Digital Divide

Thoughts from 6-26-2008 Digital Divide Committee Meeting

susan — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:28:03 -0400

Yesterday, the full committee met to discuss the post-training assessment, status of the network, and next steps. Allyson Allen reported on her mid-project evaluation: of the 23 respondents (out of 35 participants), 17 seem very happy with their computers and the network; 6 reported dissatisfaction, primarily due to failure to connect to the internet. It is believed that all of those problems have been resolved. Although the post-training assessment showed skills improvement in most areas, some felt that the improvement was not as great as it should be. All respondents did ask for more training. CCTV is working with the Community Learning Center and the Cambridge Housing Authority to provide more basic skills training; CCTV will also provide media production training to the 10-15 participants who are interested. read more...

Digital Divide

Podcast on Chicago Community Wireless Project

Colin — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:17:48 -0400

Here's a great podcast from last year by Dharma Dailey (Ethos Group) interviewing Bill Comisky about the details of a community wireless project in Chicago.

From Dharma's blog:

"Bill is an antenna designer in Chicago who moonlights as a volunteer on two community based networks in Chicago. When I* interviewed him in March, one network was “dark” — that is turned off- and the other network was humming along. He gave me his take why both projects chose open source software, the appeal to volunteer on community technology projects, asset building from the ground up, and the struggle to keep one net going and get another back up. (*A chipmunk named Betty actually conducted the interview.)"

Listen to the podcast

There's lots of great info here about how the community involved in receiving the computers and wireless technology took ownership of the project to help make it a success. read more...

Digital Divide

Good News for the Digital Divide Committee!

susan — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:32:41 -0400

CCTV received a $3,000 grant yesterday from the Cambridge Community Foundation to provide media production training to Digital Divide participants.

These plans, and other next steps, will be discussed at the full committee meeting, scheduled for June 26 at 3 PM at CCTV.

Digital Divide

Mayor's Office Parlor Reception

Colin — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:08:25 -0400

Yesterday afternoon, Mayor E. Denise Simmons and City Councilor Henrietta Davis held a special reception in the Mayor's Office Parlor "to honor the leaders, organizers, and participants" of the pilot project to bridge the digital divide in Cambridge.

During the reception, Mayor Simmons and Councilor Davis were joined by City Manager Robert Healey, Ellen Semenoff (Assistant City Manager of the Department of Human Services) and others from the city who expressed their appreciation for the work and dedication that went into making the program such a success.

Ellen McLaughlin, Executive Director of Tutoring Plus, mentioned all the work that students from Rindge School of Technical Arts (pictured above) did to refurbish the computers and provide technical support to Newtowne Court residents. As Project Manager, I provided a brief overview of the training program and took a moment to recognize our trainers and teaching aides who were in attendance during yesterday's reception. read more...

Digital Divide

June 2nd Celebration

Colin — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 15:10:26 -0400

On June 2, the city is hosting an event at City Hall to celebrate the success of the digital divide pilot program.

During the event, students at Rindge School of Technical Arts who refurbished the computers and provided technical support for participants, as well as the collaborators who worked so hard to design the program, will be recognized for their contributions. We also welcome participants from Newtowne Court who participated in the program to attend the celebration.

(photo above by Elizabeth Thomsen available under a Creative Commons license)

Digital Divide

Future Tech Support Alternatives

Colin — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:26:46 -0400

There is a terrific article from MySouthEnd.com about a recent Boston Tech Day event on May 10.

It's a great example of the possibilities that we might consider in providing technical support to participants in the digital divide project after the pilot ends in early September. Here's a bit from the article by Scott Kearnan:

"Usually, calling on technical support involves a 1-800 number and the joyless wonder of elevator music while waiting on hold.

But on May 10, over forty computer users were able to find much more convenient customer service. The first Boston Tech Day, hosted by Castle Square Tenants Organization (CSTO), provided free computer repair and training services at the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology on Berkeley Street. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., nearly two-dozen volunteers sat one-on-one with computer owners. They tinkered with hardware and software alike, fixing current bugs and explaining how to prevent future ones. read more...

Digital Divide

Digital Divide Steering Committee Minutes

Colin — Fri, 16 May 2008 11:06:03 -0400

I. Preliminary Post-Assessment Results

• Competency numbers (comfort with use of technology, etc.) are higher than pre-assessment
• 6 people out of 25 responded that they could not connect to the wireless network at Newtowne Court. But the call center has since worked with them.
• Most people felt that they received enough training, however people who had little or no training coming into the program responded that they did not receive enough training from this program (committee agreed that three trainings were not enough)
• However, a few people said they have sought extra training (e.g., at CLC) since the end of our training program.
• Most people said they would recommend the program to someone else

II. Call Center

• There have been the same two students every week running the call center, It’s been a learning experience. Students have been very responsive. Half of the calls coming into the center have been hardware related and the other half wireless/network related. Beginners (participants with less computer/Internet experience) were calling more.
• Call center students are both coming to ITD this summer read more...

