Digital Arts Service Corps - community

"If we are together nothing is impossible. If we are divided all will fail"

Erica Jones — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:34:34 +0000

Great News just came our way, here at Quote...Unquote, Inc!

A major part of what I have been doing, and continue to do is raise community awareness around who we are as an organization, what we do and how other organizations can partner with QUQ to further enhance community alliance & promote their own organizational mission to the greater community.

Well, a recent endeavor I was working on for many months, along with another QUQ staffer, was to further strengthen and legitimize our newest arts, events & culture channel, Encantada TV, in the growing NM filmmaker community. An outreach effort that took persistence & following up on was with the NM Film Office. Seeing the NM Film Industry has been in a blossoming period, we figured what better way to get the word out about Encantada TV, to gain viewership and local film submissions was to partner with the NM Film Office.

Check out the update/news here on our Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Quote-Unquote-ABQs-Public-Access-Station-Encantada-TV/154012371952

I am proud to say our partnership is starting off in the right direction here. Beginning on June 11th until August 29th, we will begin a summer series on Encantada TV titled "NM Filmmaker Showcase Summer Series." This is a great step in the right direction, ideally building greater alliance amongst the film & media making communities here in NM.

I figured I would spread the love and great news with everyone. This took several months, so the moral is to never give up (i know, how cliche) and persistence really does pay off!

Cheers,
Erica Jones

Month 5: Independence + Collaboration = Success

Stephen Fonzo — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:54:12 +0000

The past month was probably the most successful for my VISTA project so far. While this was due in no small part to the groundwork of the previous months, over the course of only the last few weeks I trained (trainers and students), recruited volunteers, made new community contacts, and produced media. I credit this productivity with a) working independently and b) communicating frequently about my work to others to involve them and get their feedback.

Mid-November started slowly, as I helped the Shows group (books concerts and events for the IMC) assume their own responsibilities, by helping to draft a new contract with the IMC Finance group, updating their Drupal site and web calendar, and training a volunteer on meeting facilitation, sound, and web/calendar administration. Having that particular group grow to be more independent and capable frees me from a lot of extra, small tasks, and saves the rest of the IMC time and effort, as well. With more time to focus on the broader goals of my assignment, I have been gradually giving closer attention to the Production group that I helped start in the summer. The Production group (site in development) manages the IMC’s media production room, loans equipment to community projects, produces original content, and offers training on multimedia. Along with Production volunteers, Nicole Pion and I started planning an IMC Film Festival for February 6-8, 2009, which will last three days and showcase a variety of genres, especially work by local/regional filmmakers, and will also include art, music, and food from local sponsoring restaurants.

Other accomplishments of the Production group, which now contains a core of six independent journalist/producers, were four new videos (a total of 3.5 hours) that we have shared with Urbana Public Television and which will also be available online at our site and YouTube channel. Coverage ranged from stories about a local activist, IMC concert footage, People’s Potluck Thanksgiving, and a Proposition 8 protest. A group of 3 volunteers filmed performances and interviews at a benefit concert for our radio station. I have also started helping the IMC’s Books to Prisoners program with a video project that they will begin shooting and editing in the New Year to highlight their presence in town, their training, and the prison libraries that they staff.

In the course of recruiting volunteers to produce new media, I did quite a bit of editing myself, especially audio, and it turns out that this is a modest source of extra income for the host organization, which makes it worthwhile. More valuable, however, is the opportunity to instruct others on how to edit. Between Shows, Production, and Books to Prisoners members, I trained three individuals who will now be ready to train others on the basics of production and got them to think about how they can utilize media technology to further their groups’ goals. Over the next few months, I will be compiling my tutorials (and other online sources) for a wiki that our VISTA supervisor Josh King is developing for the IMC (Josh has chosen Twiki, as it has revision control and is used by the global Indymedia network).

There was quite a bit of interest in learning audio recording and editing this past month, with IMC members attending a variety of public lectures, discussions, or wanting to produce their own interviews or radio commentaries. I offered a series of three one-on-one tutorials on recording field audio (using a Zoom H2); compiling a musical set list (ala the quickly arcane term, “mix tape”) for radio; and recording and editing speech for use on radio or film. I chose the free and easy Audacity for the training, and even though I know a lot of people are familiar with how to use it, I’ll attach my quick guide here just in case anyone is interested. There are many more tips and tutorials here.

