director to develop procedures to track new members: We created forms to assist us in our tracking of new members, daily visitors, what users do at PIC@MPV, help desk request, and new wireless card recipients. Tracking this information is valuable when writing grants.
To achieve consistent and uniform services, Patrick also wrote manuals covering standard office practices and policy and procedures.
In order for us to provide local residents with free internet through our wireless infrastructure and access to help desk support; our Vista worked to follow-up on an established collaborative with Wentworth Institute of Technology to secure students interns for our site. Students were paid through the work study program. A win-win for all of us!
CTC Technician and Database Development
Organization:
United Teen Equality Center (UTEC) VISTA Name:
Jeff Blakely
Program Start:
6/2006
Program End:
6/2007
Project Outcome:
Jeff has set up an exchange server for the UTEC network. This has helped staff better communicate with one another, and made accountability, reporting, and assigning tasks simpler and quicker, in order to better achieve our mission. Jeff is making progress with his project to update the teen log-in database which will keep track of interactions of senior staff with all UTEC teen members. Jeff has made a presentation and training manual on how to use the teen log-in database, and exchange servers. Jeff has been working consistently with the CSL (on site once per week) to continue to enhance UTEC’s tecnhical capabilities. Some of the projects he is working on in this regard are enhancing UTEC’s fundraising database, organizing the UTEC listserve, and his teen log-in database and exchange server projects. Jeff is still preparing equipment to kick off the next wave of computer repair classes at UTEC, which will begin when UTEC officially opens our new building this spring.
Outreach
Organization:
netCorps VISTA Name:
Cheryl Jerozal
Program Start:
9/2006
Program End:
9/2007
Project Description:
To provide technology resources, training, support, projects and equipment to area nonprofits.
Project Outcome:
Cheryl Jerozal is amazingly skilled and has contributed greatly to the success of the project and to the successes of our organization. Cheryl has been working on our technology planning and assessment work with area nonprofits, helping them identify their key technology priorities and issues. She has basically revamped our entire assessment process including how groups do their initial data collection and how we report back to groups with our recommendations (including a variety of new “Best Practices” materials). Cheryl has significantly cut the time and effort for both groups and our staff to complete the assessment process while increasing the value of the process. Cheryl has also created and conducted several new trainings that have been well received by area nonprofits– trainings we are now able to replicate to other organizations outside of North Carolina as well.
Software Development and Technical Training
Organization:
Pangea Foundation VISTA Name:
Laura Hanley
Program Start:
9/2006
Program End:
9/2007
Project Description:
AmeriCorps VISTA’s Corey Funderburk and Laura Hanley focused their work and efforts at Pangea Foundation on projects related to software development and technical training. Laura Hanley worked mainly with the training staff to develop online training materials for all of Pangea Foundation’s software applications.
Project Outcome:
During their year long term, Corey and Laura completed tasks and mini-projects related to 5 of Pangea Foundation’s web-based applications. One of which is the national launching of a mentoring system for organizations that serve youth with disabilities. This system has been used by our organization for several years, and has been recognized by other organizations as a model system that could help expand mentoring programs, and create a network of mentoring programs to better track results. Our VISTA’s designed prototypes for facilitating a national partnership with Partners for Youth with Disabilities, a Boston-based national mentoring organizations. This partnership has now been formalized, and the pilot for our national launch is beginning in April. Among other pilot participants, Disabled Sports USA will be a pilot organization, which is a non-profit with 90 chapters across the nation.
They also led 2 special projects focused financial counseling for families affected by the Katrina Disaster and Education accountability with the San Diego City School District.