youth
Teen Media Program Builder
Organization:
Community Art Center, Inc. VISTA Name:
Emily Richburg
Program Start:
10/2010
Program End:
10/2011
Project Description:
The Corps member will work to increase the impact of the Art Center’s annual Teen Media Program through year round network building, cultivating collaboration, and youth leadership support in identifying best practices in media literacy curriculum building.
The Corps member will create mechanisms that youth can easily use to connect with other youth media organizations throughout the year. The Corps member will increase investment in youth media literacy by planning events (both virtual and physical) to engage the youth media community. Youth investment will also be increased through exposure to other youth media programs nationally and locally. The Corps member will also coordinate focus groups with constituents, national and youth media groups and Community Art Center alumni to help identify best practices in youth media curriculum.
Youth Community Technology Program Development
Organization:
Korean American Community Services VISTA Name:
Molly Szymanski
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
Molly will work with the Youth Community Technology Program (YCTP) a youth project within the Korean American Community Services Community Education Department serving at-risk youth ages 17-21 through technical instruction and holistic services. In Particular, Molly will help develop a sustainable system of outreach for you youth technology program students and volunteers (guest speakers, field trip sites, etc), will assist with program activities, will research information around issues of the digital divide to create a program Statement of Need for use in grant writing and will research possible funding streams for the programs.
Outreach and Web Development Specialist
Organization:
Somerville Community Access Television VISTA Name:
Christy Park
Program Start:
1/2005
Program End:
1/2006
Project Description:
The VISTA worker at SCAT would spearhead the effort to more fully integrate web-based services into SCAT’s operations. For example, we would like to provide an interactive program schedule on the Website, and provide producers with the option to archive their programs on our website to allow for video-on-demand. The VISTA would also help us transition to wireless connections for all our office computers.
The VISTA would work with local non-profit organizations on outreach projects, both in video and on the Web. The VISTA would train staff and members in video and web design skills.
Project Outcome:
Christy helped out with programing, including a monthly show called Talking About Somerville. She set up the lighting and manned (womanned) a camera and then edited the peice together putting titles and credits and music to it.
Christy attends local events around Boston interviewing and filming the community. She is currently working with one of our interns to start a show about the “issues” facing artists in somerville. She is hoping that anything from the cost of studio space to art education in public schools will be addressed. She has met with the host of another art show we do at SCAT to discuss the format of the show.
Christy is also teaching digital media courses to youth including a class on audio recording and garage band and a program called “Say Media!” where youth create music videos, PSAs, and documentaries.
Christy told us, “I have really enjoyed working with all of them. Some of them have really gotten into their projects and will stay several hours after the camp is through to finish up. they are pretty motivated (they should be, they get paid more than i do to teach, just to show up :) and they are producing some really neat youth media that will appear on our station.”
CTC Youth Program Building
Organization:
Friends of Tyler School VISTA Name:
Emily Fain
Program Start:
8/2003
Program End:
8/2004
Project Description:
I. Maintain, organize and continue to upgrade program site
II. Implement an after-school computer literacy program for students
III. Help plan and implement a summer six-week academic day camp: Camp Cool
IV. Train FOTS Teachers, Tutors and Parents To More effectively Use CTC Educational Software
V. Train parents of FOTS students and other adult family members
VI. Develop public and private sector resources that will enable the project to continue after the Members leave.
VII. Manage donations to and from FOTS and other organizations
Project Outcome:
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.
Oregon Learning Lab Outreach Coordinator
Organization:
Portland Community Media VISTA Name:
Ryn Shane-Armstrong
Program Start:
9/2005
Program End:
9/2006
Project Description:
Ryn will participate in OLLIE productions as a trainer, work with community partners to plan successful OLLIE projects and events, and develop youth outreach and education efforts of Portland Community Media and Multnomah Community Television.
Project Outcome:
In the past six months, OLLIE has provided digital media training to over 150 youth through 17 projects at 11 community locations. In addition, OLLIE has scheduled projects to serve an additional 180 youth over the next six months. Each round of OLLIE projects has balanced new and returning community partners. Our VISTA has served as a group coordinator for many of these sites, facilitating communication between the OLLIE staff and volunteers, the OLLIE coordinator, and community partners. Ryn has also begun to identify volunteers to support this project. He identified the post-production talents of a community partner and utilized them to finish a student project.
In addition, OLLIE’s curriculum design has evolved. Based on participant feedback, trainer input, and research into youth media best practices; the teaching methods, practice exercises, and time allotments for each segment of production have changed to better serve the youth we work with. Ryn’s insights about classroom teaching experiences and research into youth media curriculum are of great value to this process. I am looking forward to further utilizing Ryn’s expertise to design and implement our summer intensive “Adventures in Television”sessions. He is one of the leads for this project.
