Toolkits are resources that have been developed out of the CTN sponsored workshops over the years covering a wide variety of topics relevant to the operations and the programming of organizations that provide technology related training, services or access to the public.
If you have a suggestion for topics for future events or toolkits, please Contact Us.
See below for toolkits:
Need to make a connection? Does your City not provide free wireless? This toolkit is designed to help you find Wireless broadband resources or find resources so that you can lobby for and build an area-wide WiFi network in your area.
Use the following free wireless network sites to see if there is an available hotspot in your area:
Whether you are a citizen of San Francisco or are located in another city, San Francisco's initiative could be a model to adapt to your community. Most importantly the City's digital inclusion strategy encompasses training, support, community information portals, and more.
Wireless Africa - Anietie Ekanem is a pioneer in providing wireless broadband services in the East Bay and in Africa. Explore his innovative initiatives as a possible model for your community.
AC Transit (East Bay Busses) are testing deployment of WiFi access in its busses.
Digital Cities Convention - See what's happening in U.S. cities with municipally sponsored projects.
CUWin - The pioneer in providing communities with a low open source software solution allowing communities to build their own low-cost wireless mesh networks. This is an excellent step-by-step resource for building your own area-wide network.
Mini-Box : Suppliers of computer hardware that can be used to create WiFi nodes using the CUWin software.
Meraki Mini: A low-cost node for building a Wifi Network.
Seattle Community Network - Provides an example of what is possible using a community developed model of wireless broadband.
Public IP - Public IP provides hotspot operators with an extremely simple, highly versatile, FREE, open source hotspot solution. Public IP's ZoneCD is freely distributed software that has been created to help implement safe, free, WiFi hotspots.
How and where to be an advocate for community technology
A Policy Toolkit by George Gundrey, CompuMentor
This toolkit is based on the presentation at the May 1st, 2003 Community Technology Network of the Bay Area conference.
Audience: The core audience for this toolkit is Bay Area community technology practitioners (community technology centers, after-school programs that use technology, job training programs, etc.).
Local, regional, and state agencies can help support your technology program. They can provide funding through specific grant programs, or can assure that existing funding mechanisms like those for workforce development, after-school programs, eGovernment, and education are accessible to nonprofits/community-based organizations. There are also technology-related programs like the California Teleconnect Fund (that provides discounts for telecommunications services like Internet access) that can be made more usable by community technology programs.
The main statewide coalition advocating for policies that support community technology is the California Community Technology Policy Group (CCTPG). While many organizations in the Bay Area participate in the work of the CCTPG, the main contacts is Ana Montes at Latino Issues Forum (anamontes@lif.org, 415-284-7208). The CCTPG has organizations around the state working in coordination, has expert advice and guidance from The Children’s Partnership, has hired a lobbyist who works in Sacramento on its behalf, and is coordinated by Richard Chabran, CCTPG Chair, who has experience in both policy work and starting and running a community technology center.
There are many benefits to working with the CCTPG. The bottom line is that Policy is a link to sustainability, for both your individual program and the field as a whole. When doing policy work, understand that you are the expert. Elected officials and other decision makers do not necessarily understand community technology, but are willing and able to learn if you teach them. You also need to understand that policy is a process. Government moves slowly, and often progress is incremental. Substantial victories may take years to achieve. You’ve got to keep at it. Download the excellent PDF handout by the Independent Sector, Ten Reasons to Lobby for Your Cause.
Finally, you need to understand that there are many different ways to advocate for policy changes to support CTCs. Bills can get passed. State regulations can get changed. Local governments can be lobbied. With the assistance of the CCTPG, you can get to know the players, craft a consistent message, and organize with your colleagues to affect change.
Know the Rules
The first thing you need to do understand that 501c3 organizations are allowed to lobby and advocate. It is a common misconception that nonprofits are not allowed to lobby. There are rules about it, but they are very basic and easy to follow. Nonprofits can’t electioneer - (i.e. say “vote for John Doe”), but they can lobby (i.e. say “we support this legislation – Ms. Assemblyperson please vote for it”). For more details, see Luis M. Arteaga’s Guide for Non-Profits on Lobbying and Advocacy from the conference. While 501c3 organizations can legally lobby, many funders do not allow you to lobby with their money. That means you need to make sure at least some of your funding does not have this restriction. (Even if all your funding is restricted, you can still educate officials without advocating for specific legislation.)
