BIO
I support organizational adoption of participatory media and digital storytelling tools for community organizing and youth development goals. You might remember me as the coordinator at the Charlestown Boys & Girls Club (MA) Computer Clubhouse from 2001-2005. I’m now the Knowledge Manager at the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network, at the Museum of Science, Boston. I document local practice, train new coordinators & staff, manage the online community, the Village (a social network where youth members meet and post their digital media projects), and support local affiliate sustainability within the Network.
The Clubhouse learning approach is designed to empower youth from all backgrounds to become more capable, creative, and confident learners. This approach is grounded in research from the fields of education, developmental and social psychology, cognitive science, and youth development. It builds on research on the role of affect and motivation in the learning process, the importance of social context, and the interplay between individual and community development. It leverages new technologies to support new types of learning experiences and engage youth. Read more at http://www.computerclubhouse.org/.
Most recently, as part of One Economy’s federal stimulus funded digital literacy initiative, I developed new strategies to scale up from 30 to over 100 afterschool Digital Connectors youth service programs nationally and managed social media campaigns publicly and internally with youth on ConnectorsClub.org. I graduated as a Master in City Planning from MIT in Sept. ‘09, spending two years with the MIT@Lawrence university-community partnership and co-producing the documentary, Sustained City-Campus Engagement: Reflections on Our Practice. Before MIT, I served as an AmeriCorps*VISTA at the Community Technology Centers VISTA Project at UMass Boston [later known as the Transmission Project]. In 2010, I piloted an afterschool program in Boston around conflict-transformation and photo-journalism with Peace In Focus and co-created a research group within MIT’s Center for Future Civic Media, the Department of Play, focused on the design of new mapping and mobile technology and methodologies to support youth as active participants in their communities.
PHILOSOPHY
I have this vivid memory of the day my father brought home our first personal computer, a Commodore 64. I instantly rebelled against what seemed like an unnecessary burden of learning, like proofs in geometry or sit-ups in gym class. Fortunately, I met several teachers along the way that introduced me to project based learning, where I could explore the things I valued (beauty, communication, and creativity) using new media and technology. Multimedia technology has thus become the quiet undercurrent of almost all of the major projects of my life.
I have grown to value media technology as a tool in the process for social change and not just a “magic bean” product. I have seen technology centers, along with other non-profits, fail to holistically approach integrating technology into their programs or allocate enough resources and time to weave technology into the context of their daily operations. The adults and youth in my recent new media workshops are not only often surprised at how easy it is to create the media but also that their voice might matter in a larger conversation. To fight this ignorance, I continue to teach workshops in blogging and digital storytelling in community technology centers and after-school programs, as well as with my fellow VISTAs, literacy educators, and public access producers. I often present new media and technology fluency as both a persuasive and accessible skill as I search for practical solutions to issues of urban planning, public policy, and community development.
But even amid my questions, I can still be excited about the possibility of new media and technology to give meaningful public voice to the under-heard. My personal objectives are to continue fine-tuning my media-making and outreach skills with community groups and youth, particularly in an urban setting, as an educator, advocate, consultant and mentor.
But the leap (whether you say it is over the digital divide or the participation gap) is still daunting for people who have never used a computer or struggle to put food on table instead of buying the so-called “inexpensive” tools of new media. A big part of making the leap may be in realizing it is possible.
I have seen the simple act of bringing out a digital camera, taking a photo, and uploading it to a blog can become the first step to fluency. The focus of my work is to construct a practical framework for fostering the value of technology and media fluency in local community builders and activists while they implement new programs and initiatives for both individual and group empowerment.