Digital Divide

Digital Divide Program April Update

Colin — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:06:06 -0400

During the month of April, we've been administering the post-assessments to gain feedback from participants about their experience in the program. Allyson will be providing a report at our May 15 meeting on the data gathered.

The call center at RSTA has been busy. Most of the calls have been related to hardware problems, but others have been network related. The network issues have had to do with the fact that some residents may not be leaving their nodes plugged in during the day. This has impacted other residents' ability to connect to the network.

There are only a couple of people who have not been able to connect to the Internet at all. My understanding is that some people might be out of range of the main gateway. In this case, additional antennae will need to be set-up in order for those participants to receive access. I believe Ty is planning to provide more information on the status of the network at our next meeting. read more...

Digital Divide

WiFi in the South End

JulieAdler — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:49:47 -0400

Earlier this week, Gabriel Fishman treated fellow VISTAs to a rooftop tour of the open-mesh WiFi network at the Castle Square Tenants' Organization.

read more...

Digital Divide

NY Times Article About Muni Wireless

susan — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:47:29 -0400

Claire sent this article to me this morning about internet service providers around the country pulling out of their municipal wi-fi agreements:
Click here to see the article

The line that made the biggest impression on me was "But soon it became clear that dependable reception required more routers than initially predicted, which drastically raised the cost of building the networks."

In our pilot, it was also clear that many more routers were needed to ensure that the mesh network would function well - so, I think giving out a node to each participant is really critical. (If you missed the meeting last week - the report is that almost all of the pilot participants are getting internet access!)

Digital Divide

Steering Committee Meeting Agenda

Colin — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:19:07 -0400

What: Digital Divide Steering Committee
Where: City Hall Annex
When: Wednesday, March 19 at 3:00-4:30PM

Agenda

I. Progress Report (Colin)
o Orientation & training
o Participant numbers
o Wi-Fi at Newtowne Court - CCTV interface between participants and ITD
o Call center (Ellen M.?)

II. Budget Update (Susan)
o Intake & Training
o Equipment

III. Next Steps (Colin & Susan)
o Post-assessment
o Additional training (Matt L. feedback?)
o Event before Spring graduation

Digital Divide

Computer Training Week #4

Colin — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 18:12:04 -0400

Today marked the final week of computer trainings at CCTV, as outlined in the program proposal.

8 more participants received their computers at the end of the training session today. However, many of the participants felt that more computer training would be very helpful. Particularly for those with little to no previous experience with computers and the Internet.

Therefore, I hope that at the Steering Committee meeting this week we can discuss ways to make sure that participants receive the additional trainings they need. As I'm sure others would agree, it's necessary that participants feel comfortable with their computers and confident that this program helped them get closer to achieving their stated goals.

(Photo above by Tim Plenck for CCTV available under a Creative Commons license)

Digital Divide

Another Successful Week of Computer Training

Colin — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 19:10:47 -0500

17 more Mac and PC computers were distributed today at the end of another successful week of training sessions at CCTV!

There is one more week of computer training for our digital divide project, an effort with the City of Cambridge, Cambridge Housing Authority, Tutoring Plus and other local organizations.

Students from the High School were also on hand today to shoot video footage for a short documentary they are producing about the project for Cambridge Educational Access.

Participants pictured above learned about their PC computers in CCTV's television studio. Training Coordinator, Matt Landry led the session with Selma Nane providing support. read more...

Digital Divide

Computer Training Week #2

Colin — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 19:57:17 -0500

It was another busy Saturday in Central Sq. this past weekend as our second week of digital divide computer training sessions continued. Here's a breakdown of what happened:

8 participants attended their first week of PC training at the Community Learning Center's Brookline St. computer lab.

14 participants attended their second week of PC training at the 119 Windsor St. computer lab.

5 participants attended their second week of Mac training in computerCENTRAL @ CCTV.

7 participants came to CCTV for a one time only two-hour PC training session. At the end of this session participants went home with their new (i.e., refurbished) computers.

It was a very successful day! I look forward to our 3rd week of trainings this coming Saturday.

(Photo above by CCTV available under a Creative Commons license.)

Digital Divide

Digital Divide Computer Training Starts Tomorrow

Colin — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:46:19 -0500

I'm excited to announce that computer training for the digital divide project officially begins tomorrow!

Following the success of last weekend's orientation, 16 residents of Newtowne Court will begin their first of three basic computer training sessions at both the 119 Windsor Street and CCTV computer labs. An additional 3 participants will receive their Apple eMac computers and Meraki mini wireless mesh repeaters to use for connecting the City's wireless network.

Thanks also to Matt Landry (Cambridge Educational Access) for his work putting together the training materials and training the trainers.

