CDD Graduation Ceremony 6-30-09

Report by Lori Young

On June 30, 2009 the good people of CDD presented a fantastic and inspiring graduation ceremony. As I handed out programs and greeted each guest as they arrived, I was pleased to see alumni from the House of Uhuru in attendance, which is where I taught during the last session. An early arrival was the mother of Kenneth Woods, the student presenter from Walden House. She was clearly proud of her son’s accomplishment and was there to lend her support. She inquired if she would have an opportunity to take a picture.

The energy level rose in the room until finally everyone had arrived. Esteban Tellez, first time CDD Instructor, took the stage as the night’s Emcee. He did a great job as Emcee, cracking jokes, moving the podium around the stage as needed and most importantly putting the crowd at ease and keeping the ceremony on track.

CDD Executive Director, Kathleen Patton, next took the stage.  Ms. Patton was there to offer a tribute to her former colleague Dr. Clark Feldman. Dr. Feldman shared a vision with Ms. Patton and Xavier Nathan, to help people escape the horrible downward spiral of being stuck in the prison system, addicted to drugs and alcohol. These three partners formed CDD to address those people who are in recovery and are still on the other side of the digital divide.  Dr. Feldman recently lost his life to cancer.  Kathleen along with long-time CDD Member, Gritt Klein, presented a beautiful slideshow of images of Clark over the past 5 years at various CDD Events.  It showed Clark doing everything from playing the violin, speaking at events, posing with graduates and even receiving his own City Certificate signed by the Mayor.  It was a very loving tribute which can be read and viewed in its entirety on our website.     

The Emcee then introduced the night’s Keynote Speakers.  Bill Paden and Fluke Fluker of the Village Nation stunned the crowd with powerful video of Director Spike Lee discussing the importance of literacy.  He said “In case we can’t read, write, speak, or use a computer, what chance do we have to succeed?”  The also showed another video of a young black male, illuminated on a stage, recounting the devastating loss of his father to the prison system and his determination to do better for himself. Mr. Paden implored the audience to use computers to take charge of their own lives and empower themselves in a changing world, just as students in Iran and Honduras are using the Internet to advance their political agendas.

Fluke fired up the crowd by telling a fable called the “Farmer’s Donkey”. It is the story of a donkey who falls down a well but who refuses to be buried alive and instead kept working his way to the top of the well.  The entire audience enthusiastically shouted their approval for both presentations. 

The Walden House Ladies Choir next performed and sang their hearts out. Despite a technical difficulty with their CD they just kept on singing and stepping side to side. The soloist of the group captivated the audience with her clear beautiful voice.

Finally the students themselves got their chance to represent. Kenneth Woods from Walden House spoke about his prior prison experience and his current desire to make a better life for himself. He plans to use computers to build on his passion for dog grooming for dog show competitions. Kathy Callier from House of Uhuru shared a very painful history of relapse into drug and alcohol addiction combined with a more hopeful experience of developing a career as a medical biller. Her inner determination to prevail and find success came through loud and clear as she spoke. Monalisa Cruz from Cri-Help also spoke to the audience with clarity of voice and purpose that amazed me because I know how much progress she has made throughout the class. Ms. Cruz is determined to get her GED and help young people by starting a youth center in honor of her nephew who was fatally shot.

It was now time to award the Certificates to the Graduates.  The CDD Director Kathleen Patton along with the Center Staff and the Keynote Speakers formed a receiving line on stage ready to greet each graduate.  

We concluded by posing fo pictures with Mark Hanauer, the CDD official photographer, who generously donates his time to cover these events for CDD.  We then enjoyed refreshments and mingled in the happy atmosphere of a very special CDD event.

 

 

 

CDD Keynote Speech 6-30-09

                                  The Farmer’s Donkey

 One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway;  It just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the
donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his
back, the donkey was doing something amazing.  He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel
dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds  of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of
our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping; never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

CDD’s Fun Summer Program 2009

CROSSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE and GLOBAL INHERITANCE

                           Announce Summer eCycling Days

                                                             At

                                        ENVIORNMENTALAND

                          The First Environmental Theme Park

                                           6801 Hollywood Blvd

                                            Los Angeles, CA 90028

                                                     213.626.0073

Crossing the Digital Divide has partnered with Global Inheritance, the creators of Enviornmentaland, the first “environmental theme park.” Located in the heart of Hollywood, this unique park will offer your family a fun filled afternoon, that will inspire, entertain, educate and change the way you view the world.

