City grants to help your community with technology

We are offering workshops and now accepting applications from community and neighborhood groups for the 2013 Technology Matching Fund.  Applications are due March 4.  Attend a workshop and learn more about the program and how to apply for a grant. First-time applicants are encouraged to attend. These grants provide up to $20,000 for projects that increase technology literacy and access or projects which use information technology to build community and diverse participation online. Applicant organizations must be non-profits or ad-hoc, be in Seattle and applying for projects focused on reaching Seattle communities.

Workshop to learn more:

Wednesday, Feb 6, 10am – 12pm
2100 Building at
2100 24th Ave S
http://www.seattle.gov/tech/calendar/default.htm#/?i=1

More information is also available at seattle.gov/tech/tmf/

See a list of the 2012 projects at seattle.gov/tech/tmf/Projects2012.htm

View all City grant opportunities at seattle.gov/grants

Visit Brainstorm.Seattle.gov to read our latest issue of Brainstorm.  Featured article is Jack Straw Offering Hands-on English Language Training.  There are several community events of interest in January:

• Joint Technology Matching Fund and Neighborhood Matching Fund Workshop, January 17, 6:00 to 7:30 at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center
• Ask the Mayor, January 23, 7:00 to 8:00 PM on Seattle Channel
• Inclusive Gigabit Libraries Forum, January 24, 10:30 to noon at Hyatt at Olive 8
• Catch Some (Air)Waves: An Information Session on Low Power Community Radio, January 24, 1:00 at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center

Read more about these events and other stories of community and technology interest at Brainstorm.Seattle.gov

The YTech’s Civic Voice Curriculum is a winner! On November 15, six youth programs will be receiving the first Colleen Willoughby Youth Civic Education Awards from the Seattle City Club. The curriculum helps develop the ability of youth to learn to produce digital media, and participate online to connect, collaborate and take action. The curriculum was developed by the YMCA in conjunction with the Puget SoundOff project, supported by the City of Seattle Department of Information Technology with Comcast. Chris Tugwell from the YMCA and David Keyes from the City of Seattle Community Technology Program recently presented the Puget SoundOff and Civic Voice Curriculum at the NCDD conference. You can see their NCDD presentation on Slideshare.

Jack Straw Productions, a multidisciplinary audio arts center in the University District, has been providing hands-on language and technology training to Vietnamese, Spanish and Amharic speaking youth at the Seattle World School, a public school for newcomers to the United States.

With support from the Technology Matching Fund in 2011, Jack Straw implemented a new writing, performance, and technology project with Seattle World School and the Vietnamese Friendship Association.  In this project, Vietnamese high school students worked with Jack Straw’s professional writers, vocal coaches, and audio engineers to write, perform, and record their own poetry.

The project grew out of Vietnamese Friendship Association’s concerns that their students were very shy and had difficulty speaking English in front of each other.  Jack Straw sent two actors/vocal coaches to the school twice a week to work with students in small groups reading out loud, with special attention to difficult sounds. As the students’ abilities and confidence in reading out loud began to grow, Jack Straw writers began working with the students to help with their writing and to build their English language skills by encouraging their creativity and giving the students a chance to play with the language. Listen to the student’s recording here.

Jack Straw also provided a flash drama PSA project called “Health Talk” at Seattle World School. Community partners included International Community Health Services and Refugee Women’s Alliance. The project provided literacy, technology, and school curriculum content support working with writers, actors, and audio engineers. Amharic and Spanish students learned about health and well being from an ICHS health care provider and assistant and applied that learning to produce PSAs in English. ICHS staff went over health topics and provided some information about how they can affect your overall wellbeing. The “Health Talk” PSAs are available here.

For more information about the project, contact Joan Rabinowitz at joan@jackstraw.org

Seattle’s Tony Perez, Office of Cable Communications director, serves on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Committee for Diversity in the Digital Age. Tony shared with us some information from the Diversity Committee’s October 3, 2012 meeting.

