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First Tee Report
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Franchise Okayed
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Design a web banner honoring Human Rights Day 2011. This year, the winner of the contest will win a Kindle Fire tablet. Entries can be hand-drawn or created digitally; must be 560 pixels by 99 pixels; and submitted as a JPEG along with your contact info to pugetsoundoffnews@gmail.com. Deadline is December 7, 2011 and the winner will be chosen by the Office of Seattle Councilmember Mike O’Brien. For more contest details and to see the winner of the Human Rights Day 2010 banner contest, go here.

On November 14, Mayor Mike McGinn and University of Washington President Michael Young announced a partnership to solicit private proposals to provide high-speed fiber service to communities surrounding the UW campus. For the first time, Seattle will offer to lease access to its unused "dark fiber" to allow private companies to build broadband networks with speeds up to 100 times faster than is currently available.

"The City of Seattle has more than 500 miles of unused fiber optic cable. It's time to fire it up to help our local businesses and creative people innovate," said McGinn. "Our partnership with UW can allow us to leverage our bandwidth to expand Seattle's ability to compete in the global economy. By offering to lease the dark fiber, we can also negotiate with companies for better service to nearby neighborhoods who have poor quality service right now."

Read more about this project:
News release
Gig.U web site

Ted Schmitt has been re-elected as chair of the City of Seattle Citizens Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB). Rob Dolin has been elected as vice-chair for 2012. Ted is a senior program manager at Vulcan, Inc. and Rob is program manager for Microsoft. See more in the CTTAB member bios here. [PDF]

The Seattle Council has adopted the 2012 budget and has approved funding the Technology Matching Fund grant program at the same level of $320,000 as in 2011. This will allow the Department of Information Technology’s Community Technology Program to continue grants for digital inclusion with an emphasis on job training, youth programming, access to critical services and online civic engagement projects. See the Council press release for more on the City budget. The new budget also establishes a separate office to address immigrant and refugee issues and to coordinate City activities in support of these communities.

Tips for Teaching Drawing from YouthLearn’s blog.

Swedish digital inclusion initiative

Five free software programs you should have from PC mag.

Explore flu trends around the world

The 'Bandwidth Hog' is a Myth, And Caps Don't Really Address Truly Disruptive Users feature from DSLReports.

q&a

Have a question for Mayor Mike McGinn? Join the conversation with Seattle Channel host C.R. Douglas as he sits down with the Mayor on Wednesday, February 23, at 7 p.m. for Ask the Mayor. Call (206) 681-8821 between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. or email your questions. Also, follow their conversation on Twitter or Facebook with the Seattle Channel’s accounts. You can also submit questions through Twitter and Facebook as well.

Follow the Seattle Channel on Twitter.com/SeattleChannel and become a fan of the Seattle Channel on Facebook! Friends and followers get up to the minute info on new programs, behind the scene pictures of shoots and interviews and more!

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.

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.

The First Tee of Greater Seattle, a City of Seattle Technology Matching Fund grant to support the development of a four-station computer lab and offer of a new college preparation mentoring program, video production, and goal-setting classes in new space at their Clubhouse and learning center in Beacon Hill. This computer lab has provided kids who do not have regular computer access opportunities for technology literacy. In addition, the program provided another avenue for meaningful mentorship among their coaches and participants as well as between their older participants and younger students.

The project had a number of successes during its first year. According to First Tee staff, "The relationships built between our mentors and mentees in our College Mentoring Program were both inspiring and impactful. Many mentors and mentees alike have requested to continue the program when the next set of mentoring matches begins for the nine-month program in the fall. The addition of the computer lab put conversations about college and careers into real time. Our participants used the computer lab to research colleges, tuitions, majors and careers. With this information, they were able to create goal ladders with their mentors and make their dreams tangible. Through the mentoring program and the addition of the computer lab, our program was able to teach our curriculum in an increasingly relevant way. Through The First Tee Life Skills Curriculum, we teach participants the difference between dreams and goals, what makes a goal a good goal, and how to set goal ladders. We use their golf games as the platform for these discussions. With the computer lab, our mentors were able to more effectively show our students how their skills there are learning on the golf course and can be applied to other areas of their life."

"The integration of video production into our summer classes was a great success as well. First, The First Tee has an internship program which is offered to our teenage participants, allowing them to gain leadership skills by assisting in the administration and delivery of the life skills program. Our interns were charged to take video throughout the summer sessions of the classes. From behind the camera, our interns were able to gain a new appreciation for the core values we teach--like honesty, integrity, perseverance, and confidence. Through their experience behind the cameras, our interns looked at how core values are demonstrated by others and their benefit. The same project was carried out by our Junior Advisory Board. These teenage participants led the creation of First Tee videos, allowing them to engage participants in new technology, exercise their creativity while developing their own use of core values like confidence and responsibility."

For more information contact Kimberly Goode, Assistant Manager.

The Communities Connect Network (CCN) web portal launched at the end of November. The portal is an online community space designed for users to access and share digital inclusion and community technology resources, and an important tool to pursue CCN’s mission to ensure digital inclusion and technology opportunities for all residents of Washington State.

On the web portal, you can search the Network Directory, a growing list and map of Public Computing Centers (PCCs) across the state. CCN hopes to make this list as complete as possible. If you know of a PCC that is not listed, please use the Suggest a Computer Lab form to add it to the Network Directory.

Do you have suggestions or comments about the site? Please use the Contact Us form and let them know!

Communities Connect Network (CCN) is a statewide coalition of public and private organizations working to make Washington State a leader in digital inclusion. CCN brings together community technology providers with state and local governments, corporate, philanthropic, and individual supporters to ensure that all residents are able to fully participate in Washington’s increasingly technology-rich society.