The final area in which I feel I made great progress was at the IMC’s community radio station, WRFU. First, I revived the station’s Tech group, which had been inactive since before I started as a VISTA. The Tech group maintains studio equipment, updates and repairs software and Internet connectivity, and offers technical guidance for membership training. After a few e-mails about the lack of tech support, a core group of 4-6 of us decided to set up a new computer at the DJ desk, fix and label cables and mixer inputs, and begin a construction plan for more shelves, storage, and a patchbay. In September I had been responsible for training dozens of airshifters, but in the process of bringing back the Tech group, we realized that we were training more trainers (and training ourselves to be better experts and instructors at the station). Two University of Illinois graduate students in the Library Sciences department finished their radio automation and music library training manual, which I had been supervising since the fall. This manual, now available in our office next to the studio, gives DJs and tech support step-by-step instructions on how to add local music, PSAs, and other pre-produced shows to our non-live rotation, how to classify content as clean, and how to edit it if it is not clean. The system is based on ZaraRadio, iTunes, and the Juice podcast player, and the volunteers used Karen’s Directory Printer to generate a station inventory. Nicole and I visited the Library Science department for presentations on their projects and to represent the IMC, and while there we learned about other great community engagement/technology instruction programs that are going on in our town. Earlier this week the librarians even thanked me by having me on their final show of the semester for an interview about my role as a CTC VISTA.

Last Three Months

Victoria Edwards — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 20:55:48 +0000

So I'm in my last three months here as a VISTA, things are really winding down. It's a lot different being on my own, the other VISTA Kevin ended his VISTAship 2 months ago but he had been working here pro-bono until he found a job (he just got one as of last week as a community development planner for the Human Services Alliance). Anyway, right now I'm working on evaluating differenet non-profits with techatlas. I hope everyone here knows what tech atlas is, it's an amazing resource that offers an comprehensive look at a non-profit's hardware, software and mission. It integrates these different elements to help non-profits plan how to increase their efficiency and productivity through the use of technology (and offers step by step techie plans). Anyway, I'm definitely no techie so I'm learning a lot. This weekend a new computer lab, Crossfire opens up. I've been deeply involved in getting that lab networked and running so it's nice to that it's going to be open to the public soon. I am worried about it though, there's no firewall set up, and there needs to be regular maintenace volunteers coming in to keep the system up. In addition, I think I'm planning a Universal Access conference co-sponsored by the Knight Foundation. I say think, because our communication with them has been really shotty, and I'm not sure if I even want to proceed with the legwork without a clear go-ahead from them. Anyway, there's a lot going on but I do feel a little overwhelmed. I really liked working with a partner, this seems like a lot for one person to do. I hope I'm doing Ok.

Vic

Amazing opportunity -- FREE Computer Summer Camp for girls in grades 10-12

Victoria Edwards — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:02:57 +0000

Hey Guys, those of you are working with youth users of community technology centers, -- Microsoft is offering a free computer summer camp for girls in grades 10-12. Unfortunately, it's not being held in Miami, Florida (where I am) but the camps are being held in:
Charlotte, NC
Chicago, IL
Fargo, ND
Las Colinas, TX
Redmond, WA
Stony Brook, NY
Washington, D.C.

(I cut and paste from the website to provide the information below:)

We are now accepting applications to Microsoft's DigiGirlz High Tech Camps. We are requesting your assistance in promoting this learning
opportunity for high school girls. The camp was developed to provide girls with a better understanding of what a career in technology is all about.
This exciting three to five day experience provides opportunities to learn about careers in technology, talk with Microsoft employees about
their life experiences, and enjoy hands-on computer and technology workshops.
What Participants Can Expect
* Hands-on learning sessions to educate
* Keynote Speaker series to inspire
* Career/technology tours to heighten awareness
* Resume and interview workshops to prepare
* Employee panels to answer questions

Testimonials
Here is what some DigiGirlz had to say about their experiences at the camp:
* "[The event was] very empowering and I know that I can accomplish anything!"
* "It definitely had a positive impact on me. It got me inspired to get involved and really gave me confidence to live out my dreams. It
gave me great ideas and I am so excited to continue on!"
* "Even in the short time I was at Microsoft I learned so much about technology, but more about how people can achieve professions that
they love and enjoy. Everyone's enthusiasm about their professions inspired me to find what I love and pursue it -- not only in technology,
but in life."
* "I am now much, much more interested in technology-related careers. They are so much fun."