Get Permission from Your Board or Executive Director
Make sure your leadership understands and supports what you are doing. They may also be able to support you with expertise, contacts, or in other ways.
Get educated about the current work of the CCTPG.
The CCTPG helps design and supports certain legislation every year. You should familiarize yourself with the current legislation (it’s all on their web site at www.cctpg.org) and join their email list. The CCTPG sends out alerts when there are key actions needed during the legislative process. If you have any questions or don’t understand something, contact a Bay Area representative or the Chair. This PowerPoint presentation also gives a good overview of the CCTPG.
Make a plan for the year.
Take some time to write out all you are going to do regarding statewide policy. Your plan should include the following:
Invite your representatives to your center. Get clear on what messages you want to get across. The goals of the visit are to develop a good relationship with your representative, educate him/her about community technology and the work of your organization, and also get his/her support on specific legislation or policies. You should familiarize yourself with the CCTPG talking points about the importance of community technology generally. Be sure to tell all about your work, and have some of your clients do the talking. If your clients produce products like web sites, digital artwork, or videos, be sure to present them. Finally, understand what the current legislation is, and be able to discuss it. You donít need to be an expert. If any questions come up you donít know, just say you will get back to them. The CCTPG Guide to Legislative Visits will provide you some guidance on conducting yourself.
Write letters of support at key times. When a piece of CCTPG legislation is at a key point in the process, the CCTPG will request letters be sent via the email lists. Be sure to follow up in a timely manner.
Participate in Sacramento Day. One day per year, community technology advocates from around the state descend on Sacramento to meet with legislators in person, get training, and participate in other activities. See http://www.cctpg.org/sacramentoday/ for more information.
Recruit your colleagues. Ask other community technology program to get involved.
There are a lot of other things you can do like attend hearings, testify before the Pubic Utilities Commission (which meets in San Francisco), and get involved with local policy issues like cable franchise agreements. If you would like to be more active, contact the CCTPG to get plugged in. Once you have a plan in place, you will find that doing policy work is not very much time, and can be very satisfying. If you need any more guidance, contact the CCTPG.
Digital storytelling can also be used for community organizing and political change, as articulated and practiced by Third World Majority:
Center for Digital Storytelling (www.storycenter.org)
1803 MLK Jr. Way Berkeley, CA 94709
510-548-2065
Third World Majority (http://www.cultureisaweapon.org/)
A new media training and production resource center dedicated to global justice. Our principal organizing focus is the community digital storytelling workshop.
369 15th Street Oakland, CA 94612
510.682.6624
Silence Speaks ((http://www.silencespeaks.org/)
Digital Storytelling in support of healing and violence prevention.
1916A Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, California, 94709
Links & Resources: Nationwide
Write script and share with group
· Revise & Edit script (consider group comments)
· Short and powerful
· Convey your message
VOICEOVER
· Voice articulation exercises
· Record voiceover -- use the gift of personal voice
images
· Create a storyboard for your story
· What's images do you have? (photographs, etc)
· What do we need to find/create/record
· Scan, Digitize, and Size
· Go out and film
EDITING
· Introduce digital editing software (imovie, premiere final cut pro)
· Import voiceover
· Sequence images
· Discuss pacing
· Introduce movement effects (pan, zoom, rotate)
· Transitions
· Special effects
· Title tool
SOUNDTRACK
· Music carries powerful emotional content
· Find and import appropriate music
· Discuss copyright
* FINISHING
· Group Share/Critique
· Final revisions
· Screening and Celebrate
Writing Prompts
#
You can use writing prompts to help people get started telling their stories. Everyone gets an index card. The prompt is given and people free write on the index card for 15 minutes. Only 1 card per person.
Some ideas for writing prompts include:
   *
   * Tell us about a time when you felt connected to your neighborhood.
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Did you know that 20% of your community has a disability? For what group is the digital divide the greatest? Did you know that you already have a lot of accessible technology on hand?
This toolkit is a guide intended for public access computing administrators who want to learn about the issues of computer and web accessibility for people with disabilities. It is appropriate for CTC administrators and public library computing administrators with limited exposure to the issues of facility, program, and communications accessibility for people with disabilities.