At the theme park you can donate equipment to CDD for the next 3 months. Equipment donors will receive free entrance to Environmentaland, where they can take part in Interactive Art Shows, Movie Screenings, Live Musical Performances, Energy Playgrounds, and many other exciting programs. They will also receive a raffle ticket for valuable prizes, plus a tax receipt for a donation of working equipment. Working equipment will be reused, but non-working equipment is also accepted for “eCycling.”

Enviornmentaland doors are open daily from 10:00pm until 7:00pm with special events scheduled daily from July 4th through September 4th, 2009.For more details, please visit the CDD website at http://www.cddnp.org or GI website at http://www.globalinheritance.org. *For companies wishing to make a large donation, please contact CDD at 310-288-3567 to arrange a free pickup directly from your office.

Take a step off of the beaten path and enjoy this new venture full of rewarding experiences and invaluable information for you and your entire family.

Please help CDD make this event a success. Download this flyer http://www.cddnp.org/uploads/CDD_GI.doc and distribute in your neighborhood, church or office and help us get the word out today. All equipment donated will go to benefit CDD.  Thank you!

 

 

 

CDD EOC Walden House Report 6-30-09

            WaldenHouse                               

   Instructor End of Course  

                                                  Report

                                             By Chang Kim

 

Center Name:  Walden House

Beginning Date: May 26^th, 2009

Graduation Date:  June 30^th, 2009

Names of the four Instructors: Dan Kim, Kathy Whyte, Chang Kim, David Gaettelin

The class started with 12 students.  This session had a few turn over in Instructors with the exception of Dan Kim on the Tuesday Team who taught almost every class.  Despite being taught by various teachers the students showed up to class on time with a positive attitude and showed the great gratitude.

I came to substitute for two simultaneous classes in the third week of the session.  I have taught at Walden House before but this time things were very different.  I had five students back then and I had a co-teacher.  This time I taught ten students all by myself.  The small room with barely enough room to walk between the chairs and the table actually was a great advantage.  I was able to help, monitor, and lecture very easily since we were so close to each other in distance.

The lectures were well received and well responded by the students.  They asked good focused questions.  The questions were geared toward how this knowledge can help them for their future.

One of the classes I taught was about how to give a presentation.  I tried to make this class interactive by asking the students to share any advices in public speaking and/or job interviewing either from their own experiences or things they’ve learned.  I remember Eddie shared his own struggle of over-coming a bad habit of saying “uh” too much when he was speaking.  Eddie made me aware of the same habit and I tried to control it at least during that class.

We had two students in the class that actually had prior knowledge of computers and they were advanced in terms of the curriculum given by CDD.  However their presence in class was helpful because they helped out the students who were struggling and sometimes they explained some things and helped make it easier to understand for the other students.

The class ended on a high note with the entire class graduating in a very special ceremony on June 30^th.  We were all thrilled for the Walden House students who rose above challenges they faced in our own classroom to a great achievement.  We wish each well as they go into the job force and hope these new skills will help them build a bright new future.

CDD Course Report Uhuru 6-30-09

Instructor Course Report

By Ethan Resnick

  Center Name: The House of Uhuru      

 Beginning Date: May 26, 2009 

 Graduation Date:  July 2, 2009

 Names of the four Instructors: Klavdia and Becky, Ethan and David

 This session at Uhuru was a big success. The class began with 13 students, and all but one graduated. Sadly, the short 6-week session isn’t really enough time to give them all the technical skills they’ll need to compete in the job market, but this isn’t the goal of the curriculum. It’s designed to spark any interest that may be there and to take away the “intimidation factor” of computers. In those respects, it was very successful. The curriculum was also very effective in imparting life skills to the students. Throughout the course, students wrote an outline, a 500-word paper, and gave a presentation — skills that will never become out of date, even if the computers skills they learned eventually will. More than in previous sessions I’ve taught, the instructors also went beyond the lesson plan to convey additional messages to the students, most notably about valuing their time.