Application Details

To apply, girls need to complete the online application form which is available at:
https://www.microsoft.com/about/diversity/programs/camps.mspx

In addition to providing contact information, the girls will be asked to answer two essay questions. After being selected into the program, they
will receive a packet of information with additional forms for completion.
They will also be asked to submit a letter of recommendation from a teacher or counselor. The documents must be completed and returned in
order to be fully registered for the camp. Girls must currently be in 9th-12th grade to be eligible. This camp is free of charge to participants.

Visit
https://www.microsoft.com/about/diversity/programs/camps.mspx
for more information.*

Meetup.com - A Site for Organizing Communities

Morgan Sully — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 20:42:04 +0000

Here are a few GREAT resources for developing communities online and connecting and organizing constituents to each other.

For a small monthly fee, you can set up an online community that regularly meets offline for all sorts of topics and interests. This is an invaluable solution for capacity building at your project.

Benefits include:

shared filing system
event calendar
automatic event notification (set by you)
photo sharing
poll creation
your own listserv

Start a coalition for rural housing, connect with other VISTA Alumnis, start an electronic music meetup. There are endless possibilities.

here's the site:
http://www.meetup.com

here's a map to visualize ones close to you:
http://americorpsalumni.meetup.com/about/

2 examples started by a a former VISTA are:
http://lgbtfriends.meetup.com/58/
http://electronicmusic.meetup.com/49/

Youth Entrepreneurs Shine in Chicago

Shaneka Smith — Thu, 10 May 2007 22:05:04 +0000

Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education hosted the 2007 Youth Entrepreneurship Conference from May 3 -5, 2007 at the Lincolnshire Marriot Resort. Youth throughout the Midwest attended this grand event to showcase their businesses and to compete for monies to promote and expand their companies. Opportunities were also granted for youth to sell products or services in the Expo. The innovation of young minds was evident with businesses ranging from custom auto parts to Caribbean Cuisine. IIEE provided youth the chance to show everyone what they got in accordance with the event’s theme.

Westside Youth Tech Entrepreneur Center (WYTEC) located in the West Garfield Park community on Madison and Keeler took four youth developed businesses: Delectable Desserts (Meoshii Young, 17, ACT and Alex Watt, 16, Prosser Career Academy), Christie’s Photo Service (Letitia Jackson, 14, Thorp Scholastic Academy), Chi-Town Finest Stylez (Starnisha Ewing,16, ACT and Shatoya Haper, 16, Al Raby School for Comm/Enviro), and Baskets by Brittany (Brittany Richmond, 16, ACT) to participate in the Expo, Start-up Business Competition, and Jumpstart Grant competition.

WYTEC is proud to announce that Chi-Town Finest Stylez, a youth based corporation offering custom-made T-shirts and accessories, and Delectable Desserts, a partnership creating desserts for everyone including those concerned about the waistline bulge, competed and won a $150 Jumpstart Grant to invest into their businesses. The hard work and determination of all the attendees paid off as others were in astonishment at the creative ideas they displayed.

These individuals are shining in a community written off as one of the worst for teenagers. Youth are aware that they can develop successful businesses using their talent, drive, and determination. They are trendsetters of youth entrepreneurship in the West Garfield Park community. WYTEC has shown itself to truly be an incubator for inventive minds.

Spread the word...May digital storytelling training

danielle martin — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 21:00:31 +0000

You're invited to a unique opportunity to combine hands-on multimedia training and community program capacity building. The program is called Spreading the Stories (sponsored by MassIMPACT) and it's a 3 full day hands-on workshop where you'll create a digital story and discuss how to implement it in your own organizations. The workshop will be held at the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center on May 1, 8, & 9th from 9-5pm (with an orientation on Friday April 27th from 10-12noon).

Digital stories are a tremendous resource for community-based organizations. Most community efforts use stories to build relationships, to connect with others, and to advocate for themselves. Often, those who are effecting change on the ground lack knowledge of basic media skills that can capture and represent the images and voices behind these stories.

Spreading the Stories is a four-day intensive professional development workshop, where participants create digital stories -- brief multimedia narratives combining voice, imagery and video. Through the creation of digital stories, organizations can reflect upon, learn from, document, and share stories that emerge through their practice. The workshop is free, and is intended as both a production and a train-the-trainer event, where participants leave with their own digital stories and the skills necessary to teach others the process.