At nearly twenty percent, people with disabilities are this country's largest minority. Couple this with an aging population who will increasingly experience vision, hearing and mobility limitations and it is clear that this is a critical time in the evolution of our society and the ways that we respond to the diverse needs of this growing population. We must all work to eliminate the physical and attitudinal barriers that prevent people with disabilities from having full access to the programs, services and technology tools that will allow them to fully participate in their communities and in the digital revolution.
Have you ever asked yourself any of the following questions?
This toolkit will explore some of the strategies, tools and motivations for increasing access to your CTC programs.
Starting Points: An Introduction to Creating Access in Community-Based Organizations (or download PDF ) from the Alliance for Technology Access (ATA) will help you identify where and how you can begin to make your organization more accessible in the areas of Communications, Facilities, Program, Technology and Web Site. It is intended to be a companion piece to the ATA publication, "Access Aware: Extending your reach to People with Disabilities."
Resources Library @ ATA
The Alliance for Technology Access
2175 E Francisco Blvd., Suite L
San Rafael, CA 94901
Email: ATAinfo@ATAccess.org
Voice 415.455.4575
Fax 415.455.0654
TTY 415.455.0491
In recent years both Apple and Microsoft have made great strides in making their operating systems and applications more accessible. Use the resources below to find out what is possible with your operating system and common applications.
Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) - When crafting your website it is important to understand what makes accessible technologies work and what defeats these tools. The WAI site will help you ensure your site is compliant.
WebXACT (Bobby tool) - Use this tool to find out how standards compliant your website is.
Ensure Your Web Site Is Accessible - This TechSoup tutorial explains how to test your Web site for a number of common, high-level accessibility problems.
Author: Marc Smolowitz, Access-SF/Channel 29 and CTN Steering Committee
To provide a preliminary set of partnership resources for a cross section of agencies currently working in the community technology arena.
The field of workforce development continues to be challenged by the swift and changing nature of work place technologies, the continuous pool of certified candidates entering the job market, and the overall lack of incentives available to businesses that support sequential training of their in-house workers. Given the systemic nature of these hurdles, it is encouraging to note the recent emergence of workforce programs that are redefining nonprofit partnership modules. In an attempt to strike a balance among the cross cutting concerns of various stakeholders (community-based programs, human services, education/training groups) alongside the current market conditions that define the nature of employment, these endeavors are bringing together some unlikely players as a defining aspect of their strategy. How can a particular partnerships approach help to address the important concerns facing the workforce development arena? And, to what extent are these modules applicable in other community technology settings?
Moderator:
Marc Smolowitz, ACCESS SF Development / Cable Channel 29 and CTN Bay Area Steering Committee Member
Speakers:
Mike Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, Bay Area Technology Education Collaborative (BayTEC)
Jeff Jones, Strategic Planning Coordinator, DesignLife
Part One: Partnerships 101 : The essential aspects of Partnerships that are likely to be important for all nonprofits moving forward.
Part Two : Case Studies: BayTEC & Design Life
Meet the region’s newest innovators in the fields of work force development, job training , employing program modules, founded on an emphasis of those unique assets that come with cross sector partnerships.
Part Three : Practicum: Smaller Working Groups create THE 5-POINT PLAN - Collaborating on Step-by-Step Action Plans for your next successful partnership.
Partnerships 101 provides a general overview of key issues and conversation topics that currently drive partnerships discussions in the nonprofit sector. The last several years of nonprofit practice have placed a generic emphasis on the importance of collaborative fundraising and joint development programs. The goal of this discussion is to open the terrain of the discussion towards re-thinking mutually beneficial collaboration, large and small, and entering into an emerging realm of partnerships that defines potential for at every level of the nonprofit organization.
SEE WORKSHEET 1 & WORKSHEET 2
ESTABLISHING MUTUAL BENEFIT AT THE OUTSET
Overview of partnership options: Networking Partner (Professional and/or Colleague benefit), Coordinating Partner (Program/Affiliation), Cooperating Partners (Program/Resource Sharing), Collaborative Partners (Implies Ongoing Aspects), Fundraising (Revenue-based), Entrepreneurial (Risk Taking).Partnerships Resources is a list of nonprofit partnership programs, resources and case studies. These resources are provided as examples of best practices and partnership innovation.
