Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA)
Website:
http://www.iba-etc.org/ Location:
Boston, MA
Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) is a dynamic community building agency dedicated to increasing the social and economic power of individuals and families through education, economic development, technology and arts programming that builds safe, vibrant and culturally diverse affordable housing communities.
Supported Projects
Youth Media Program Development
Kevin O'Brien
8/2003 — 8/2004
Kevin further developed a youth web magazine project based on the project that CTC VISTA Alison Hale had started the year before. The name of the project is: Teen Limitz. Here youth participants wrote stories, took pictures, and learned many skills: Web publishing, Design, Macromedia Dreamweaver, HTML, Flash, and Adobe Photoshop. Kevin also taught a web design class for adults in both English and Spanish at the Center.
Kevin is to provide tech support to residents in the Villa Victoria neighborhood that were given computers through IBA’s computer donation program. He has made over 50 visits to fix software and hardware problems. He also developed a training manual to help residents learn about providing Tech Support. The guide addresses all the common problems that residents face and shows how to fix them. This guide is available online: http://www.iba-etc.org/tl/supporttraining.doc (29 MB)
Kevin successfully recruiting the three teens that had previously worked with Alison. He then taught them how to build their own webpages and link them together. He helped them with their writing and editing. By working with WiredWoods, he was able to get help with the curriculum development and tracking as well as get digital cameras loaned to the program.
The teens can now say with confidence that they know how to develop and maintain a complete website. They can also build their own pages, and enter into more advanced training programs. This could potentially be a way for these kids to find high-paying jobs.
Kevin also taught a dozen adults how to make their own pages. They were excited to learn and help each other learn.
Kevin was very patient and understanding with the residents. On each of the site visits to fix residents’ computers, I heard that he took time to teach residents about the computers and encourage them to take more classes.
“I was impressed with Kevin’s persistence and dedication to the project. He would knock on their [teen volunteers’] doors if they were late and work around their schedule to get things done. By the time Kevin left, I felt the teens had gotten a valuable experience from him.”
- Kimberly Lopez, supervisor
Computer Training Curriculum Development
Alison Hale
8/2001 — 11/2002
Alison has gotten a great deal accomplished in the past six months: the completion and maintenance of a student-tracking database, the revision of our Introduction to Computers curriculum including the translation of portions into Spanish, the development of a curriculum for a Netscape Composer class, the expansion of our Technology Center’s software library, the development of a plan to encourage computer use among the adult population of Villa Victoria, and work towards the creation of a youth magazine. In addition, Alison has continued to work with community residents in open lab and to otherwise help maintain the technology center.
Alison’s assistance to launch and to implement the Introduction to Computers at the technology center has helped the residents of the Villa Victoria to understand the basics of computers operation via a three-day class. This program has trained over 250 people and distributed 91 computers among our community.
Without Alison, El Batey Technology Center simply would not have been so successful, she is an intelligent young woman with many talents and a true interest in community. The Villa Victoria has gained a wonderful friend in Alison and we hope she knows she will always have a home here.
CTC Assistance and Training
Alison Hale
8/2001 — 11/2002
The goal of this roject is to provide technology and technology related services to low-income families so they obtain better educational opportunities and higher paying jobs. Specific outcomes include:
- Increasing the amount of basic and advanced and basic technology classes being offered at the El Batey Community Technology Center
- Enhancing services provided to teenagers and youth
- Wiring the first 400 housing units in Villa Victoria with Internet access via cable modem
- Providing these families with a computer and printer
- Creating the Wide Area Network
To this end, the VISTA member will act as Program Coordinator and will work as a team with tech center staff to
- Develop and coordinate training programs
- Research and apply appropriate curricula
- Ensure the efficient operation of the CTC by preparing and publishing monthly activity schedules, coordinating volunteers and trainers, providing trainer orientation, scheduling maintenance and repairs, coordinating technology upgrades and program expansion.
- Supervise activities hosted at the center
- Ensure that computers and other technologies operate smoothly, that upgrades are performed, that anti-virus and other security systems are implemented, and that machines are respected by the program participants and end-users
- Enforce Technology Center rules and policies
- Help network the community
Alison began to organize a youth web magazine: assembled a group of teenage editors to run the magazine, began their training, secured the support of various branches of the organization and began to build partnerships with other organizations who could provide training or other services.
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