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Award: Seniors what's hot
mayor: climate
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archives
Back issues of Brainstorm including techtips and linkage are now available in our online archives. Previous TechTips and Linkage are also available. Click to revisit all previous issues.
free internet
Free cable broadband Internet service is available for organizations providing technology training to community members. The free service is offered in the Comcast service delivery area and within the Seattle city limits, based on the City’s cable franchise agreement. For more information and to download a short form to make application, go to our tech web. If you have questions, email Derrick Hall or call (206) 233-5061.
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Greg Nickels, Mayor Department of Information Technology BILL SCHRIER chief technology officer BUSBONG SEARS acting director, office of electronic communications DAVID KEYES manager, community technology program staff  D.H. CASS MAGNUSKI editor |
Bill Sullivan, Seniors Training Seniors lead instructor, advises students in West Seattle.
seniors training seniors
wins national recognition
The Seniors Training Seniors in Technology program, launched in 2000 by Seattle's Department of Information Technology and the Mayor's Office for Senior Citizens, has received a 2007 Aging Achievement Certificate from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Council member Tom Rasmussen features an article on the program in his Point of View newsletter.
Seniors Training Seniors in Computer Technology has grown to 35 volunteer instructors with more than 850 older adults training each year. Instructors have many years of experience with students age 55 to 90-plus, introducing them to the mouse, Internet and email. Here are a few things they have learned over the years:
- Have patience, use humor, and remember to repeat instructions frequently, using the same terms each time. Try not to introduce more than three new pieces of information in a one-hour setting; more can be overwhelming.
- Avoid technical explanations of how a computer works; instead, give examples of what they have used that is similar to what they are learning (i.e., scrolling is like using the knob on a typewriter to go up and down the paper/monitor).
- Be aware of how students grip the mouse. Ask permission to put your hand on their hand. Feel if they are relaxed. Are their index fingers and ring fingers placed correctly? Allow students to place their hand on yours as you manipulate the mouse, so they can feel the difference between gripping and relaxing.
- Don't begin your class with a long talk. Make introductions instead. Find out what prompted your students to learn computers, and then smile and tell them everyone starts at the beginning, even seniors. Share stories about mistakes you made when you started learning.
- For students with poor eyesight, it is valuable to have at least one computer with enlarged letters pasted on the keys.
- Never take over a student's computer or mouse without their permission. Show them what to do if they get lost, don't do it for them. Let them get excited by hands-on learning.
For more information about Seniors Training Seniors, contact coordinator Patti-lyn Bell at (206) 684-0639 or email her at patricia.bell@seattle.gov.
health clinics mapped
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Seattle.gov’s MyNeighborhood maps has added 14 Community Health Clinics and four Public Health Clinics. Once at the map, these are viewable by zooming in to level three and clicking on the clinic choices under the Services and Community sections. Find it here.
Walt Crowley, the founder of the innovative HistoryLink.org, died this past month. The Seattle Channel's C. R. Douglas’ interviewed him a few days before Walt had his larynx removed. He was a tireless booster for Seattle as a city and as a state of mind. HistoryLink provides a model of how to gather living history online. See the interview here. The city hosted HistoryLink.org during its start-up period.
history link lives on
Seattle Channel has launched a new season of Community Stories with "Partners in MS." The Pacific Northwest has one of the highest rates in the nation of Multiple Sclerosis. This program by acclaimed filmmaker John Jeffcoat (Outsourced) takes a personal look at the disease and local people who are dealing with it. History in Motion: See three short films shot in the 1930s and 1940s in Seattle by Iwao Matsushita, a Japanese-American who was arrested by the FBI on December 7, 1941, and spent WWII in US Government custody. These priceless films depict a Seattle long since lost to history, and were thankfully saved by the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections Division. A Guide To Visitors features real-life stories told by real-life people. Host Jeannie Yandel is your guide to a curated selection of true stories told by gifted storytellers. Each half-hour A Guide To Visitors: Stories on Stage episode showcases three compelling storytellers. See it online or on cable. For streaming video or the cable schedule, go to seattlechannel.org.