(Photo above by lietk12, available under a Creative Commons license)

Digital Divide

Seeking Input on Online Resources

Colin — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:11:41 -0500

We're putting together a list of helpful web links for participants in the digital divide program, in the following three categories:

1. City Resources - e.g., City of Cambridge website, etc.

2. Educational Resources - e.g., Central Sq. Library computer class listings, online educational websites, etc.

3. Technical Support Resources - e.g., call center phone number, etc.

The first two eMacs will be handed out this weekend. We're hoping to get the list together before then. Thanks in advance for any recommendations that you might have!

Digital Divide

Digital Divide Orientation Day a Great Success!

susan — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:40:00 -0500

30 families came to CCTV today to participate in the first intake for the Digital Divide project. Workshops will start next weekend and trainers and participants share the excitement! Here, intake workers Selma and Delores describe the project to one of our applicants.

Digital Divide

Lead Digital Divide Trainer Matt Landry

susan — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:39:46 -0500

Matt gets excited about the Digital Divide project as a young participant looks on.

Digital Divide

Family Intake

susan — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:37:52 -0500

CCTV member and intake worker Rhonda speaks to a family about the Digital Divide project.

Digital Divide

Muni-Wifi reports from the New America Foundation

susan — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:26:30 -0500

This week, the New America Foundation/Wireless Future Program released a report and working paper focusing on the challenges associated with planning and implementing municipal wireless networks.

When EarthLink announced its decision to withdraw further investments in municipal wireless networks in November 2007, the future of Philadelphia's network, along with hundreds of municipal wireless projects, became uncertain. Although a number of other municipal wireless networks have been set up and are running successfully (such as St. Cloud, FL and Chaska and Minneapolis, MN) troubles with the Philadelphia model serve as a warning for the future of municipal wireless.

In a detailed report, The Philadelphia Story: Learning from a Wireless Pioneer, Joshua Breitbart discusses how Wireless Philadelphia evolved and how it will continue to impact the future of public and private investment in municipal networks. Breitbart draws upon the challenges of Philadelphia to develop practical guidelines and keys to successful deployment and digital inclusion strategies for policymakers and community leaders. read more...

Digital Divide

Meeting Minutes 2008-02-06

Colin — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:53:09 -0500

I. Assessment

Allyson introduced assessment materials and personal goals for pre-assessment period. She is still working on an intro letter and the contract.

Colin announced orientation day for 2/16 from 9-6. Participants are scheduled at their convenience to welcome people into the program and do the assessment. Will be social, not a test taking day, to convey our excitement of the program.

41 applications, some non-English speakers. We have received approximately 5 English applications requesting training in kreyol. Have not yet received applications in Spanish and kreyol (flyers went up later). Some people have indicated that they could do English but would prefer kreyol. Mixed applications, but mostly families. Much of the need expressed is for homework and for employment opportunities. Varied age range.

Deadline is passed, but we may receive more than 50 applications – we will have to assess what to do at that point.

Perhaps some CRLS students involved in the call center would help with intake. $13 per hour is available. Mina also made a list of intake workers available.

II. Status of Wifi read more...

Digital Divide

Response to the Chronicle Article on Wi-fi and the Digital Divide Project

susan — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:36:02 -0500

This is a response to the article posted at wickedlocal.com on 1/28/08 (http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x469086468) and in the Cambridge Chronicle on 2/1/2008

February 4, 2008

Dear Editor,

I am writing to expand upon your recent coverage of the City’s Digital Divide project. Last March, the City Manager appointed a committee to design a pilot project to bridge the digital divide in Newtowne Court. CCTV was pleased to join representatives of City agencies and non-profits, each of whom demonstrated a sincere desire to address the very real issue of lack of access to technology for low-income families in Cambridge. These individuals, and the agencies they represent, have brought to the table decades of experience in technology training, community use of technology, and the obstacles faced by those who do not have access to computers and the internet.

The goal of the pilot is to provide training, computers, and access to the internet so that families are able to begin to take advantage of the opportunities available on the web. We are excited that over 30 families have already applied to the program; there is clearly need! read more...

Digital Divide

Training Committee Minutes & Action Items

Colin — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:13:40 -0500

I. Software list

• Approved by committee

III. Curriculum/ Training Materials

• Reviewed training sessions & background materials
• Susan mentioned contact at Central Sq. library who could teach sessions in Kreyol
• Agreed to make sure that curriculum was very hands-on

Action Items:

• Susan: Will find a substitute for her at the library & offered to provide:
(1) troubleshooting guides
(2) Internet safety brochures
(3) links to online educational software
• Shaun: Will work on training session 1 & 2
• Colin will work on training session 3 & 2

IV. Supplemental materials

• Decided that splash page was the way to go (as opposed to just web bookmarks) for participants’ computers:
- will include project news
- help page
- city resources and other info from the next section
• Still need to develop the following handouts/ packets to include:
- community training resources
- printing resources
- vouchers for classes
- troubleshooting guides
- tech support (call center) information
• Discussed training videos that could be shot at CCTV and made available on YouTube and/or CCTV website

Action Items: read more...