TAKING THE NEIGHBORHHOOD WALK
Identifying both new and existing stakeholders through Asset Mapping and intimate assessments of your immediate neighborhood and geography. Engaging in risk assessments with regard to your current stakeholder interests as a way to prioritize collaborative goaGO TO: Community Development Resource List for various helpful links on ASSET MAPPING and COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS.
CONSIDER THE LESS THAN USUAL SUSPECTS
Partnerships founded on choice! Therefore, convene brainstorming sessions with organizations that you want to work with, in either your own and/or other sectors that are relevant for your mission. Are there “less than usual suspects” that your organization might consider reaching out to in the area of partnerships? Look at various levels of your organization, and assess where benefit might be gained by engaging with an outside player. (Partners can be a part of defining programs, staff models, short-term initiatives, overall goals related to mission, annual objectives.)
MAKING THE CASE FOR THE MOU (Memo Of Understanding)
Sustaining Partnerships, ideas for best practices & evaluation tools. The Memo Of Understanding or MOU is a basic requirement of all partnerships, regardless of size. At its most basic level, the MOU can be the harbinger of best practice and set the stage for a successful partnership. A standard and reliable MOU will state for the record the expectations, requirements and understanding of each partner. It will include key points about time line (the term of the agreement), key definitions for the agreement (Example: For the purposes of this agreement, 5 volunteers hours = $500 sponsorship), how the partnership is to be evaluated at various stages of development, and what conditions can warrant a mutual exit from the Agreement.
Meet the region’s newest innovators in the field s of work force development & job training.
Introducing the unique stories of BayTEC (launched---2002) and DesignLife (pre-launch---2003), two ground breaking startups that entered the workforce arena with innovative partnership models at the center of their ongoing program goals. As part of this discussion, the speakers will explain their organization’s mission and particular approach to IT workforce development. We’ll assess their noticeably different strategies for business development, career building, human services and generally taking on the workforce aspects of the digital divide. By looking closely at their current slate of partnerships, we'll identify a working list of helpful criteria for setting up first stage partnerships as well as the means to assess mutual benefits that may emerge on behalf of workforce candidates, employers and the many related stakeholders in this economy.
BayTEC: In 2001, the James Irvine Foundation funded, with much fanfare, a breakout regional startup venture called BayTEC, an IT workforce supply chain manager that emerged from three community-based IT Training Centers in the East Bay (Street Tech, Urban Voice & Eastmont Computing Center). In order to respond to the East Bay's substantial need for job-ready technology workers, BayTEC uses methods for IT training and job placement that emphasize a high-performance, responsive approach to both candidates and employers.
BayTEC’s list of regional stakeholders calls for the “melding of their particular capacities,” including: Community-based IT Training Centers, Workforce Investment Boards, Community Colleges, Job Development Organizations, Government Agencies, Local Businesses, Business Federations, Adult Education Institutions. BayTEC’s case study will outline startup details for the organization, early milestones for the organization, where things currently stand with regard to each of the above listed partnership categories, and the organization s plans for sustaining certain partnership models in to the future. Now entering its second year, BayTEC is uniquely poised in the nation as a nonprofit, regional purveyor of workforce opportunities.
DesignLife: Currently in pre-launch phase, DesignLife will begin operations later in 2003 with a focus on professional youth development through social enterprise, especially in the converging fields of technology, new media & the digital arts. Its intended employment program will contribute to a “total career pathways system for the Bay Area” that will effectively network educators, community-based organizations, and industry in support of youth mentorship goals. Towards job placement, DesignLife will maintain a system of "mentorpreneurs,” people who will provide candidates with work-based learning opportunities and support towards their continuing on a professional path that leads them beyond employment to entrepreneurship. Partners under consideration include: CA Lawyers for the Arts, GlideTech, California Partnership Academies, and Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center. DesignLife’s case study will outline the team that has come together to realize this venture, the motivation that drives their shared impulse to form this nonprofit agency at this particular time, and the group's specific plans for its first six months of operations.
THE FIVE POINT PARTNERSHIP PLAN
Step-by-step action plans that will fuel your next successful partnership.
This works best in a small group setting, working through each question out-loud, and with an assigned note-taker.