 Three of the four instructors had prior experience, something which really benefited the students. And, although there was a wider range in computer skills than usual, the instructors were able to effectively organize the class so that everyone would stay engaged. This was done primarily by having the more advanced students help those with less experience, but also through the use of groups.

 However, that’s not to say the session was without problems, but these were minor and had to do primarily with equipment failure, which, though a shame, really doesn’t speak to the character of the session or the students.

 Like always, the students were better than any teachers could ask for– enthusiastic, thankful, cooperative, and helpful to their peers. Only one student (Marcel) presented a problem and, in the end, he ended up experiencing the biggest transformation.

 Marcel started the session disengaged because he knew most of the material (he was young and had used computers on a day-to-day basis before being incarcerated) and he didn’t particularly want to be in the class. For the most part, he just didn’t participate, though he was also a distraction for others at times and he broke a few rules. Of course, he was given multiple stern warnings and, eventually, he cleaned up his act. He started assisting others in class and working harder on his own assignments. The instructors were worried that he wouldn’t finish his paper or meet the minimum word requirement, but, much to their surprise, he ended up writing one of the longest papers in the class. Upon presenting his story and goals, almost moved the instructors to tears. When it came time to pick a presenter for graduation, the majority of the class wanted him to do it, though he declined because he was too nervous.

 Another student who benefited drastically from this course was Paulette. She was one of the older students and had no computer experience. She had trouble hearing what the instructors were saying and seeing what was on the computer screen. She was also very shy. By the end of the course, however, Paulette had mastered the majority of the material, material that will definitely help her in the field she wants to pursue, medical dictation. Also, Paulette was nervous about giving her presentation throughout the session but, when the time finally came, all the other students cheered her on and she presented to great reception.

 In addition to those mentioned explicitly above, I know that the CDD class greatly benefited all the students, who will now have a more solid foundation on which to build their futures.

 I’m proud to be part of an organization that does so much good and I’m proud to be a part of these students’ lives.

             

 

CDD Course Report Cri-Help 7-2-09

Center Name:  CRI-HELP

 Beginning Date:             5/26/09

 Graduation Date:          6/30/09

 Names of the four Instructors:    Esteban Tellez, Maoli Yamaguchi, Lori Young; and Ashok Shah

 We started with 16 students and one of the students was too advanced for this basic course and had indicated she would drop out.  In the second session, we had 3 more students drop out due to the completion of their treatment at the Center.  So, we had 12 students and ALL 12 graduated!!!  We also had to substitute one of the instructors and a lot of credit goes to Esteban for teaching one class “solo”, despite this being his first teaching assignment – good job! 

 Overall, the course lectures and the lab time went smoothly.  The students learned about basic computers and Lori had brought some additional computer hardware parts for demonstration, which piqued the students’ interests and expanded their knowledge of different terminology.  The students also practiced their typing skills with Mavis Beacon, Windows basics (especially MS Word), and other features of navigating, transferring files, retrieving from recycle bin, etc. and also had exposure to the internet, which is always an exciting experience for most of them.

 One of the major challenges for most students relates to a 500 word essay-writing titled “My Personal Plan for Success”, and its presentation before the class.  The precursor involves creating an outline, a brain-storming discourse, which encompasses their past, present and their future, wherein the “computer course” would enhance their chances of success.  Many students had a hard time initially, but the instructors and a few students, made it seem easier, by the end of the course.  Besides the instructors, a couple of students, including Tony Jones, who had been very constructive with ideas for other students, made for a productive and conducive atmosphere with a spirit for co-operation and creativity in the classroom.  Two of the students, Monalisa Cruz and Jose (Bobby Perez, had shown a lot of enthusiasm and excitement, who made good impressions on the instructors.  A couple of them Bryant Bracy and Tim Durden who were a little weak, showed a tremendous amount of promise and dedication to the task at hand.