Digital Divide

Steering Committee Minutes & Action Items

Colin — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:18:36 -0500

I. Status of Wi-fi

• Roof antennas have capacity
• Participants will be able to help test and strengthen the network
• System is only as good as it is when nodes are plugged in/ challenge with non-participants.
• There needs to be education around how to use the nodes
• Once we know who's getting the computers, city can work with those people
• Will redistribute the nodes based on who's using it.

Action Items (Ty, Mary):

• Step 1: Identify nodes not plugged in & get them back
• Step 2: Contact residents who are not using nodes
• Step 3: Report back at February 6 meeting

II. Application process review

• Roz gave applications to people over the weekend
• Applications and flyers mailed to all residents
• Need flyers in Spanish and Kreyol put up at Pisani Center

Action Items:

• Steve: Translating application and flyer into Spanish and Kreyol.
• Colin/Roz: Put the flyers up on bulletin boards in each language
• Colin: Have additional applications in 3 languages available at the Pisani Center
• Ellen M.: Forward apps/ flyers to Area IV listserve?

III. Intake plan read more...

Digital Divide

Progress Report for January 11

Colin — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 17:30:16 -0500

This is the first in a series of updates that I hope will help keep people informed about and involved in the project.

It was productive first full week in my new role as Project Manager. I had the opportunity to meet many of you and enjoyed seeing everyone's enthusiasm. The following is a list of some of the major developments. I hope it will provide some context for the progress we're making and the next steps ahead.

Wireless Network

There are some substantial issues that need to be addressed with regard to the wireless network at Newtowne Court. Decisions need to be made about where to place the wireless nodes and to ensure that residents keep the nodes plugged in at all times. More nodes will also be installed in the coming weeks. This is by far the most important issue that needs ongoing consideration.

Hardware/Software read more...

Digital Divide

Evaluation Ideas

allysonjallen — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:59:21 -0500

The attached documents describe a much more extensive effort than we are undertaking. The Word document describes the proposed framework of an evaluation. The pdf includes both a narrative affirming the success of the program (pages 1-15) and an appendix with some of the quantitative metrics which might be of interest to us. (pages 16-21, especially pp 16-18).

Fred read more...

Digital Divide

Software for Digital Divide project

Colin — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:17:08 -0500

Here's the list of software that we're finalizing for the residents' computers. However, the educational software list has not yet been determined. I'd welcome any ideas from the group. The deadline for this list is early next week. Thanks!

Productivity:

Open Office
Acrobat Reader
7-Zip

Browser – E-Mail:

Firefox
Gmail

Security:

Spybot
Ad-Aware
Avast Anti-Virus

Graphics:

The Gimp
Picasa
Tux Paint

Multimedia: read more...

Digital Divide

Good News for the Digital Divide Committee

susan — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:42:41 -0400

At yesterday's meeting of the Telecommunications Committee of the City Council, chaired by Councilor Henrietta Davis, City Manager Robert Healy agreed to send the Digital Divide Pilot Proposal to the City Council for approval. The pilot, with a request of approximately $50,000 from the City as well as decommissioned hardware, will provide computers to 50 households in Newtowne Court so that they may take advantage of the free wi-fi provided by the City.

The proposal and budget are attached.

Digital Divide

Internet at your fingertips all over town- Brookline

tim plenk — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 16:59:48 -0400

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/22/internet_at_your_fi...

The Boston Globe
BROOKLINE
Internet at your fingertips all over town
Wi-Fi service runs border to border

By Andreae Downs, Globe Correspondent | July 22, 2007

For those with a new iPhone but nowhere to test its Wi-Fi access, there's a town for you.

Since an official "wire cutting" last Wednesday, anyone with an Ethernet card in Brookline can get his or her Internet fix while watching babies in the park or careening through town by T or taxi.

Brookline is touting its border-to-border system as the first in the nation because the network of boxes that provide commercial Internet access also include a secure wireless grid for the town's public safety functions on a newly designated 4.9- gigahertz spectrum.

This portion of the airwaves was set aside a little more than a year ago by federal authorities for wireless communication by public safety agencies.

So now a police cruiser in South Brookline can run the plates on any stolen car without experiencing dropped calls in that neighborhood -- something that had plagued the town's mobile laptops until now, according to Sean Cronin, deputy town administrator.

Further, most of the town's cruisers now can return the $50 cellular cards they had been using.

Perhaps best of all, the new service will not cost the town a dime.

A bartering arrangement with Newton-based Galaxy Internet Services Inc. gives the company space for its Wi-Fi equipment on town-owned lamp posts. In exchange, Brookline gets free municipal access, hotspots where anyone can log on for an hour, free Internet access in the town's public housing, and the secure spectrum.