Google Gmail users should be aware of a flaw that allows attackers to steal messages. Accounts on Gmail can be hacked, allowing past and future email messages to be forwarded to the attacker's email box. Dubbed a "cross-site request forgery" (CSRF), the Gmail bug was disclosed September 25, by a U.K.-based web vulnerability penetration tester. Attackers can use Gmail's filtering feature to exploit the bug. According to the tester, an attack would start with a victim visiting a malicious web site while still logged into their Gmail account. The malicious site would then perform an HTML command that can be used to upload files and insert a rogue filter into the user's filter list. This filter will automatically transfer all emails matching the rule. The attack will remain present for as long as the victim has the filter within their filter list. You can read more about this in the source article at PC World. There are not wide reports of attacks. However, Gmail users should look for Google to provide a patch and update their Gmail. Until they do that, Gmail users should check their filters to make sure there isn't anything they didn't add. More tips and alerts on Seattle’s information security page can be found here. The Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission will be conducting a study to identify factors preventing the widespread availability and use of broadband technologies around the state. See more here. For consumers, this could help identify where high speed service is available and who provides it at what cost. The survey could also lead to greater state efforts to support affordable and competitive service, including reaching more rural communities. Potentially, findings about computer access and training needs could lead to state support for community technology efforts. The City of Seattle and Communities Connect Network submitted comments to the WUTC for their consideration as they
prepare to conduct the survey. CCN has posted their comments on the study; these include a proposed definition of digital inclusion. Sustainable Seattle has completed their 2006 Technology Matching Fund project: Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods Initiative. Three youths from the International District Housing Alliance WILD teen program helped train community volunteers who collected data in ten neighborhoods. See results here. Webinars, similar to seminars, are conferences or meetings that happen online via the computer. The advantage of having a webinar is that you can be located anywhere in the world and your members can, too. To watch a webinar, in most cases you only need Internet Explorer with Flash or Java support. To host a webinar, you would need audio equipment, such as a microphone, video equipment, such as a web camera, and a computer with the ability to connect to all of this. If you are looking to host your own webinar, you have to think about the bandwidth requirements first. As an alternative, audio and video devices are not required if you do just a simple slide show presentation with a chat window. Or you can use some of the free messenger services that allow group text or voice chat and send a slide show beforehand. AT&T Foundation Wireless Technology Grants Weyerhauser Community Giving King County Community Organizing Mini Grants We’re in the middle of Latino Heritage Month. Here are a few sites we like: Infoplease offers a wide range of materials. Smithsonian, with a great feature on Celia Cruz, the queen of salsa. City of Seattle Latino City Employees. The history of El Centro de la Raza in Seattle. To subscribe or unsubscribe to Brainstorm, please email us, and we'll add you to our email notification list, or subtract you per your request. If you have ideas for future stories, please let us know and we'll try to accommodate them. We encourage you to visit the City of Seattle's Community Tech pages, seattle.gov/tech.community stories:
new season
s.e.c.u.r.i.t.y
gmail warning
state broadband study
urban neighborhood data
t.e.c.h.t.i.p
what is a webinar?
d.o.l.l.a.r.s
Deadline: October 19
Funds to help nonprofits integrate wireless communications technology into
educational outreach projects. Will award one-time, education-focused, wireless technology grants ranging from $2,500 to $25,000 each for
wireless applications and hardware.
Deadline: Ongoing
Funds programs for education, health and civic life. Focus on programs that address the need for safe shelter. This priority encompasses emergency, transitional and low-income housing as well as neighborhood safety efforts for children and their families.
Deadline: Ongoing
Mini-Grants support drug, alcohol and violence prevention activities.l.i.n.k.a.g.e
hispanic/latino heritage month
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