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I N S I D EYouth Media Institute calendarSummer
Institute on Technology and Disability During the hands-on labs, participants will also experience alternative computer access hardware and software, and software to aid individuals who have blindness or low vision, limited mobility, or difficulties with reading and writing. For more information, call UWCTDS at (206) 685-4181 (V/TTY), (206) 616-1396 (TTY/TTY Message), or email them. Tech
Tour Open House
tmf deadline
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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.
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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.
Greg Nickels, Mayor Department of Information Technology BILL SCHRIER chief technology officer GARY GIBSON director, office of electronic communications DAVID KEYES manager, community technology program staff  D.H. CASS MAGNUSKI editor |
empowering youth
through media
training
 Youth Media students on a field trip to SCAN TV
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Youth Media Institute helps to mobilize youth to become powerful leaders and advocates by using media technologies. Youth Media Institute's Youth Out Loud Program was funded by the Technology Matching Fund in 2007. With a grant of $13,300 for equipment and staffing, Youth Media Institute taught new media technologies and digital storytelling techniques to ten young people of color to give voice to their experiences, families and cultures, and to encourage dialogue about the changing face of community.
Over the course of six weeks, students attended a series of media technology workshops. They also went on field trips to KBCS-FM and SCAN TV, where they were able to gain hands-on experience. Graduates of the program then served as peer mentors in the White Center area, ultimately training a total of fifty youth. As a result, students increased their knowledge of media justice and democracy and learned skills in graphic design, camera techniques, video editing, and audio recording and editing.
The intense six-week program helped the students grow in many ways. "Not only did the youth increase their skills around media -ased technologies," said executive director Marissa Chavez, "but our young people went on to do amazing things in the community." Many of them are now serving on youth boards, producing marketing and outreach materials for community organizations, and leading workshops themselves.
For more information on Youth Media Institute, contact Marissa Chavez. See some of the students' work here.
Seattle just opened a state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center
(EOC), a high-tech nerve center that will coordinate the city’s response
to disasters and other major events. The new EOC is a critical step
forward in fulfilling Mayor Greg Nickels’ goal of making Seattle the most
prepared city in the country for dealing with emergencies, whether natural
or human caused. It is the latest project delivered by the 2003 Fire
Levy. The EOC is part of the new headquarters fire station that will open
later this spring at 105 Fifth Avenue South. It will allow the City to
coordinate with regional, state, and national operations centers through a
host of systems and back-up systems, including the Internet,
video-teleconferencing, satellite phones, 800 MHZ radio,
short-wave/amateur radio, and local, state, and national
warning/notification radios. The new EOC can accommodate 150-plus
emergency responders from city departments and key partners, such as
hospitals, schools and universities, businesses, and nonprofit social
service agencies. Get more information here. A proposed state community technology grant and capacity building
program has been getting great support in the Washington State
Legislature! The full Washington State Senate and two key committees in
the House have passed the bill, SSB 6775. The Senate has also put $1
million in the budget, but as of Brainstorm's press time, final budget
approval isn't yet complete. The legislation has been championed by Sen. Claudia Kauffman. Legislators in the Senate and the
House, seeing the importance of community technology programs to the
state's education, economic development and broadband goals, have strongly
supported the bill. The City of Seattle is supporting this legislation,
which could bring needed financial help to digital inclusion programs in
Seattle and across the state. The Washington Technology Industry
Association (formerly WSA) has also been testifying in favor of this
landmark, first state digital inclusion bill. You can look up the legislation on the state legislature bill info
site, here. For alerts and info state community technology and digital divide policy, contact Betty Buckley at betty__buckley@msn.com. More than 25,000 people or about 3,000 visitors per month have visited
ParentHelp123.org since its launch. And, 15,000 adults and children have
been screened for program benefits like Children’s Health Insurance, WIC
and Basic Food. ParentHelp123.org is available in English and Spanish. New efforts are
underway to develop a super-user version for outreach
workers and case managers. ParentHelp123.org was developed through
generous support from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation, Washington Department of Health, and others.
USB (Universal Serial Bus) connected equipment is everywhere. Cameras,
printers, keyboards and mice, cell phones, game controls, iPods and other
audio or video players, watches, and an amazing variety of storage drives
are all connected to our computers with this wonderful new and fast
technology. But they pose inherent dangers. Most USB devices contain storage space and are used to transport files from
home to work or back again. Unfortunately viruses, Trojans or other malware can
also be transported, even in the form of pictures. Most anti-malware
defenses will usually do a good job of catching and stopping anything you
might inadvertently bring in on a USB stick, but there are so many new
threats that there is no way to be sure. Another important danger is the removal and possible loss of private or
sensitive information, such banking information or other private data. It is
extremely easy to copy that type of data onto any USB device and notoriously
easy to lose or misplace. Always be sure the your destination drive virus
protection software is up to date. Holding an open house at your organization is a great way to let the
community learn about your services, increase program participants, and
build relations with funders and partners. The Communities Connect Network
(CCN), in conjunction with NPower Seattle, has developed a toolkit and is
sponsoring workshops at community technology centers around the state.
Here are a few tips on getting started. They’ll be sending out more tips;
sign up here. Getting Started More Resources and Related Events: Seattle
Youth Arts Grants Grants.gov Mutual of
America Community Partnership Award
Onelook dictionary meta-search: a search engine of web-based dictionaries for words and phrases.
NASA Eclipse Info:
Did you miss the last full lunar eclipse or want to see the next one? Get information on upcoming lunar and solar eclipses!
School Closure Alerts: We may be past snow season, but here's a great resource to get information on school closures. Sign up with up to three email addresses. Site also provides general school district information as well.
Technology
Curriculum in Spanish is available via Austin Free Net. Free tax preparation and filing assistance is available to community members through a variety of organizations.
The United Way of King County offers help at a variety of locations in multiple languages. Sites include area computer labs and libraries. See their list of sites.
Also available are online filing sites, including the Beehive tax site, which offers their tax help site help in Spanish as well.
mayor nickels opens new
emergency ops
center
success for community
technology
legislationparenthelp123 connects
WithinReach works
to improve the health and well-being of Washington families by increasing
access to social and health resources via the Internet. Last April,
WithinReach launched a new web site called parenthelp123.org. Designed to be
user friendly, the site enables parents to check their eligibility and
fill out applications online for seven state based programs like Medicaid
and Basic Food (food stamps), using a Benefit Finder. Another feature is the Resource Finder where families can search by zipcode for local
programs and services such as food banks, low-cost health clinics and
more.
families to
servicess.e.c.u.r.i.t.y
usb drive dangers
open houses great for
marketing
Before you throw open your doors for an open
house, take a step back and consider the big picture. Take time up front
to think about your goals, target audience and key messages.
d.o.l.l.a.r.s
Deadline: April 28
Funds
out-of-school time arts training programs for Seattle middle- and
high-school youth. Funds and technical assistance from this program help
experienced teaching artists lead training programs and projects in all
arts disciplines, ranging from the traditional arts to theater to film and
media. Priority is placed on serving youth or communities with limited or
no access to the arts.
Deadline:
Ongoing
Register online to receive federal funding opportunity
notifications from Grants.gov. All of the federal agencies are placing
their announcements on the Grants.gov /FIND site. Once subscribed, users
will receive an email notification every evening of that day's new
grants.
Deadline: April
1
Awards $25,000 to nonprofits to highlight important contributions in
partnership with public, private, and other social sector organizations,
made to society. This is a national competition. Award winners must
demonstrate the value of their partnerships, their ability to be
replicated, and their capacity to stimulate new ideas in addressing social
issues. l.i.n.k.a.g.e
tax help online