"It's pretty neat that we got this million-dollar system basically for free," said Scott Wilder, the Police Department's technical guru.

Galaxy plans to make its money back by selling monthly subscriptions and online advertisements.

Fees starting at $19.95 a month give the subscriber wireless access anywhere in town, according to Galaxy president Bob Carp. Until mid-August, anyone can try out the wireless service at no charge. After that, non subscribers can get Internet access for one hour a day only at hotspots in such places as parks, Coolidge Corner, Washington Square, and Brookline Village.

Brookline's claim for first-in-the-nation status rests on certain technical specifications, since several communities offer wireless service across town and some -- such as Milpitas, Calif., and Corpus Christi, Texas -- have both public safety and public access systems, though not the designated spectrum.

In any event, Brookline's distinction probably will not last long. Newton is next on Galaxy's list for border-to-border wireless connectivity with the special public-safety network.

Already, Brookline's police cruisers can go online to get background records, license plates, and other data from the main station. Officers can also file reports while still out in the neighborhoods.

"It gives us increased police presence without hiring another officer," Cronin said.

In the future, firefighters may be able to call up plans of buildings they are about to enter, medical records can be available to ambulance crews, and 911 systems would know which emergency vehicles are closest to a call.

Cronin hopes the system will eventually show firefighters where the handicapped or elderly people in a burning high-rise live.

For police, the system someday could allow them to deploy wireless surveillance cameras in high-crime areas, for instance, when the town had several rape reports from Winchester Street, Wilder said. The department is also piloting a program with local banks to give cruisers immediate video feeds from bank cameras as soon as an alarm is pulled, he said.

Municipal workers will also use the system once their departments get the needed computer equipment, Cronin said. Building inspectors, assessors, or water meter readers could file reports from the field. Parking meters could be programmed to let staff know when they are full, when they are broken, or when they are about to expire. Municipal trash cans could signal sanitation crews that they need to be emptied.

For residents, the future holds the prospect that commuters could ride along the the entire Green Line without losing connectivity, Carp said, once communities from Newton to Boston (which is due to seek bids soon on a wireless system) are wired.

Businesses, meanwhile, are getting another medium for advertising .

At a meeting this month, Carp told the Coolidge Corner Merchants' Association that businesses can buy space on the Brookline Wireless portal screen, which will come up when anyone logs in to the system. The ads will be site-specific, meaning that, for instance, someone logging on in a park near Coolidge Corner could see the movie theater's daily schedule, the menu at Anna's Taqueria, and a notice of the Brookline Booksmith's sidewalk sale.

In addition, users who log on for free at the town's hotspots will see popup ads by local merchants every 15 minutes or so.

Cable providers in the area appeared unfazed by the appearance of another Internet carrier. "Competition is good," said John Bonomo, spokeman for Verizon's Northeastern division. "We meet competition on every front." He also said there are advantages to wired connections, such as increased privacy and security.
© Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company

Digital Divide

A web-based program offering free on-line tutorials -- In case I've never sent this around....

Fred Berman — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:59:34 -0400

Dear CTCnet Members,

We are happy to announce that GCF Global Learning® just adopted a new name, “GCFLearnFree.org,” to emphasize the freedom our users have to learn what they want, when they want online, absolutely free!

This is an exciting time because this new name marks the beginning of several developments we will introduce over the next two and a half months.

The Everyday Life Project to help adults acquire the basic literacy skills they need for life
Redesigned website to create a more engaging, user-friendly learning experience

Read our online media release to learn more!

Have questions? Send me an email at courtney@gcflearnfree.org and I’ll be happy to assist you.

Best Wishes,

Courtney Hodgson
Marketing Specialist
GCFLearnFree.org
(919) 828 - 7490, ext. 106
courtney@gcflearnfree.org

Visit www.GCFLearnFree.org to utilize our free computer training today!

Digital Divide

$99 computers: passing along some interesting info

Fred Berman — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:06:58 -0400

-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Shapiro [mailto:pshapiro@his.com]
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2007 10:17 AM
To: ctcmembers@lists.ctcnet.org
Subject: [ctcnet] two $99 computers

hi CTCNet members,

here are two very usable computers being sold for $99. one of these is new.
one is second hand. my sense is that the second-hand one offers more value
(after you install ubuntu linux on it.)

the new one has a $12.95 monthly service cost.

zonbu linux computer

see NYT article at http://tinyurl.com/2653mk

PC Retro's Dell GX150

http://tinyurl.com/274uuh

phil

Digital Divide

Education for the Long Term

susan — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 17:41:01 -0400

The following appeared on Boston.com:
Headline: Education for the long term by Nolan Bowie
Date: July 2, 2007

"I WISH to present an old Chinese vision and a brand new American
vision, both of which have public policy implications regarding the kind
of society we want to be."
____________________________________________________________

CLICK HERE to see the article.

