House of Uhuru – 30 July 2011

Opening Comments:

Gave a brief overview of what today’s lesson plan was and reminded the class that their essays were due Tuesday, and that each student would have to give a brief presentation in front of the class as well.

Attendance:

14 students attended class today

1^st Topic Covered:

William went over the general guidelines for public speaking regarding eye contact, clear voice, and speaking speed.  Allen discussed those guidelines in further detail and addressed the importance of preparation in public speaking.  We recommended the students practice presenting to each other as well. 

2^nd Topic Covered:

Allen went over Cutting and Pasting, deleting/undeleting, and Parent Folders.  William went over My Computer, Icon arrangement, and changing different display settings.  We then went over the usage of the internet, and explained its practicality and many usages.

Lab Time:

After separating the class into two groups, we one group work on their essays and another work on the computer.  Those who had already finished writing their essays were allowed to type them up, if they chose to do so.  Allen went around the class to teach the students how to write a blog on the CDD website, while William helped with the essay-writing.  We switched roles when the groups switched spots.  Most of the students had completed their blog entry.

Final Notes:

About half of the class had completed or were close to completing their essays, and a few were almost done typing them up as well.  Some of the students wanted to focus solely on their essays during lab time, and agreed to write their blog posts by next class meeting.

                                                          Walden House/ July 5th / 2011

  Opening Comments:

Bharat was feeling under the weather so I was solo for the class. There were 12 students however 2 students dropped out.

 Attendance:

There were 12 students however 2 students dropped out.

 INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

Did a quick intro of what the course consisted of. Introduced myself and then went around the classroom, for students to introduce themselves, and their skill set of computers ranging from 1-5. Many are at a level 3. Only one who has had little to no experience

 1^ST TOPIC COVERED:

Assigned workbooks to the students. Explained the Rules and Expectations.

 2^ND TOPIC COVERED:

 Talked about the written paper and how to compose an outline. Did several examples of what an outline will look like. Had 6 students read out aloud the first 6 computer terms.

 LAB TIME:

Lab time was brainstorming for ideas on how to do their outline.

                                                          Cri Help/7-5-2011

 Opening Comments:

There were no events that I felt were out of the ordinary for the first meeting of class. My more experienced teaching partner did not report any incidents either.

 Attendance:

Of the 8 students enrolled in the session, 6 were present on the first day of class. Ms.Christina Santos and Ms.Suzanne Bridges were absent. It should be noted that Mr. Brian Wu left with his classmates on break and did not return at the end of break.

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

Colin explained the overview to the new class, with regards to attendance, participation and course completion. Graduation and behavior towards both teachers and fellow students was also discussed.

1^ST TOPIC COVERED:

Herbert discussed the key points of the day which include: the computers cases, hard-drive, motherboard and connecting computer cables. The students were very inquisitive about the terminology and requested simplified explanations Analogies were used in the explanation of the day’s topics including Case-Skin, CPU-Brain, and Memories to R.O.M. and, quick arithmetic to R.A.M.

ADDITIONAL TOPICS:

In response to the inquires of the students regarding memory, Colin briefly explained the difference between  MB and GB, using a floppy disk one of the students had and the SD cards found in cell phones. 

LAB TIME:

The evening’s lab included an overview of the Personal Success Paper and mouse usage. Herbert conducted the paper lab, while Colin covered using the mouse. Mr. Gabriel Rivas (who prefers to be called “G”) was the only student unfamiliar with using a mouse. Colin likened the mouse to a joystick used for video games and the idea of pointing and clicking. Mr. Rivas was confident in his ability to use the mouse at the end of lab. 

FINAL NOTES:

The students seemed very excited for the next class at the end of the first night. Mr. Tommy Quintant stated that he is capable of using a “smart-phone” but that he would like to expand his knowledge on a desktop. Mr. Jose Balderaz expressed that he has had limited computer usage in his life, but added that it was more than a decade ago. Ms. Iquisha Blaxon also has had very little usage but was able to navigate the desktop without assistance. Mr. Freddy Fernandez is quite knowledge able about computers and stated that he grew up around them. He is seeking a refresher on terminology and would like to expand his basic abilities to include things he may have forgotten.

                                                          Uhuru/April 30, 2011

 Opening Comments:

 Computer # 11 was not operating. Had an error message that disk 0 was not being read.

 Attendance:

Patricia Jones was absent. New enrollee Rose Sermons attended Saturday. I informed Rose, that considering she did not attend Tuesday class, that was considered an absent.

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

Allen and I did a quick introduction of ourselves, and then we ask for everyone to state their name, and their level of computer experience.

Allen and I switched up in discussing the windows first part of Module 1

1^ST TOPIC COVERED:

I went over the windows basis. Allen went over the Windows Icons, and talked about logging in and where it may apply.