 It was interesting to have these students, formulate their ideas and their past into words for the essays and the presentations.  Words may often be poor “messengers”, for many of these students who had poor vocabulary, poor grammar and also lacked organizational skills.  Nonetheless, their MESSAGE was not lost, when these students presented their papers.  One could see that they had put their “heart and soul” into these essays.  One could see the “sparkle in their eyes” and their body language and gestures showed confidence and hope for the future, which seemed brighter than their dimming past of bad choices.  Once the students started believing in themselves, the “baby-steps” were already in the works for their progress.  These inherent challenges, made it more exciting for many instructors, some who stayed beyond class time, or assisted during break times, to assist the students to structure their thoughts and also complete their essays.  The instructors were instrumental in giving positive feedback to the presentations, and also with nuances for developing eye-contact with the audience, controlling the pitch and tone of delivery, etc.   This was one of the valuable experiences, the students gained besides the basic computer course.  The thoughts reminiscence of the verse from the poem “IF” by Rudyard Kipling:

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same

 The Cri-Help staff was very friendly and co-operative and made our jobs easier.  Last, but not the least, besides the Director of CDD, I would commend all the instructors for their efforts, dedication and true professionalism to help these students accomplish their first major success in years and embark upon a future full of promises and hope.

 

CDD Class Report 6-27-09

 

WEEKLY CLASS REPORT

Cri-Help/June 27, 2009

By Esteban Tellez 

 Opening Comments:

 Hello everyone. As you all know, we had our last session today. Maoli and I had a tough time getting everybody to complete their papers but….. we did it!!

Attendance:

All 12 students were in attendance and on time.

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

Maoli started by reminding everyone that it was the last chance to complete the three requirements to graduate: The presentation, the blog and the paper. We started the presentations right away and I was impressed with how well Maoli managed the presentation time so that everyone got the same amount of time. When Monalisa presented, Maoli politely interrupted her to coach her on making eye contact and keeping a steady tone of voice. She checked every name off as they presented. All students had something interesting to share about their plans for success

 1^ST TOPIC COVERED:

Maoli went over some announcement about the book project. (Students provided their phone number where they can be reached in three months) We announced that Monalisa will be representing our class at the ceremony and that Bobby is our alternate.

We couldn’t afford a break! We only had the second half of the class to finish typing the papers. We told everyone that the papers had to be typed so that we could verify the word count, otherwise it would be nearly impossible to be know how many words they had.

 

^2ND TOPIC COVERED:

We launched IE on one computer and had students send a statement to the blog. This only took about a minute per student.  Since time was limited, I had handout ready and told students to study in their own time at home. Right now, our main concern was the paper and the blog.

LAB TIME:

The rest lab time, we helped students with their paper. No one talked; all one could hear was the tapping of the keyboards as students nervously typed and typed. Most people thought they had less than 500 words but once they started checking with MS Word, word-count function, they realized how quickly words add up. George, Elizabeth and Bryant stayed way past 2:00 pm to finish their papers. Maoli and I went around the room with a floppy and saved every paper onto a floppy disk. Students stated that they want a copy to share with their families. I promised that I will print them and give them a copy on Tuesday. Now I just have to find an old computer that still has a floppy drive so that I can retrieve and print the papers.

 

 

FINAL NOTES:

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

 

I already thanked Maoli personally for all the HUGE help she provided to me, but I need to acknowledge her in this report as well. I am impressed with her professionalism and dedication to the students. But of course the Tuesday team has also been instrumental in keeping the class on track. I appreciate Lori and Ashok for believing in this and for their selfless dedication. I’d love to see all students graduate on Tuesday. As you all instructors know, it’s been a real challenge but I hope everyone is satisfied with the results. Thank you for reading such a long report but this being the last one, I thought , I’d make you read a bit more than usual.(kidding)  Thank you so much guys. I’ll see you all on Tuesday.

CDD Class Report Uhuru 6-23-09

                         WEEKLY CLASS REPORT

                         House of Uhuru 06/23/09

  

Attendance:

All 13 students were in the class.

 INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

Klavdia  took a roll and other class standards. Klavdia   reminded about a paper assignment due tonight, collected  papers from students and answered some questions.

 1^ST TOPIC COVERED:

4 students: Kathy, James, Lonnie, Gerson   made a speech and presented their assignments. The rest of the students  participated  in discussion and gave positive feedback to each of presenter.

 2^ND TOPIC COVERED:

Klavdia   covered   Module 3 : How to use Internet – students had access to Internet and were able to practice. 