Digital Divide

Equipment Sub-Committee Meeting Minutes 6/14/07

allysonjallen — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:13:55 -0400

Attached, please see Claire Spinner's write-up of the Equipment sub-committee meeting attended by Mike Ananis, Executive Director of the RSTA (technical arts) program at CRLS. He explained how RSTA students could be of assistance to this pilot.

Digital Divide

Minutes from the June 13th Meeting

allysonjallen — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:20:44 -0400

Please see the minutes attached from the June 13th meeting of the entire committee. We had 2 presenters, Steve Ronin and Emilio Flores, who spoke with us about wiring some housing developments in Boston and the programs to support the wireless in each location. We also received reports from each sub-committee.

Digital Divide

Grants for Computer Software

allysonjallen — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 18:03:24 -0400

The Microsoft Corporation is offering grants for in-kind support to help programs create community-based technology and learning centers that help promote technology literacy. Programs must have computer hardware that is needed to run Microsoft software, and personnel capable of installing and
maintaining requested software. *Applications are accepted year round*. For more information, visit
http://www.microsoft.com/about/corporatecitizenship/citizenship/giving/a...

Digital Divide

The Week of Many Meetings

susan — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 15:10:27 -0400

The week of June 11th included three (count 'em 3!) meetings related to the Digital Divide Committee. Allyson is furiously preparing minutes for the meeting of the whole group, held on June 13, as well as the Equipment and Program Subcommittee meetings, held on June 14th and 15th, but in the meantime, I thought I would post some of the other materials and a few thoughts.

The Wednesday meeting featured a presentation by Steve Ronan, former CTCNet staffer, and Emilio Flores, former Americorps VISTA volunteer and son of committee member Mina Reddy. Emilio and Steve have been managing a program at the Castle Square housing development in Boston that has many similarities to our pilot project. They shared their experience providing refurbished computers to residents in partnership with local institutions and with their mesh wi-fi network. Very helpful.

Thursday's Equipment subcommittee meeting included Mike Annanas, the head of the Rindge School of Technical Arts, who expressed a great deal of excitement in having the RSTA IT students work with us to refurbish computers and help with training and technical assistance. Chair of that committee, Claire Spinner, prepared the attached to help us think about the obstacles we are trying to tackle in the project.

Finally, the Program Subcommittee met on Friday, and responded to the attached proposed timeline that I had prepared as a jumpstart to the discussion. We have decided to work on a pilot proposal to be submitted to the whole group by August 1, the date of the next full committee meeting. In the meantime the Training and Assessment/Eval sub subcommittees will meet.

If anyone wants to be involved in any of these meetings, let me know.

Digital Divide

Program Sub-Committee Minutes

allysonjallen — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 17:21:19 -0400

Hi,

Sorry for the delay in posting minutes, I thought I already sent them out...turns out, I didn't.

Please see attached

Digital Divide

Notes from the Assessment Sub Subcommittee 5-22-07

susan — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 15:35:46 -0400

Following are the draft criteria for participation in the Digital Divide pilot. The Assessment Sub Sub Committee came up with the draft, and the notes to their meeting regarding assessment are attached.

1. Lives in Newtowne Court
2. Does not currently have access to the Internet either because there is no computer in the household or because the existing computer does not have cable modem or DSL
3. Is willing to help the City evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot by answering questions about household use of a computer and the Internet prior to, during and at the end of the pilot
4. Is willing either to demonstrate computer proficiency or to complete training successfully
5. At least one adult member of the household agrees to participate in the pilot

Digital Divide

Potential Software Packages/Tech Specs for Digital Divide Computers

susan — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 15:22:30 -0400

Kevin McGonegal, the Technology Integration Specialist at the Haggerty School, has submitted this info about potential software packages for the Digital Divide computers. Attached is his first draft of possible tech specs for the hardware. Thanks, Kevin. Any comments?

I am currently working on the workstation "RFP" we discussed at Monday's
meeting, and will have something to share with you soon. For now, I
thought I would share these two links just as a follow-up to our
discussion.

1. Open Office: http://www.openoffice.org/

This is the FREE office suite we mentioned, which looks and performs
almost exactly like the very costly Microsoft Office suite. Most
significantly, documents created in this suite can be "saved as"
Microsoft Office file types (i.e. .doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.).

2. Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com

This is a free operating system and software suite I mentioned (which
includes Open Office, Firefox, and dozens of other free apps). Again,
"free" is the key word here! At least $80 or $90 of the price of a new
Windows computer goes toward the OS, so using a free OS/apps suite like
this could lower a workstation's price significantly.

Digital Divide

Info About Technology Goes Home

Fred Berman — Mon, 14 May 2007 17:31:07 -0400

Technology Goes Home (TGH) - Overview

The partnership between the City and the Boston Digital Bridge Foundation (BDBF), initiated about seven years ago, at more or less the same time that the schools were being wired.