^2ND TOPIC COVERED:

Using the taskbar and help menu, both Allen and I did visuals with the students. Had the students use the mouse to maneuver over some of the functions. This is where we went around the room to make sure everyone understood and knew how the taskbar and help menu works.

 Allen went over the first discovery term, and then had 5 more students read out the remaining discovery term.

ADDITIONAL TOPICS:

Allen handed out 4 papers.

Personal Plan for success

Paper expectations

Cover Letter

Making an outline

I wrote down the instructors names for Cover letter, and gave them dates, on which the Outline and paper is due.

 LAB TIME:

Lab time was spent on working the Mavis Typing.

FINAL NOTES:

Natasha Callier has great difficulty reading. I sense there will be some issues pertaining to her doing her paper.

I would like to take a few moments to address questions I often have been asked about CDD.  I see this as an opportunity to fill in any missing details about the CDD Program and to help our supporters better understand our program.  We at CDD are always interested in your feedback and suggestions so please email us from our website or at info@cddnp.org.  We will make an effort to address your questions or comments on a regular basis.   

Q) What makes CDD so successful?  What makes it work and what are the main components of its success? 

A) There are a few important aspects of our program that are key to our success.  First, we target adults instead of children.  While CDD donates computers to youth groups and of course agree that youth groups are vital to an improved society, there are few programs in place for adults, especially the population on which CDD focuses that being adults in recovery.  We know we are filling a need by offering this training to this distinct group of adult students.

Secondly, our training takes place inside the Recovery Center, while the student is participating in the recovery program.  These adults are at a turning point.  They have decided to let go of the past and rebuild with an eye toward the future.  Most are sober for the first time in years.  Often the only thing lacking in the plan to succeed are job skills.  CDD addresses this problem head on by offering computer training.  This training opens up the world to our students, as they become fully confident to apply for jobs, enroll in Community College and to reestablish contact with lost loved ones for the first time in years.

This training also provides each student with added hope and confidence, which plays an important role in helping them remain sober, after they leave the recovery center setting and begin to face the many difficult days ahead. 

Q) Do volunteer Instructors really work in such an important position?  Are they reliable?  Don’t you really need experts to deal with such a challenging project?

A) One of the main reasons the CDD program is successful is our exclusive use of volunteer Instructors.  Ninety per cent of our Instructors are not experienced teachers.  Most have advanced degrees in a number of areas; many of which are tech-based.  These are very busy professionals with demanding jobs, families, and social lives, but they feel strongly that computer literacy should be available to everyone.  These volunteers are champions of our students.  When the motivation to be in the classroom comes from a fundamental belief in equality and from a bond that is formed with the students, the classroom experience is very different, than when the motivation comes from earning a paycheck.   There is something magic about doing something simply because you want to help.

There is another dynamic present as well.  CDD Instructors and Students represent two very different groups of people.  One group being highly educated and successful while the other has underachieved and been making bad decisions for years.  Yet when these two opposites come together in the classroom something special occurs.  A very tight bond is formed as both parties come to understand the value in the other person.  This is another divide we did not anticipate being crossed when developing this program.  Our students naturally look up to our Instructors.  The Instructors seem larger than life with job skills that seem unreachable, exciting careers, and close personal relationships.   The way our Students inspire the Instructors is perhaps the biggest surprise.   These are individuals who have come from unbelievable adversity and suffering yet they walk into the classroom full of dreams and a determination to succeed.  They are humble enough to reach out for support and face their fears and lack of feeling “worthy”.  We all marvel at this inner drive with each new group of students who walk into our classrooms each session.  The tie between these two groups is strong and we believe it would not be as strong or successful with paid Instructors. 

Q) Have you been able to track the progress of your Graduates after they leave the program?  Do you know the recidivism rate of your Graduates compared to those without CDD training?  Do you have stories of success of your Graduates who attribute their success to CDD’s computer training?

A) I can answer yes to two of these questions.  We are still working on a way to track the recidivism rate.  One of the problems with this population is that they are very difficult to locate after they leave the recovery center setting.  There are a variety of reasons for this but the primary reason is lack of stability.  There may also be a tendency to return to a sense of anonymity.  The latter is a recipe for disaster as many studies have shown that those in recovery need the support of a community to succeed.

However, CDD has been able to track several students, over the years.  We have many stories of student success, which can be attributed to the computer training they received, as well as their recovery training.  These students’ stories and portraits will be coming out in a book about CDD, which will be published, in the near future.         

Q) The last question is about the future of CDD.  What are your immediate goals for its growth?  How do you hope to see CDD evolve over the next few years?

A) The wonderful thing about CDD is that we know we have a perfect recipe to achieve success.  For a non-profit, unlike a for-profit that measures its success by its finances, an NPO needs to show that it is making a difference in the community.  An NPO’s “widget” is the contribution it makes to solve a “human” problem. 