The goal of these working groups is for each attendee to identify a reasonable partnership goal that each participant would like to pursue at their own organization. These can be large or small,
immediate or long term, internal to the organization or external in the community. With the help of the group and the facilitator, participants will exit the session with a clearly expressed 5-point plan for moving forward with their partnership idea in the coming period.
Question One: Define the current shape of the partnership, its immediate stakeholders, its overall category and its potential for mutual benefit.
Question Two: Define why the partnership is currently necessary and useful from your side of the potential collaboration.
Question Three: Define why the partnership is currently necessary and useful from your potential partners side of the collaboration.
Question Four: Set a short term goal for your preferred mode of making contact with the potential partner, based on being able to translate the above answers into an effective one paragraph description of your partnership idea.
Question Five: Set a long-term goal for looking back on your partnership as a successful one and define this successful program in 1-2 sentences maximum.
This toolkit is based on the Technology Planning workshop held at the May 1st, 2003 Community Technology Network of the Bay Area Spring conference
Matthew is an education, technology and funding consultant helping organizations develop and support technology programs in education, and youth development. His clients include the Tech Museum of Innovation and the Girl Scouts of the San Francisco Bay. Matthew is the former Chief Executive Officer of Vision Education, a New York-based educational technology consulting and training company that he co-founded. He is the author of the Getting Started with Technology Guidebook: Implementing Technology, the primary resource manual for technology planning, implementation and integration for over 2,500 Boys and Girls Clubs in the United States and Canada. As a grant writer, in the past four years he has collaborated to raise over $5 million dollars in local, state and federal funds for Community Technology Centers and school-based after-school programs.
Technology planning can take a great many forms but the goal is always the same: to envision how technology can be best used in your organization and create a roadmap of how to get there. This toolkit content was originally delivered as an open workshop for members of many organizations. Here it has been adapted to facilitate the technology planning in a single organization.
Gathering together many stakeholders in your organization to do technology planning is essential. No useful technology plan is ever written in a vacuum by just one person. Begin by creating a technology planning team or committee charged to create or revise your organizationís technology plan. This plan can be a stand-alone document or an element of your overall strategic plan.
You may also wish to include volunteers, consultants and clients in your planning process.
Technology planning can seem like an overwhelming task. Deciding what kind of plan you are working to produce can help keep planning manageable and the team focused on the plan’s goals.
Some plans are time bounded. They are designed to look into the future and plan for a specific amount time across program areas and organizational departments.
3 ‚ 6 month plans (short range)
6 ‚ 24 month plans (mid range)
2 ‚ 5 year plans (long range)
Other plans are content bounded. They are designed to plan for technology in a specific program or department.
ogram-based technology plans (How technology will integrate into existing and new programs for clients)
Organizational-based technology plans (How technology will integrate to support organizational operations including communications, development, information tracking and management and administration)
Your technology plan will address many different issues depending on its scope and focus. The list below includes topics suggested by workshop participants as potential parts of a technology plan:
Organizational Mission: Why does your organization exist? What role does technology plan in that mission
Goals and Objectives: What is the goal of this plan? Is it to improve internal communication? To use technology for fundraising? To create new programs that use technology with clients?
Current resources and infrastructure: What systems and resources do we already have in place? What is working and what has not worked so well?
Professional development: What will staff, board members and volunteers need to learn to implement the plan successfully?
Timeline of implementation: When will the plan be implemented? In what order will activities take place? Who is responsible for delivering and overseeing this implementation?
Evaluation criteria: How will you know if the plan is working? What will success look like?
Staffing plan: Who are the people responsible for supervising and implementing the plan? Will your organization need to hire new staff or consultants for the implementation
Web Site: What is on our web site now? How often should content be updated? Who writes web content? What is the core goal and message of our web site?
Budget: How much will it cost to execute the plan? What are current or potential funding sources? In the event of budget shortfall how can we modify the plan to respond to a smaller budget?
Maintenance and Repair: How will we back up our data, protect ourselves from viruses and keep our computers working?
Some parts of your technology plan can be copied and pasted from other documents (Mission statement, for example) while other parts will be created specifically for use in the technology plan.
