Computer refurbishing program

[Luan Mendel]

We offered a 6-week summer computer refurbishing program to middle school 
students during 2003.  Students had to write an essay about why they were 
interested in participating, then six were selected.  The program met 3 
days per week and was scheduled for 2 hours, but almost every session went 
on for another hour or two after the allotted time because the kids didn't 
want to quit. 

Our tech staff person and a volunteer taught the program; they began with 
a Powerpoint presentation that explained the basics and moved up through 
the various hardware elements.  It was a huge success.  The main problem 
we encountered involved software installations on old hardware, but 
otherwise it went very well. 

The program proved to be a turning point for one of the six students, a 
young woman who had previously shown little interest in anything that went 
on in the center.  She had a very intuitive grasp of both hardware and 
software and has subsequently bloomed academically. 

It is a great way to put old hardware to good use, and as a consequence we 
now have an office full of donated machines waiting for the next TechEd 
class!

Good luck with the program,
Luan Mendel
Director of Program & Operations
THINK Together
www.thinkoc.org

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