LAB TIME:

During lab time students worked to finish their paper, 5 students wanted to type their presentations and Klavdia sent saved files to David email address for printing ( our printer is not working in class room).

FINAL NOTES:

2 computers didn’t   have access to Internet   today.

2 problems to be aware:

1. Marcel’s computer didn’t have an access to Internet, he finished typing his paper and file was saved , however I can’t send it via email. 

2. Paulette was a last one who didn’t finished typing her paper before 9 pm ( I checked her file , it has only 350 words and when I helped her to save  it, by mistake it was overwritten by another version. She has a copy of handwritten paper, I advised   her to add more to 500 words and present it for  Saturday  class.

CDD Class Report Uhruru 6-20-09

By Ethan Resnick

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

Someone had unplugged various cables around the room that the computers need to get online, so class began with a speech to the students, encouraging them to come forward with any information about who had been in the lab and reminding them of the importance of respecting CDD property.

1ST TOPIC COVERED:

David gave the presentation lecture, which went very well. Students actively participated and they came up with good lists of  “Do’s” and “Don’ts”

BREAK:

During break, two students came forth with information about who’d been in the labs. I don’t remember all the details, but basically, they said that counselors had been letting in other residents, even though students from the class had told the counselors that this wasn’t allowed. One student also said that a counselor had used the lab for personal uses and had even let her daughter use it.

2ND TOPIC COVERED:

Ethan covered the theoretical component of the How To Use the Intenet lesson (i.e. what the internet is, what are it’s uses, etc), but when it came time to do the practical stuff with Internet Explorer, we discovered that the Internet still wasn’t working. We weren’t able to fix it during class, so we skipped the first half of the How to Use the Internet document; Tuesday’s class will have to make it up.

David called in Mr. Banks while I was teaching and Mr. Banks, David, and I talked. Mr. Banks listened carefully as David told him about the various problems we’ve had this session – the broken computers, computers with changed settings, the unplugged and rearranged cables, a group of ants that we had found gathering around one of the computers, etc – and showed him the information that the students had come forth with during break. From all my experiences with Mr. Banks, I’ve seen him show great support for the CDD program and he’s helped us solve problems in the past, so I’m pretty confident that he will ensure that no one uses the lab without his authorization. He made it clear to the students that he and Mr. Carmichael are the only ones who can let residents into the lab; the counselors do not have this power.

LAB TIME:

Class was running a bit late from the morning lecture to the students, the various technical problems, and Mr. Banks coming in. So, since the students also couldn’t use the Internet, we decided to devote the remainder of lab time to papers. Before we let the students get to work, David gave an inspirational speech about becoming successful through drive and through valuing your time. He also made it VERY clear that the papers were due Tuesday. He asked if anyone needed help with their papers and everyone seemed ready. Tuesday’s class should be a good one.

FINAL NOTES:

Throughout class, Marcel wasn’t a distraction and he didn’t do anything he wasn’t supposed to. However, he didn’t participate actively, either.

Two computers are still not working.

CDD Class Report Cri-Help 6-16-09

 All 12 remaining students attended class today. George Schwalbe arrived around 7:45pm, but the staff informed us he would be late. He also left early during lab time, but he did complete the matching exam. Not sure whether to count him absent or not, but he has perfect attendance up until now.

Ashok started by going over MS Word, including font styles and sizes.  I went over the rest of Module 2. I had each student read half a page or a page until we finished the module. I discussed the clipboard, and the ”my computer” address bar. And the definitions of contiguous and hierarchy.

ADDITIONAL TOPICS COVERED We had some good questions about memory, and running out of memory. Including if the recycle bin could run out of space, or if it would help the memory to move files around to another location on the computer.

LAB TIME: After break, I went over the short definitions very quickly, and then we handed out the exam. As soon as students finished the exam, we graded them. We had a few 100%, a few -2, a few -4, and -6, -8. So pretty evenly distributed. Everyone completed the exam, so that was good. Then we started lab time. Some students worked on their papers and some worked on the computer. Ashok had some of the students demonstrate some of the workbook exercises. Ashok transferred some files for the students using a floppy disk. A few students did not get on the computer, including Tim, working on his paper, Monalisa, who was sick and George who left. So these students should get some extra assistance.