The planning process should be time-bounded: there should be a “due-date” for the plan when it must be completed and presented. Start by reaching out to critical stakeholders (see above). Be sure to set time aside for meetings (one per month at least) as well as for individual work following up from planning meetings.
Building Management and Board support for the technology plan is critical to its success. Encourage your Executive Director to publicize the technology planning that is underway. Find a Board Member to champion the cause of technology at the board-level. Keep the planning visible by publishing short updates and summarizing the results of the plan for all to see. The more voices you can engage during the planning process the fewer complaints you will hear at the end and the fewer obstacles you will encounter in implementation.
Once your plan is completed it should be used, not just left on a shelf to gather dust. The technology plan is a snapshot of the present as well as a roadmap for the future and should be revised at least once per year as your organization’s needs and plans evolve.
Tech Atlas
Tech Atlas is a free web-based technology inventory management, assessment and planning tool that can be helpful in planning infrastructure development projects.
Tech Soup
A wonderful repository of all things tech-related for non-profits. Contains knowledge banks, frequently asked questions, toolkits and links to all aspects of technology planning and implementation from Development to Programs to Tech Support and everything in between.
Alliance for Technology Access
The Alliance for Technology Access (ATA) is a network of community-based Resource Centers, Developers, Vendors and Associates dedicated to providing information and support services to children and adults with disabilities, and increasing their use of standard, assistive, and information technologies.
Non-profit Genie
Sponsored by the California Management Assistance Project (C-MAP) this web site is a great resource for technology planning an implementation containing information both California-specific and generally applicable for non-profits.
Matthew N. Nathan
The author of this toolkit provides fee-based and pro-bono technology planning and consulting services to non-profits and educational institutions. To find out more or ask a question email him at mattnathan@hotmail.com .
CompassPoint Nonprofit Services
CompassPoint Nonprofit Services is a nonprofit training, consulting and research organization with offices in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Through a broad range of services, they provide nonprofits with the management tools, concepts and strategies necessary to shape change in their communities. For more information contact CompassPoint at 415-541-9000.
Appropriate, open, and enabling public policy toward technology fuels economic growth and provides access to all. See below for coverage on broadband, technoloy, and other digital inclusion related policy issues.
Your Guide to the Digital Divide from PBS offers a current view of the state of the digital divide.
One of the hottest topics in 2006 in public policy was "net neutrality" which ensures that the Internet stays free so that users are free to choose what content and devices they use on the Internet. Visit SaveTheInternet to get informed and find out how you can take action with your local legislators.
The California Community Technology Policy Group (CCTPG) is a statewide network of diverse community-based organizations advocating for new public policies to improve under-served communities' access to advanced technologies. For years this coalition has served to inform the community and lobby for affordable Internet access in California.
See a feed of their latest items to the right.
Visit their website to stay informed on the latest policy decisions in California.
Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, FreePress.net promotes diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications.
Media Alliance is a 30 year-old media resource and advocacy center for media workers, non-profit organizations, and social justice activists. Its mission is excellence, ethics, diversity, and accountability in all aspects of the media in the interests of peace, justice, and social responsibility. Media Alliance has been at the forefront in securing public access to airwaves and broadband as wel as securing public access to other forms of media.
This toolkit is based on session at the May 1 st , 2003 Community Technology Network of the Bay Area Spring conference. Session leadership and facilitation by Jessica Hobbs, Jean Kaiser, Christine Karim and Natalie Seer ( Presenter bios ).
This toolkit was created to assist in planning and delivering tech programs for women and girls. We saw it as a starting place, incorporating accumulated field experience and including suggested resources for further exploration
Introductions
Description of programs for Women and Girls at Girls Club of the Mid-peninsula, Richmond Village Beacon and Urban VOICE
What Works & What Doesn't Work
Favorite Software/Websites
Components of a Great Girls'/Women's Program/Tech Program
Examples of Tech Programs for Women and Girls
See PowerPoint presentations by Jean Kaiser and Natalie Seer.
What Works and What Doesn't Work
In the interactive group discussion, we first brainstormed what works and what doesn't work in technology programs for women and girls. Here's what we found:
Youth Development
Girls Only time
Talking to the girls/women (Ask them what works!)