The BDBF was created to establish a stable and independent source of funding for technology instruction and dissemination to community residents. City provides administrative funding for administration of the program. DBF raises the funds for instruction, distribution of computers.

With the initiation of the TGH initiative in1999, the BDBF decided to target services in six under-served neighborhoods: Allston Brighton, Grove Hall, Lower Roxbury, Codman Square, Mission Hill, and Upham’s Corner/Dudley. Thusfar, 2,000 families have received training (800 in school-based programs), with an extremely high satisfaction rate. In the coming year, the program is hoping to serve 900 families.

In each neighborhood, a lead agency was identified, and another 9-10 other community-based agencies were identified to support the effort. Under the leadership of the lead agency, the partnering agencies share responsibility for outreach, recruiting participants, tailoring the training curriculum, identifying trainers, and dealing with the logistics of training and computer distribution.

At the same time, the TGH initiative targeted 50 schools (about 1/3 of all schools) where they wanted to conduct trainings and the computer distribution program.

Whether in the community or in the schools, the model was similar: small classes of 7-10 families (intergenerational: parents AND children), mandatory participation in the training program (evenings and weekends), and delivery of a computer at the end of the program. (There was initial concern about making attendance at the trainings mandatory, but it was felt that if the program set high standards, people would meet them. Experience has shown that 85% of participants complete the program. Some programs have been able to schedule makeup sessions to accommodate unavoidable absences.)
• Community programs require 40 hours of attendance, more variation in the curriculum (e.g., combining with financial literacy training), ability to offer classes in Spanish and Portuguese, more variation in the quality of the trainers
• School-based programs require 25 hours of attendance by school teachers (who already know the students, and often the family). Teachers paid by the Foundation are working off the School Dept clock, but at Union rates ($36.50/hour), etc. Initially, targeted elementary school (4th and 5th graders), added middle school and high school: 6th to 12th graders.

The different basic curricula for both school- and community-based programs are available on-line at www.digitalbridgefoundation.org. There is both community-based variation, and also age/grade-specific variation: for example, the training for families of HS-age children incorporates a discussion of the use of the Internet for choosing colleges and accessing financial assistance.

BDBF found that school-based programs are more cost-effective: costs of community-based programs range from $700-800 per family; school-based programs operate at half that cost ($350/family). There is a sense that the school-based programs are also more effective, given the skills of the teachers and their pre-existing relationships with the children and families.

At this point, given the successful fundraising that has accompanied this initiative, the ONLY limitation on number of classes is success of outreach; as soon as another 10-12 families are identified at a site, another class can be put together. Three of the communities have maintained an average of 25 families trained per year; three have trained an average of 40 families per year (total of about 200 families). The best outreach tool has been word of mouth from families that have completed the program.

One school (the Hernandez school?) made participation in the program mandatory for all 4th grade families.

The Computers:

Originally, new computers (with printers) were available to participants for free, thanks to an initial donation of 1,000 computers by the High-Q company (South Boston). For the past few years, the program was selling new Pentium 4 computers (with flat panel monitor, printer, Microsoft Office suite, Norton anti-virus, and a three-year warranty – all service provided by the High-Q company) for $800, payable over the course of 42 months in $19 installments. Thanks to underwriting by the Bank of America, payment was without downpayment, and at NO interest.

Access to computers is not dependent on whether the family is wiling or able to access the internet. However, all computers have (since recently) come with a network card.

Starting this Fall, reconditioned computers (with printers, with a one-year warranty) will be sold for $85. (The BDBF will pay the difference between the $150 cost of refurbishment and the $85 sale price.) This shift from newer, more expensive computers to reconditioned computers reflects a concern that participation was being constrained by reluctance or inability to pay the higher cost, even though it is amortized.

The High-Q company has dealt with all of the technical issues that have arisen (95% are related to viruses), although school and community-based partners have had limited availability to respond to questions from families. (The computers are all delivered to and picked up for servicing from the place where the training is offered; it is up to the family to get the computer to and from their home.) With the shift to a one year warranty, there is apprehension about the inability to address technical questions, and the BDBF is considering utilizing students and graduates in its TechBoston program (which trains young people for technology careers) to provide tech support or help desk functions.

Donated computers for the initiative come from local corporations; last year (2006), 2,000 computers were donated (1,300 to school-based programs and 700 to community-based programs). This year, the target is 3,000 donated machines. As noted above, the cost of “refreshing” those computers (done by High-Q) is about $150 per box. Not all computers are distributed to training participants; some are sold to other interested families (through the school or community-based agency hosting the training).