CDD realized that with the emergence of the digital revolution anyone without basic computer skills would be left on the other side and that some of the most vulnerable are adults in recovery.  The importance of bridging the digital divide has never diminished.  After seven years of training we continue to see large numbers of our target population with no computer experience.  Our only regret is that we have not been able to open additional training facilities.  We have a very long and growing waiting list of centers that would like to see our training offered to their clients.  Our major hurdle is funding.   CDD has done as much as it can without being fully funded.  We have maintained the three centers we opened seven years ago.  However, without a full-time paid office staff, as well as other operational expenses, we have had to cap our growth to these three centers.  Our goal is to locate an endowment or donor who would provide the funds we need to open more centers.  We would also like to build a student-operated Refurbishing Company that would refurbish and resell donated computer equipment.  The funds from this business would go to pay a salary to the student employees and provide additional funding to CDD in support of our training.

This concludes the Q&A of some of the most common questions we receive.  We hope you will take a moment and donate either a computer or funds to CDD.  Your donations are tax deducible and all go to support our training.  We are always looking for volunteers as well.  The support of our volunteers is what makes CDD possible.

Kathleen Patton

CDD Executive Director           

                                                              Uhuru/ 4-26-11

Opening Comments:

I walked into the center around 6:40 pm and a counselor greeted me. I met Melissa right away and started getting ready to let the students in the classroom. We had to get a table to put our books and teaching supplies on it, and we also had to get extra chairs. We let the students in at 7:00 pm and started taking attendance and passing out the manuals and recorded them in the attendance sheet.

Attendance:

 Attendance was more than expected as we were short of manuals and some students had to share. Melissa assigned the manuals and created the teams and groups

 INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

 Melissa introduced herself and then I introduce myself and then We ask the students to tell us their names and the reason why they were in the class and how much computer knowledge they had acquired prior to this class.

I explained the importance of computer skills in today’s marketplace and why it would be in their best interest to do their best in the class. I explained the format of the class. The class expectations rules and regulations and told them to be on time and absences and tardiness were going to lower their graduation goals. I told them not to write on the manuals and to keep noise to a minimum. i informed them about their assignments due on the 5^th week, the test on the 7^th week, and the oral presentation on the 9^th and 10^th week.

 1^ST TOPIC COVERED:

 Melissa covered this topic and she explained to them about the written essay in detail. She explained why they had to improve their writing skills in order to be competitive in the outside world. She told them about the length and topic of the paper and that they had to do an outline in order to write the paper and the importance of the outline. She explained that the paper was to describe their individual goals for the future and that the presentation of the paper will help them improve their public speaking skills.

 2^ND TOPIC COVERED:

 I covered this topic and we opened up a computer to show them the parts inside the computer. We went over the computer terms on the manual, pretty straight statements of fact about computer hardware.

 ADDITIONAL TOPICS:

 LAB TIME:

 Melissa explained the use of the mouse in detail and went over page viii of the manual. we let the students practice left clicking and right clicking during lab time the majority of the group got the idea pretty fast. During the last part of the lab the students were clicking on the icons AND SOME students practice their typing skills on the mavis beacon program.

 FINAL NOTES:

Offer any additional issues you would like to point out to the next team.

Everything went pretty smooth, a couple of the students had to leave briefly because their counselors ask me if it was ok, but they returned right away and I knew that they were with their counselors.

                                       Walden House/ Tuesday 02-15-2011

 Opening Comments:

Ralph Mendoza was handling some paper work with the students when the instructors arrived. In addition Ralph introduced the CDD program and instructors to the students before leaving the class room.

 Attendance:

We had 14 students in class. We started with 15 but Paul Martinez left at the beginning of the class.

 INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

 The CDD Instructors introduced themselves before the students got to talk about their Computer experience and expectations for the class. It seems that 50% of the class has very little to no experience with the computer. Soni went over the attendance rules and expectation especially the paper expectations.  

1^ST TOPIC COVERED:

Gritt handled the first 6 terms of the computer discovery section. It was fun. The class was very interested and asked questions. Even the students with very little experience with computers seemed to be able to understand and comprehend quickly. We used to have an open computer for demonstration purpose, which would have made the lecture even more informative and help the students to recognize the different parts of the computer.  

2^ND TOPIC COVERED:

Soni and Gritt as a Team lectured the workbook section “ How to use the mouse” and keyboard together.

LAB TIME:

During Lab time the students practice the different mouse function( left and right click ) plus learned plus practiced typing on the keyboard in the Mavos Beacon program.

FINAL NOTES:

Overall the class is very excited and eager to learn. At this point, I am not foreseeing any difficulties for any students.