To expand the reach of digital storytelling, MassIMPACT, along with Creative Narrations, launched Spreading the Stories in the fall of 2005. Twelve organizations’ staff from the Boston area was trained in 2005-6, and many of these organizations have since used digital storytelling to self-produce promotional materials, enhance programming, and secure grant funding. In addition to gaining practical skills, participants found inspiration in the creative process and unique networking opportunities among the participating organizations.

In this next phase of the program, MassIMPACT intends to focus workshops on new communities, including (but not limited to) Asian, Latino, Cape Verdean, & Haitian groups and others in Western Massachusetts. In coalition with Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion (IBA) and Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, the workshop in March 2007 focused on incorporating digital storytelling into community programs in the South End to foster partnerships and inter-organizational programs and events.

The workshop is FREE for selected organizations, contingent that you vow to go back to your organizations and share 3 stories you help create over the next year. You can down the application here or on the MassIMPACT website http://www.massimpact.org/projects/digital_storytelling/spreading_stories.shtml , due by April 17th.

Community Map-builder

Matthew Isaacs — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 19:27:38 +0000

I can across an application that allows for community built apps. I'm considering its appropriateness for some of the mapping functionality for CUWiN.

http://communitymapbuilder.org/display/MAP/Home

Just how smart IS your rural community?

Colleen Kelly — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 16:33:37 +0000

Just How Smart IS Your Rural Community?

Creating People-Centered Community Knowledge Networks
http://lone-eagles.com/smart.htm
To survive in a world of accelerating change, all communities must quickly learn how to effectively create community learning programs to keep as many citizens as possible up-to-date on that new knowledge which creates new opportunities - on an ongoing basis. Community learning programs can start with something as simple as "live" online presentations of the best replicable innovations from other communities. As more new knowledge is put online for convenient access by the community, common sense use of appropriate knowledge sharing tools can have a dramatic impact by providing a means for everyone to contribute to keeping the whole community informed. In the knowledge age, fueled by an innovation economy, the quality of our community knowledge networks will determine the adaptability and survivability of our rural communities.

Inexpensive community knowledge networks are one easy way that everyone can work together to gather and share that new knowledge which creates new opportunities. Below are recommended first steps that do not require outside funding. As citizens and community leaders become aware of the replicable innovations already working in other communities, as included in the self-quiz and web tour below, the benefits for supporting ongoing community learning will become clearer. At issue is nothing less than preservation of our cherished rural lifestyle.

The following very short non-technical self-quiz on community "smartness" is recommended as a first group activity for community leaders. Consider "What’s the best your rural community can do for itself based on new knowledge of the best successful innovations already working for other communities?" As you review the suggested innovations below, make a list of which innovations make sense for your community and consider the potential benefits of routinely gathering and sharing the best innovations from other communities as they emerge, on an ongoing basis. At the very least your community can save hundreds of hours by simply borrowing the gathered links from other community sites.

Following the quiz is a short web tour of examples of great community knowledge networking innovations, and a recommended reading list to better understand what your community can create, even without grant funds. You'll find extensive community planning resources such as community action plans written as grant templates, K12 community service projects, and many more useful resources. Lone Eagle Consulting provides all the following resources for unrestricted use to support creation of more lone eagles and sustainable rural communities.
Creating community learning programs is everyone's responsibility and our challenge is that we have so many diverse communities within each community that could, and should, be players: K12, Higher Education, elected community leaders, unofficial community leaders, business leaders, parents, youth, disabled, faith-based organizations, non-profit organizations, etc. Each "community within the community" has their own agenda and typically none of them are yet focused on Internet empowerment or community learning. Each such community needs to understand how they will benefit by supporting a community knowledge network that integrates knowledge sharing across our "community of communities."

Quiz:

1. ___Y/N Do You Already Have Local Web Business Directories?
Are all local business web sites listed on one web page to support local online shopping and to generate awareness as to which local businesses are now doing business on the Internet?

Bethel, Alaska Business Directory
http://www.deltadiscovery.com/Shopping/shoppingalpha.html
An elegantly functional business directory to facilitate local online shopping. All local businesses are displayed on one page with all businesses with web sites easily identified by their names as blue hyperlinks.

Joseph, Oregon business directory
http://www.josephoregon.com/business_directory.htm
A database is one way of presenting a business directory but this model doesn't lend itself to convenient browsing and it can be tedious to shop around town.

2. ___Y/N Do You Already Have Your Local Media Engaged Raising Ecommerce
Awareness?

Does your local media regularly celebrate local Ecommerce success stories,
- or are they ignored?