The Budget

This year, the BDBF plans to spend about $300,000 to operate school-based programs and another $100,000 on community-based programs. Funding has largely come from corporate donations and from the “Evening on the Bridge” fundraiser. The City only pays for a couple of administrative personnel who oversee the TGH program. In 2007, the BDBF is sponsoring the first running of the Hub-on-Wheels fundraiser which is hope will be able to fundraise up to $500,000.

Digital Divide

Camfield Estates

susan — Mon, 14 May 2007 16:32:56 -0400

I have been reading a bit about an MIT project at a housing development called Camfield Estates in Roxbury. In 2000-2001, a few MIT doctoral students began a program to train residents to use computers after which time they received computers (and there was internet access in the development, too).

I am attaching a paper that was written by one of the two students, Randal Pinkett. It's long and academic, but what is interesting are the Recommendations and Conclusion sections, pages 11 and 12. Made me think hard about the WHY of what we are talking about doing - it suggests looking at desired outcomes, which I think is really important. Looking forward to having that discussion on Wednesday....

Digital Divide

NY Times Article Re: Laptops in the Classroom

susan — Sat, 05 May 2007 10:58:58 -0400

An article about laptops in the schools making no positive impact on students' performance was distributed to members of the Digital Divide Committee and I am wondering what people think about it. And I will start the discussion off by saying that I think that the issues we on the committee are trying to address may be very distinct and very separate from the issue of technology in the classroom. As I mentioned at the April meeting, I feel strongly that laptops don't belong on every desk in the classroom, but some call me a Luddite (someone who is anti technology or afraid of technology). It just seems like too much of a distraction from true pedagogy. Just my two cents.

But what do others feel about the question of whether or not this is within the committee's purview?

(I will attach the article as soon as I figure out some technical difficulties - maybe I AM a Luddite!)

Digital Divide

Minutes from the May 2, 2007 Digital Divide Committee Meeting

susan — Sat, 05 May 2007 10:49:43 -0400

1) For those of you who missed the last meeting, we heard a useful presentation about Boston's Technology goes home program; heard about the city's wireless pilot and RFI (led to interesting discussion of the intersection between the work of the wifi committee and our digital divide committee;) talked briefly about the work of our two subcommittees and handed out chart showing a draft of tasks for subcommittees to address. We also then had short but very lively discussion about the goals of the project overall and of the pilot-- especially the issue of target population. (In a nutshell, the issue was whether addressing the needs of families with children was the first priority of a larger goal or the main goal itself and whether even if the needs of families with children was the goal itself, whether the pilot in a relatively small place (like Newtowne Court) should be broader to ensure that we have enough information from a pilot to inform our later work.
This discussion will continue in the Program Design Subcommittee and then back to us all.

2) As we discussed, Susan Fleischmann is chairing the Program Design Subcommittee and its first meeting will be Wednesday May 16 at 3:00 at CCTV at the corner of Prospect and Bishop Allen Drive. Claire Spinner is chairing the equipment committee and its first meeting is Mon, May 21 @ 1:30-3 p.m. in the Anastos Room which is on the 2d floor of City Hall. A chart showing the draft charges of the Subcommittees is attached and was passed out at the meeting.

3) Tim Plenk sent me the following article that appeared in today New York Times. It is quite interesting about use of computers in the schools and the less than positive experience of some schools. While use in schools is not what we are currently talking about, we thought you would be interested and it also speaks to the issue of maintenance of the equipment.

Digital Divide

Small response

susan — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:58:37 -0400

It doesn't look like members of the committee are flocking to this form of communication, but welcome Ellen, Fred and Roslyn. There are also a few other interested parties who have signed up to participate.

Ros, I sent you an email a few weeks ago (to the wrong address) to see if you would be willing to use this blog or create your own to talk about the progress getting wi-fi into Newtown Court, and give a sort of on the ground look at what the whole process has been like - the installation, working with tenants to get onto the internet, what kind of feedback you've heard, etc. I know that I would certainly be interested, and I think others would be too.

Digital Divide

Minutes from the March 7, 2007 Digital Divide Committee Meeting

susan — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 13:04:56 -0400

Attached (in the bar at the bottom of this post) are the minutes from the 3/7/2007 meeting. We can use this space to discuss some of the unfinished business, and maybe suggest agenda items for the April 4 meeting.

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Let's see how this goes - if it is helpful to the process of the group, we can keep it going, and if not....

These are some of the issues to be resolved:
Issues that need to be addressed to design the pilot:
• Who is the pilot group?
Families with children in 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th were discussed
• Administration
– who runs it?
• Funding model – who pays for program?
Do families pay anything for equipment?
Who owns the equipment?
• What’s the equipment- lap top or PC
New/ refurbished?
- How to acquire computers?
- Where would they be stored?
- How will they be set up?
• Program Design
• Training for families
How to handle- video? Classes?
• Do people have to have training before they get the computer?
• Tech support
- How is it provided? video?
• Software
licensing issues? Standard image on each computer?
• Evaluation

Digital Divide