                                      Walden House, Tuesday, October 18, 2010

 Opening Comments:

Chairs were set up in rows with a white board for lecture. Soni, Joe and Loryn were there to instruct. Joe and Loryn were going to switch days, so Joe left shortly before class started.

Attendance:

Attendance was taken and the notebooks handed out. The room was full, with 13 students in attendance.

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

The class jumped into the agenda quickly as there was a lot of information to review.

1^ST TOPIC COVERED:

The class began by collecting papers from the students. Loryn reviewed the word count, giving credit to complete papers. Lecture began as a discussion on what makes a bad presentation. The students listed things like lack of volume, too many ‘uhms,’ and unprofessional attire. Soni then lectured on things that could help take away nervousness and create a great presentation: room set up, greeting the audience, knowing ones material, and practice.

2^ND TOPIC COVERED:

The students were then told about graduation, being reminded it is a formal occasion, with pictures. Also, a class representative was to be chosen to speak and then they began their presentations. Every student in attendance took turns speaking in front of the room. After each student spoke the class applauded and then reviewed things that were good and things that could be improved. The class was reminded to share their computer skills experience gained from CDD in their speeches.

LAB TIME:

For lab time, students reviewed a handout with helpful Internet links. The CDD blog address was written on the board and each student took turns navigating to the site and submitting a post. Students who had completed their papers were directed to save onto a flash drive for submission. Those who were near finished continued typing. Special time was spent with: Edward Sandoval, to ensure he will finish his paper. Also, Paul Teargin, says he had over 500 words Saturday, but due to a saving issue (we checked the computer) he is now at 370 and will complete his typing to submit Saturday.

FINAL NOTES:

For the end of class, students were reminded they will all be presenting again on Saturday as a final presentation, so to practice with their papers, noting the key points to refer to.

There was an even set of 3 recommendations for presenter: Robert Johnson (engaging), Cookie (personable), Christopher Jorge (he was to work on his conclusion). Lastly, unfortunately, Isaias Martinez, initially in the class for attendance, was talked to on the side, regarding his outline. He said he had it in his room and left to get it, without returning.

Loryn took the books at the end of class for the Thursday meeting.

                                         House of Uhuru/October 9, 2010

 Opening Comments:

Hunter and I had another great class and all of the students were extremely focused throughout the class, learning about public speaking, the Internet, and finished their papers.

Attendance:

9 students attended the class and two students were absent. 

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

We went over the paper stressed that they must complete it by Tuesday’s class. We also talked about graduation and told the class that as long as they completed their paper and attended the remaining classes, they would graduate. We also told them that one student would be chosen to read their paper at graduation, which caused some nervousness, but overall excitement in the class.

1^ST TOPIC COVERED:

Hunter covered the topic of Public Speaking going through various examples of how the students should present. Many of the students were nervous about presenting, but Hunter gave great tips to help them calm down and focus on presenting to their peers. He went through different topics like eye contact and speaking clearly and loudly, which the students later utilized during lab time.

2^ND TOPIC COVERED:

I reviewed the Internet section in Module 3. Many of the students were excited to go on the Internet, but it was clear that most students knew how to use it already. We went over the address and task bar and also visited some websites, like Google. Overall the lesson was very brief and we helped some students individually who did not know how to use the Internet.

LAB TIME:

During lab time, we spent half the time working on paper and the other half of the time practicing presentations. Almost everyone had already completed his or her papers, with the exception of a few students. While we were helping students individually, they appreciated our input on their papers and were happy to share them with us. During the presentations, everyone gave great constructive criticism to the students who presented.

FINAL NOTES:

Everything went really smoothly, and as long as everyone who is still attending the class completes their papers and attends the last two classes, I think this class is going to do well. Everyone is very social and they feel comfortable with themselves to share their stories with their peers. Positive attitudes all around!

                                                                  Walden House, 10-5-10

 Opening Comments:

Chairs were set up at the computer workstations with a white board for lecture.

 Attendance:

Attendance was taken and the notebooks handed out. The room was full, with 14 students in attendance.

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

Students were given test over Discover terms. 

1^ST TOPIC COVERED:

Soni introduced students to various fields in IT.  A motivational lecture to continue learning IT skills was also given.

2^ND TOPIC COVERED:

Break was given and Tests were graded.  Review of Second module was briefly given.  Class broke up and went to work on their papers on the lab computers

LAB TIME:

Students were helped individually if it was identified that they needed help on outlines and/or paper.  Soni and Joe went around class helping students that were in need and tried to review Module 2 skills with them.

 FINAL NOTES:

To conclude, all books were returned and students were reminded to work on their papers and that it was due next Tuesday with an oral presentation. Overall, the class was excited and eager to learn more, many promising to study and work on their papers for the next class.