FW: Digital Steppingstones Workshops

[Victoria Vrana]

Please pass this announcement to those working with information
technology to close the digital divide, particiularly through schools,
libraries, and community centers.

“Digital Steppingstones: Smart Strategies for Underserved Communities in
the Information Age,” is the first of five regional workshops on
information technology programs to be offered by the Tomás Rivera Policy
Institute during the spring of 2001.

The goal of the workshops is to bring together regional experts to share
their exemplary practical uses of technology in schools, libraries and
community centers. This first workshop will be held in Miami on
Thursday, February 8th, 2001 at the Hyatt-Regency, Miami.

The Digital Steppingstones (DSS) initiative explores the practical uses
of technology in public access centers in low-income and minority
communities. Funded by a multi-year grant from the W.K. Kellogg
Foundation, DSS has become an integral part of TRPI’s on-going efforts
to reduce the gap in access to information technologies and related
training and services faced by urban underserved communities.

Practitioners from schools, libraries and community centers will learn
how to improve or start programs that provide access to computer and
network resources in undeserved neighborhoods, including feasible
solutions to common funding and staff problems, and lessons learned from
exemplary models. By sharing knowledge and experiences about effective
and innovative ideas, this workshop will increase the participation of
disadvantaged communities in the digital age.

Topics to be explored:
Practical strategies for providing access to computer and network
resources in schools, libraries, and community centers.
Examples of successful information technology programs and strategies in
local public access centers.
Key resources for information on funding, digital literacy, curricular
and workforce needs.
How leadership is supporting efforts to access information technologies
in underserved communities.

This conference is for education administrators, IT program directors,
school technology coordinators, community organizers, and anyone
interested in increasing access to information technology for
minorities.

Judy Brown, Ph.D., Vice President of Programs and Development, Miami
Museum of Science will deliver the opening address. Three sessions will
discuss “How to Set Up an Information Technology Program,” “Funding for
a Sustainable Program,” and “Staff Development: Training for Maximal Use
of IT.” Panelists speaking to these topics include Chris Master,
Director of Instructional Services, Dade County School District;
Kristopher Smith, Center Director, Town Park Neighborhood Network
Center; Valerie Carrier, Principal, Riviera Middle School; Cheryl Lanie
Juarez, Project Director, Miami Museum of Science; and Wayne Rawlins,
Executive Director, Miami/Miami-Dade Weed and Seed.

The registration fee is $95. Registration reservations must be received
by January 26th 2001. To register for this or any of the succeeding
workshops, contact the TRPI Conference Coordinator, Leah Leander, by
mail at The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, 1050 N. Mills Ave.,
Claremont, CA 91711-6101, by phone at (909) 621-8897, fax (909)
621-8898, email dss at trpi.org, or on the Web at www.trpi.org/dss.

Other workshops:
February 20, Houston, Houston Museum of Natural Science
March 13, Chicago, University of Chicago Gleacher Center
March 15, New York City, Crowne Plaza Manhattan
March 28, Los Angeles, California Science Center

Richard Cutler, Ph.D.
Senior Research Associate
Tomás Rivera Policy Institute
Tel: 909/621-8897
Fax: 909/621-8898
www.trpi.org

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