With winter break coming up, here are two great camp opportunitities for youth grades 2 through 12 and a workshop opporutunity for young people ages 16 to 23, from our partners at the Metrocenter YMCA.

Digital Film Making for Grades 8 through 12
Looking for something to do over Winter Break? Check out Experience Music Project's (EMP's) Teen Artist Workshops (TAW) for a week of collaborative learning and hard work. Taught by professional teaching artists, these workshops culminate with a live showcase (open to family and friends), and/or original work to take home! Bryan Gordon of Seattle YMCA's YTech program will help teens communicate who they are through self-produced digital media. Click on the link above for more information and to register.

Techreation Tech Camp for Grades 2 to 6
Digital photography and video are powerful storytelling tools. Techreation Camp will provide participants with a fun, age-appropriate introduction to these technologies while exploring their potential by creating photos and videos that promotes healthy, active play. Click on the link above for more details and registration information.

RadioActive Audio Storytelling Workshop for Ages 16 to 23
RadioActive is a youth radio storytelling program created by KUOW / Puget Sound Public Radio 94.9 FM. In this fun, rigorous, and hands-on workshop you’ll learn about journalism, audio recording, audio editing, interviewing, writing for broadcast, and speaking on the air. The workshops will be held at the Metrocenter YMCA and is free and applications are due at midnight on January 6. Click on the link above for the application and more information.

The City Council and Mayor McGinn have approved the transfer of Broadstripe’s Seattle cable franchise to WAVE Broadband (see Ordinance 117306).

As a condition of the approval, WAVE committed to making the following system improvements to the Broadstripe franchise area within 18 months of taking control:

• Integrate the current Broadstripe service area in Seattle into Wave’s existing distribution network in Washington;
• Upgrade the video product offerings to include greater High Definition (HD) and Video on Demand (VOD) services;
• Upgrade the broadband data product offerings to include a 50 Mbps (downstream) service; and
• Launch commercial phone service in Seattle.

These improvements are expected to result in improved performance, more choices and greater reliability for current Broadstripe customers.

Broadstripe and WAVE are now finalizing their purchase and sale agreement through the bankruptcy court, with a goal of WAVE taking control of Broadstripe’s Seattle franchise area in early 2012.

For other news and documents related to the Broadstripe/WAVE Cable Franchise transfer, visit the Office of Cable Communications Franchise Transfer page.

Have you or your group ever wished you could have access to television to help broadcast your message? Seattle Community Media has the resources available to help.

Seattle Community Media (SCM) is the City’s Public Access television provider. Besides broadcasting community produced programming (Comcast channel 77 / Broadstripe channel 26), SCM also provides members with access to the training, equipment and studio time needed for the public to produce their own television programs.

• Classes: SMC offers classes on Basic Studio and Basic Editing, providing training on operating their studio and video editing equipment.
• On-Line Tutorials: SMC has on-line tutorials on subjects such as general production, audio, lighting and camera usage.
• Equipment Check-out: SMC offers access to equipment needed to produce programs off-site, including cameras, lights and microphones.
• Studio Time: SMC maintains a full studio which can be reserved to record a program.
• Editing Stations: SMC has computer stations available where producers can edit their programs.

For more information on SMC membership, reserving studio time, equipment, or training opportunities, visit their website here.

What’s the difference in how internet gets to you, whether you have DSL service through copper lines, cable over coax, or fiber optic service to your home or business? City of Seattle Cable Office Director Tony Perez presents an overview of the signal distribution system and speed capacity for broadband systems, covering the older phone company systems, cable company infrastructure and what fiber systems provide, using Seattle providers Comcast, Broadstripe and CenturyLink services as examples.

This Powerpoint presentation [PDF] was made to the City of Seattle Citizens Telecommunications and Technology Advisory Board (CTTAB). The audio is available in the October CTTAB podcast. Also see the article comparing DSL and cable modem in About.com.

Here is a great resource from our City’s Information Security Office: Outcome Logic’s SAFE (Self-Assessment, Family Emergency) Outcome site. There are a number of topics you can click on where you can answer questions that would let you know how prepared you are, and what steps you can take to improve your preparedness.

Topics include: Crime SAFE; Earthquake SAFE; Fire SAFE; Safety Essentials SAFE; Terrorism SAFE; and finally, the one we are most interested in, CyberSecurity SAFE. You don’t have to register to complete the survey, but if you want to access your information in the future and receive a personalized Action Report, you will need to do so. With each question asked, there is an explanation as to why that question is relevant and what risks are attached to each scenario. The survey took me about five to 10 minutes to complete and was relatively simple to do. Visit them here.

If you want to teach a class of laptop users at the park how to post to their social networking pages, you may want to subscribe to a wireless network internet sharing device.

There are devices to which you can connect your computer that offers one point of internet access, or you can look into a device such as a wireless hub. These devices will allow you to share two or more computers to the wireless internet. In most cases, you will still be limited to be within 300 feet of the wireless device and you might be limited in the number of computers that can connect.

What you should be aware of when selecting your product is coverage and data usage. Service is provided through the cellular providers and coverage is not always as great as good or bad as your cellphone coverage. Some providers limit how much or how data can be used, which is important to note before signing up. You are able to now get wireless internet service on a prepaid plan, which means you would not have to sign up for multiple years of service and only need it for a summer project.

Agree or disagree with me? Drop me a note: Derrick Hall.

Seattle Neighbor to Neighbor Fund
The Seattle Foundation's Small Grants Program, will prioritize organizations or programs that are aligned with one or both of the following funding strategies: (1) Increase civic engagement and community action; and (2) Build community connections. Organizations must have a presence in South Seattle, White Center or Kent.
Deadline: January 15, 2012