Digital Arts Service Corps - networking

Month Eight: The BTOP Shuffle

Melissa Niiya — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:07:18 +0000

March was crazy. LTSC had applied as a partner with a bunch of other California organizations for funding on the first round of BTOP, a federal grant for developing broadband access. First, we found out that we didn't get the first round grant; then, we learned we were being dropped from the partnership. So, we decided to apply on our own for the next round, which meant the beginning of March was pretty much non-stop grant writing and cranking out a 50-page application in about a week and a half. We probably won't get this second round, but it was worth a try.

Now that the application has been submitted, I've gone back to the networking and training of residents. I've recruited a few residents to become "Network Representatives." Starting next week, they'll be learning about the free internet at their building, how to fix it, etc. They'll also be learning how to teach their fellow residents how to log on, how to troubleshoot, etc. Hoping to recruit more volunteers so every building has two representatives.

Have also been trying to stabilize the free wifi at this building. So far, it has involved frankensteining some equipment, some soldering, and a lot of dragging ethernet cable through bird shit. :)

Hope everyone is doing well as we approach the final few months...

developing online communities for education

Stephen Loverme — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:02:02 +0000

One of the main goals for HOME In.c at the moment is to create a community between the students in our different programs (our three partner schools and the TeenTV summer workshop). I feel that the best way to do this is to tap into existing social network rather than trying to create our own. We've tried having a Myspace page for TeenTV but it hasn't caught on. Currently I'm looking into developing a presence on Facebook...creating group pages for TeenTV and each media lab. I'd like to have each media lab have it's own group that is affiliated and shares membership with the main TeenTV group. Hopefully in this way students from different schools can network with one another.

I'm also developing some curriculum materials around blogging and citizen journalism. Working with a journalism class, the stories published in the school newspaper will also be published on the web via a blog, with some stories being developed into video pieces for the school TV show. Ideally the school's paper (The Brighton Banner) will have an online audience that will enage with one another and the authors discussing the articles and issues within the school and the community.

Update

Victoria Edwards — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:33:20 +0000

So long time no write, I guess I haven't updated in a while. Anyway in the last few months we threw our first Breakfast Blastoff Conference in January. We had a great showing, including the local program director for the Knight Foundation (who we're having another meeting with next week). It was really exciting to get the separate agencies together, and a few agencies have even started working together on separate projects. Since the success of that meeting we've been working on a couple follow-up meetings. First one that will be devoted to helping the separate agencies as a resource in building curriculum, and then another meeting to educate these agencies, and see how they can get involved with, the Knight Foundation's $4.5 milliion dollar Universal Access Initiative. Anyway I have a conference call today so I'll talk with all of you soon.

~Vic

Career Coach

Kevin Bulger — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 16:50:01 +0000

Penelope Trunk, a columnist for the Boston Globe, has a very well written and insightful career planning/career coaching blog that is just outstanding (http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/). I only bring it up because it has helped me a great deal in putting my ongoing AmeriCorps experience in proper perspective.

I read it daily and I find her views on happiness, success, networking, and other topics exceptionally helpful. It makes me feel good about what Im doing, inspires me to be a better worker, and gives me hope that my hard work will pay off in the long run. Ive gotten a lot out of it, and I think y'all can too.

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

when transitional periods become the norm...

brittney fosbrook — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:31:57 +0000

hello from san francisco.

it has been almost 3 weeks since my boss left and there is still no permanent new hire in sight. currently, my ex-boss's niece is filling her position but i think it is only until the end of the year. it is strange to automatically fill such a huge role in the organization. i am now teaching a technology class to the community health workers on staff and going full speed ahead on website reworking. everything is finally settling back down and the only huge obstacle is my lack of proficiency in spanish. when i am the only person in the lab (which does happen often now) and a spanish speaker comes in i feel so useless. my spanish skills, however, are rapidly improving.

it turns out that there is a free "website makeover" happening this weekend that i was invited to. a bunch of drupal experts will be there to help orgs convert their websites over to drupal. this is really exciting to me because i have felt less confident doing it on my own.

also, i attended the sf wifi conference last friday and met a new ctc vista named karl hedstrom at nten. although i thought the conference was a bit of a bust, i did link up with the bay area video coalition (amazing organization), see heather from aspiration tech and a network with couple of other new bay area non-profit technology people.

to top it all off, fellow ctc vista rebecca white and i ate some amazing vegan japanese food in the mission on monday night. although it was pouring down rain, the hot soup and tea totally made my night.

Empowered Community

Kamala Kalluri — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 14:17:32 +0000

The recent (2006) announcement that the Nobel Peace prize has been won by Dr. Muhammad Yunus has caught my attention. Part of the prize is shared by a banking system called Grameen bank.

The bank is supposedly working on the principles of community effort, mutual
trust, accountability, and micro credit. It is designed to offer small
loans to poor people in groups of 5, who are otherwise not credit worthy.
The primary requirement for loan eligibility seems to be collective
accountability of groups to repay. Because there is no requirement to back their loans
with collateral, the poor have been able to invest in some trade for their livelihood.

The conditions for loan have helped improve social and economic awareness.

This system appears to have uplifted and improved the lives of many poor
communities in Bangladesh, among whom a big percentage is said to be women. This indeed is a system of community, networking and collective effort that has not only made a success story but also has received a distinguished recognition.

Follow the links for more of this story.

http://www.grameen-info.org/bank/index.html

Program Coordinator

Patricia Conrad-Wexler — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 21:50:52 +0000

I had the opportunity to attend a workshop in Springfield, MA. yesterday (october 18) and was very impressed by the speaker. The subject was guerrila marketing, and he was so fast and able to communicate key items in a very limited amount of time that before I knew it 2 hrs. had flown by. I have to get sponsors for our newly launched website and I have never been "trained" in how to do that. The workshop entitled "Intro to guerrilla marketing" was offered to the Massachusetts small business development center network by The Steady Sales Group/J. Sheldon Snodgrass of 89 South St. , Williamsburg MA 01096 and he was impressive in that he was so on point about the info given. There was hardly time for in depth interaction, but we came away with a workbook that we could do our own study with. So glad to have been able to attend. I've been a wee bit nervous about the cold calling I need to do, but my background of 40 yrs. as a hairdresser alllows me a certain amount of comfort because I've been dealing with the public for so long. It's always GOOD to get some further training anyway.

Today I was invited to attend a luncheon given at a lovely "Log Cabin Banquet Hall and Meeting Place" in Holyoke, MA. One of the graduates of the YES program was honored (as was the YES program) for having accomplished starting his own business, being gainfully employed, buying his own home ( at 23 yrs. old) and making good use of the training he received here. What a nice event, and a most wonderful lunch. Danielle, I made up for every free meal I've ever missed in Boston in the last 6 months!!! The event was a 15 year annual meeting given by the Trustees of the Community Foundation of Western MA, an organization that funded our odd jobs program, and one of the many programs that Leon Howard ( our own celebrity guest of honor) was able to avail himself of while a youth in town.

Check it out!

Laura Mieczkowski — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 16:26:57 +0000

Hi,

I hope everyone had a safe trip back and is enjoying their work thus far. I just wanted to drop a quick-line to let all of you know about this awesome web-site and list-serve, called Young Non-profit Professionals Network. The link below will take you to a local area network for Chicago, Boston and NYC among others. If there is not a list-serve in your area, they give you the tools to start one.

http://www.ynpn.org/national/chapters.asp

All the best,