Project based activities
Everyday usage
Hands on
Student driven
Child Watch Program
Distance Learning with supportive follow-up staff
Peer leaders as examples
Partnering with other organizations
Using tech as a means, not an end
Remembering each individual approaches tech in her own way
Small groups
Authentic use that has personal meaning
Sense of belonging
Drawing on girls' skills that are a part of them already
Show computers as a tool
Mentors
Job placement assistance
Finding girls' motivation to use tech and then incorporating it
Scanning
Creating online community
Digital storytelling
Being willing to change the program/activity
Recipes/greeting cards
Establishing confidence in the beginning
Cultivating girl/women student leaders
Showing tech as a communication tool
Motivation commitment
Getting women to use more than just MS apps
Boys taking over space with ìgamesî
Isolating tech
Over-designing the program/activity
Session participants were encouraged to browse the CTN website curriculum resources for Girls and Young Women: http://www.ctnbayarea.org/girls.html .
Other favorites contributed by session participants:
In this exercise, based on the What Works brainstorming above, session participants were asked to contribute their thoughts on ì10 components of a great girls'/women's programî and then ì10 ways to create a great tech program for women and girlsî. As we analyzed our previous ideas, we found many of the components could be applicable to both girls' and women's programs. Then our session was nearing the end of the day, so this table is incomplete. Participants agreed that we shared a lot of useful information in the time available.
Girls | Both | Women |
| Special hours: | Positive role models | Child Care |
Use tech to develop program | Safe, comfortable environment (have participants decorate their own space) | Wraparound Services |
Build activities to increase proficiency | Create Balance: Incorporate tech into other activities, and vice versa Health Chatting/IM | Women instructors |
Check email to learn dayís activities |
| Share leadership 50/50 time |
This toolkit is based upon the July 2006 CTN Workshop on how to leverage Web 2.0 tools, presented by:
A blog is simply, the most easily publishable web page. In other words, a Blog, is simply a web page that can be created using only a web browser by non-technical users. This dramatically increases access to web publishing to a wider audience. Holly shared stories about the following organizations leveraging blogs.
Non-profits leveraging blogs include:
* You can find additional example of community organizations using blogs at NetSquared.org and WorldChanging.org
Tools that are freely available to use to create blogs include:
Tools you can use to see what people are saying in the "blogosphere":
Malcolm Marshal of Street Soldiers discussed podcasting and its power to connect communities. He also shared his experience of posting an online radio show, using the example of a radio show that discussed the challenges faced by inner city communities.
Classes:
Tools:
Ryan Hodson and Jay Dedman authors of Secrets of Video Blogging and FreeVlog led an informative discussion about Video Blogging. They emphasized that when nonprofits use blogs, podcasts, and video blogs to tell their stories, “They are giving access to communities that others don't see.”
Tools:
Social bookmarking tools allow individuals and organizations share links to website information. Think of them as public bookmarks. By sharing your bookmarks or favorites you can see what others who have bookmarked the same thing have also viewed, making these tools a very serendipitous way to do research.
Tools:
Delicious - The most popular tool for sharing bookmarks with your friends and colleagues.
John Lorance of CompuMentor demonstrated some clever use of mapping tools including one example from the Natural Resources Defense Council which used Google Earth + Flash to create a dramatic fundraising/promotional piece.
Tools:
The workshop finished with a presentation of how to use the first read/write web browser which provides easy and seamless tools for blogging (including spell checking), viewing and posting photos, and using social bookmarks.
Tools:
Drupal, a free open-source content management tool (CMS) that provides individuals and organizations a way to publish to the web and interact with their communities. In November 2006, CTN hosted a Drupal training-extreme makeover where several organizations were selected for a hands-on training with the outcome of a new website. We wanted to make the training something where participants walked away with something new which could propel their organizations.
From the Drupal website: "Drupal is software that allows an individual or a community of users to easily publish, manage and organize a great variety of content on a website." In fact this website, ctnbayarea.org, is Drupal-powered along with many of the sites you see linked in here such as NetSquared.org, cctpg.org, sdctc.org. Drupal functionality can be enhanced to manage constituents (CRM), provide e-commerce functionality, run grassroots campaigns, and more .
Where do you get it? Download it free at Drupal.org.
By using Drupal to build a website, content can be created, edited, and managed from anywhere in the world simply using a standard web browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox) on a Windows, Macintosh, or Linux computer. In fact, Drupal, coupled with the online image manipulation tools listed below, allows website creation to be done without expensive and complicated image editing tools which creates capacity without requiring capital.