Bethel, Alaska
http://www.deltadiscovery.com
Citizens regularly share their news on this regional community network. One can quickly see than many citizens are directly involved in regularly generating local news for this community information site.

Caithness, Scotland
http://www.caithness.org
An exceptional model of a community web site that is well maintained. This community makes sure all local businesses receive help establishing an ecommerce web page and that new information appears daily. A review of the diverse array of information reveals that this community truly "owns" the responsibility to make this site a true reflection of the community's spirit and citizenry.

3. ___Y/N Do You Already Have Local Peer Mentoring Programs?
Are local experts and community mentors celebrated for the value they bring to the community and engaged in local peer mentoring programs?

Ask A+ Mentoring Roster
www.vrd.org/locator/alphalist.shtml
A simple model for a local mentors roster. While this national mentors site is dedicated to K12 students and educators, this serves as a simple mentoring model any community could easily use to connect those with specific skills with those needing friendly mentorship to attain new skills. Mentors should be listed both by topic and by name, and by free mentoring offered and/or for-profit mentoring services. A mentoring program is described at
http://lone-eagles.com/mentoring-mission.htm

4. ___Y/N Do You Already Have An Integrated Ecommerce Incubator?
Are all local Ecommerce support businesses listed on one web page so anyone can easily find the expertise they need to bring their business online?

Lone Eagle Self-Employment Incubator
http://lone-eagles.knet.ca Inexpensive open source content management systems (CMSs) can streamline the flow of essential information in communities and serve as the public hub for skills mentoring and the proliferation of fast-track web-based self-employment businesses. Offering robust content and peer-training resources, this incubator was created to support peer mentoring for the “Montana Choice” five-year demonstration project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment policy as described at http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice.htm One innovation for emphasizing the people-centered focus of this project is demonstrated through the photogallery slideshows of co-op crafters in Idaho, aboriginal artists in Australia, Jamaican visionaries, Alaskan Natives and soon, many others.

5.___Y/N Do You Already Provide Accessible Ecommerce Training?
Are entry-level Ecommerce education training opportunities (such as eBay) and peer mentoring programs readily available online in your community?

A Beginner's Guide to Profiting from the Internet
http://lone-eagles.com/ecom.htm
A train-the-trainers program to support local peer mentoring programs with ten two-hour hands-on lessons to raise awareness on "what's working for others like you." Lesson one includes an overview listing of many other Ecommerce online courses and resources. Provided through the Idaho State University College of Technology Workforce Training Office, this course is being used in Idaho and for the "Montana Choice" project described at http://lone-eagles.com/montana-choice.htm.

6. ___Y/N Do You Already Have Ongoing Access to the Best Innovations as They Emerge?

Are successful innovations from other rural communities readily gathered
and shared locally by any means?

Association for Community Networking http://www.afcn.org If you have innovations to share, please feel specifically invited to do so, and join the Association for Community Networking for $25. Register online.

Lone Eagle Consulting http://lone-eagles.com/articles/articles.htm
A regular short newsletter focused on rural knowledge network innovations is planned for 2005.

Community Networking Definitions

danielle martin — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 21:16:07 +0000

Globally, we’re seeing the simultaneous realization that opportunities exist for sharing best practices regarding motivating and training citizens in the use of Internet collaborative tools and their most efficient applications. Producing self-directed Internet learners with employability skills to reduce poverty is our challenge, as well as promoting effective global citizenship.

The broadest definition of the term ”community networking” refers to a dedicated group of people working together for a defined purpose, people working together online to realize a shared cause.

The purpose of community networks then, and now, is to create a shared online space for people working together to make good things happen for their communities.

Community Informatics on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_networking

What is Community Networking; And Why You Should Care
http://www.comtechreview.org/fall-2005/000347.html

Community Networking Primer
http://lone-eagles.com/articles/networking.htm
A good first article on the practical function and applications of community networks.
This is chapter one from The Good Neighbor's Guide to Community Networking
http://lone-eagles.com/cnguide.htm A simple, if dated, introduction.

Community Technology Centers
http://www.ctcnet.org

Association for Community Networking
http://www.afcn.org

Microsoft’s Telecenter Support Network
http://telecentre.org

Community Network Visualizations
http://www.visualcomplexity.com/vc/index.cfm

Lone Eagle’s Complete Community Networking Articles
http://lone-eagles.com/smart.htm

Community Networking Clearinghouse
http://lone-eagles.com/community.html