A very exciting part of OLLIE’s evolution is the creation and implementation of a graphic design identity package. Ryn has served as a lead contact in the process of recruiting and hiring a designer, developing a logo, and working with vendors. Currently Ryn is leading efforts to develop and refine copy that will promote the program in print, web, and video materials. Ryn also was able to develop his web design skills to create a first draft of a website for OLLIE: www.ollietv.org. Behind the scenes, he has created extensive outlines for future implementations of a site that will be useful to project staff, community partners, and program participants.
Impact Quote:
An amazing thing about Ryn is the way in which he integrated himself into the media center community. He put himself ‘out there’ as willing to help, learn, and volunteer on his own time to help others and make the media center a better place. He has organized the staff on more than one occasion to attend cultural events and support each other. He is an exceptional asset to the Oregon Learning Lab for Information Education.
Outreach Coordinator
Organization:
HOME Inc. VISTA Name:
Dean Gransar
Program Start:
9/2005
Program End:
9/2006
Project Description:
The CTC Project Assistant/VISTA will work with the administrators at each of the school and after school programs to help develop the in-school and after school network of teachers, parents and mentors that can provide support to the students utilizing the media lab. This will include developing events, committees, guest speakers and other outreach initiatives that will help publicize the community media lab, and help to identify and work with community partners who can take advantage of the media lab and reach more young people.
Project Outcome:
Dean has been very attentive and invested in our mission and our work. He has built a strong base of support with teachers and administrators at the Social Justice Academy. This has allowed the school to build our program into their after school program and to help to build the connections with teachers that is needed to truly customize our work with young people during after school. This is a very important contribution.
This year we had a number of major accomplishments including establishing a new media lab at the Social Justice Academy and a new media and technology curriculum called Mosaic at the Social Justice Academy that uses storytelling to connect different academic disciplines. Mosaic started as an after school program and was so well received that students were given academic credit for their participation. Eight students completed the curriculum. Dean worked extensively on the Mosaic Curriculum and did outreach at the school by making ” Mosaic” presentations in classes during regular school hours. Dean also was in charge of our e-newsletter and built the circulation from 1,000 to nearly 4,000.
After School Youth Media Program Coordinator
Organization:
Neighborhood Technology Resource Center VISTA Name:
Taylor Hales
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
The After School Youth Media Program Coordinator will be responsible for designing and administering after school and summer technology and academic activities at Northwest Tower in 2005-2006. They will be responsible for creating fun, enriching and engaging activities with youth that introduce them to new academic concepts and provide creative outlets for self expression with a focus on using the digital tools we have at our disposal in our lab. Activities will be directed at both youth in grades K-8 and teenagers.
Project Outcome:
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.
Impact Quote:
Our community has benefitted greatly from our VISTA. They have come to know and trust Taylor and learned from his own skills how to employ digital technology tools to pursue their creative endeavors and develop their talent. We will continue to work with him in this capacity, as he has become a valuable part of our team.
Program Development
VISTA Name:
Jeff Benton
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
The VISTA would be involved in a variey of activities including assisting and acting as a trainer in our Introductory computer classes for families, and working with volunteers to prepare the home computers that are critical to our community. The member would also be instrumental in building our second classroom, defining and preparing curriculum for delivery in this “high end”, multimedia learning environment. The member would become familiar with and provide assistance in our other areas including our “Cyber High at home” program.
Project Outcome:
Jeff has taken the lead role in building our second classroom. This was completed the middle of February. Jeff is very effective in identifying what needs to be done and completing it with quality. He is an integral part of all aspects of our home computer program including scheduling and coordinating families in our classes, coordinating the work of adult and youth volunteers, and many, many other things that are needed in a small organization with a big mission.
Jeff has also attended a KQED workshop on digital story telling and is working with Domingo Vaszuez, a multimedia professional, to finalize the curriculum for our upcoming digital story telling pilot workshop. The workshop has been scheduled, 20 students have been selected, and all is a go for the week of Spring Break, April 10-14.
We are currently working with project SOAR to schedule 200-300 7th graders into our summer technology workshop. This one week workshop, for 6 separate sessions, will run from June 26 to August 4. We will be updating our first classroom to also accomodate the students. The curriculum we will use will be that piloted in April. Jeff is involved in every detail of this large, (and new to us) endeavor.
Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator
Organization:
DANEnet VISTA Name:
Blake Hall
Program Start:
8/2005
Program End:
8/2006
Project Description:
Our Americorp*Vista member will assist in organizing computer related volunteer projects and mobilizing volunteers. In October of 2005 DANEnet will sponsor a day of service to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and the VISTA will help plan this event.
Project Outcome:
Blake spent most of his time working on the DANEnet Day of Service. Which was a success in the fall of 2005. He also with the EPICS service learning program at the University of Wisconsin where he is teaching the current students (the reality of nonprofits and low income citizens [fall term]; Web programming [spring term])
Blake is also working with the Youth Resource Network to create a Web portal for youth serving activities/agencies.
Lastly, Blake helped to write a successful Youth Visions proposal and he has been the day-to-day DANEnet presence on that grant.
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.