While the open-source content management market is crowded, few projects have emerged as winners, one of which is Drupal. Drupal is so flexible and capable that it has been employed by even the largest companies (MTV, Yahoo) to implement websites along with tens of thousands of community and non-profit organizations. For examples of Drupal-based sites, see: DrupalSites
During the training, each organization was paired up with a "mentor." Mentors were chosen based upon their willingness to work with a non-profit or community organization both during the training and afterward and trainee organizations were chosen based upon their readiness, capacity, and availability. The training consisted of approximately 3 hours of overview and presentation, followed by hands-on site building. Trainees were instructed on how to perform basic content management and navigational tasks and mentored by their Drupal expert. The second day of the training consisted of adopting organizational branding and a review of questions and next steps.
Use the following training material and references to produce your own Drupal training/extreme-make over or use these resources for your purposes.
Drupal HandBooks - The official Drupal.org site contains a plethora of helpful information to get you started.
Drupal User Groups - A variety of user groups have been formed around Drupal. For San Francisco Bay Area residents, there is specifically, the Bay Area User Group.
Drupal PodCasts and ScreenCasts from Lullabot - These PodCasts and ScreenCasts can be helpful when understanding how accomplish certain Drupal goals.
Drupal FastTrack Training Materials from OpenAdvantage - See this article for a review of a training that OpenAdvantage gave. See the bottom of the article for a .zip file of presentations used for teaching Drupal.
John Kenyon Drupal Presentation - Download and View (2MB) this overview of what is available to non-profits and community organizations for open-source content management solutions. Requires Microsoft PowerPoint or OpenOffice 2.x
Greg Beuthin's Drupal User Guide - Download and View (1.2MB) this presentation that doubles as a handbook. This is the content of the Drupal Extreme Makeover training, and a lot of the presentation content can be read on its own as a basic guide.
Drupal 5 Tour Video - See this great overview video by Awakened Voice Learning Center on Drupal 5 to better understand how Drupal can be leveraged.
Creating a Website Using Drupal Screencasts - This helpful set of instructions guides users from beginning to end of the basics of settting up a Drupal website.
How to Make a Drupal Theme - This helpful page is a step-by-step guide for understanding theme elements and helps you create your own theme
By using the following online tools in conjunction with Drupal, you can build websites without any desktop software other than a web-browser on any operating system (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
Flickr - Flickr is a popular photo-sharing site owned by Yahoo. While you can host your images directly on your Drupal-based site, you can also use Flickr to host, resize, and format your images. By using Firefox, you can drag and drop Flickr images into a TinyMCE-enabled Drupal site. This technique was presented during the training as an alternative to uploading images directly to the Drupal site.
pxn8.com - Can't afford PhotoShop? don't have time to learn it? Not at your computer but want to edit images? Use this free online image editing application to size, crop, and retouch your images all within any standard web-browser.
For video and audio blogging tools that you can use while building your Drupal site, see the Web 2.0 Toolkit
If you prefer to leave the hosting and software configuring to someone else, try the following turn-key hosting providers:
YouthLearn offered a one-day training institute, presented by Tony Striet, that took place at September 17, 2004 at CompuMentor. During the session, trainees were guided through an exploration of how best to strengthen youth afterschool programs through the integration of technology, media making, and project-based learning.For those who were unable to attend, YouthLearn created a follow-up report by summarizing what what was learned through presentations, discussions and activities. The powerpoint and handouts from the workshop are available at the links below.
This toolkit is designed for program directors and educators working directly with youth. The activities included in this toolkit were explored with participants at the workshop using a continuum of student-centered activities with their own programs serving as models. The goal of this toolkit, is to use assessment tools to map present position of your organization, according to the learning continuum, and then design a new curriculum that can be implemented for your youth program.
The YouthLearn Summer Institute Final Report (PDF) retraces the key aspects of the training and the lessons learned. As part of the training, participants were provided case studies, journal activities, and other materials to support the development of engaging activities for young people. Trainees were also had an opportunity to share an activity plan or other curriculum element for review by their peers. The session ended with a closing activity focusing on new ideas for pedalogy.