FCC Commissioner Rosenworcel commented on the importance of developing policies to increase women and minority representation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) jobs. According to the Commissioner, women currently occupy less than 25% and Hispanic/Latino and African Americans occupy only 6% of STEM jobs.  This is extremely important because STEM jobs are the fastest growing in our economy.

The Committee also heard from the Connect2Compete Program (C2C). According to C2C, 100 million Americans do not get broadband at home and 66 million Americans lack digital literacy. In addition to cost and digital literacy, C2C cited the lack of perceived relevance as an additional barrier to broadband adoption. C2C’s goal is to work with 10 cable operators in 20 states and community groups to bring Internet connections priced at $9.95 (for 2 years), $ 150 refurbished computers and digital literacy training to 500,000 students in 1,000 schools. During a two-month pilot in San Diego, 9% (819) of those eligible received discounted Internet service and 612 families bought computers through the program.

The Diversity Committee is also:

• Discussing research indicating that the number of minorities in radio and television has remained static or is declining. The Diversity Committee expects to collect data from the largest 20 telecom firms, largest 20 media companies and largest 20 high tech firms to gain a better understanding of the extent of minority representation in those fields.
• Sponsoring a study to learn about what barriers exist to minority ownership in media and what effect those barriers have on how minorities access critical information, such as emergency information and news related to healthcare, education, the environment and civic life. For example: is the media ecosystem providing Latinas with adequate information about cervical cancer and if not, could that be related to a lack of minority media ownership?
• Working to develop a report on specific market barriers to entry for minorities in media and technology jobs and look at potential market-based incentives to increase hiring of women and minorities.
• Studying the entrepreneurial opportunities created by unlicensed spectrum such as Wi-Fi. They are planning a workshop to raise the educational awareness level of minority entrepreneurs, women and small business owners to better understand the value proposition of unlicensed spectrum and hear best practices from those with experience on how to get new products and services to the market.

For more information on the FCC’s Diversity Committee work, visit FCC’s Committee for Diversity in the Digital Age or contact Tony Perez at tony.perez@seattle.gov.  You can also watch the October 3, 2012 meeting here. The Committee’s next meeting is in January 2013 at the FCC offices in Washington DC.

Learn more about what families can do on the Internet and where to go for training.  This week, December 3rd-8th, twenty community and cultural centers in Seattle are hosting open houses, individual assistance, and workshops at computer learning centers. See the Get Online Week list of sites and activities or contact Vicky Yuki at 206-233-7877 or vicky.yuki@seattle.gov.  Drop by to learn more about using the Internet, online job resources, consumer information, homework help and a world of activities online.

More About Get Online Week and public computing centers:
Get Online Week is being offered by participating centers in partnership with the City of Seattle Department of Information Technology and the Seattle Public Library.

The only way some people have access to computers, the Internet or technology training is to use the services of nearby public computing centers and libraries. Even for those with computers or Internet devices, these centers also offer valuable training in how to find and use essential services and learning materials online. Many of the centers offer instruction in other languages or specialize in serving specific residents, such as youth, seniors, or the disabled community.

Get Online Week started in 2010 as a one-day event at 10 participating centers in Seattle’s central and south neighborhoods. Get Online Weeks are also held in Europe. This Community Technology education program is part of the City’s effort to ensure digital inclusion and foster broadband adoption.

The Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) helps chronically homeless adults gain the skills they need in order to obtain and maintain employment, providing them with economic well-being, productivity and self-accomplishment.

Case managers and volunteers work with each client to address issues holding them back, like chronic homelessness, no high school diploma, mental illness, disability, and/or chemical dependency. DESC also works with employers within the community, such as Metropolitan Improvement District and Princess Tours, who are willing to work with and employ DESC clients, helping them achieve job longevity and success.

With support from the TMF in 2011, DESC has been able to take great strides in eliminating existing barriers that prevent homeless adults from securing and retaining livable wage jobs and stable, affordable housing. DESC was able to update the computer labs at the 216 Drop-In Center. Clients enrolled in their Connections program produced up-to-date resumes, cover letters, master applications and search for jobs online and master interview skills. Through the course of the grant, DESC helped more than 1400 clients.

The effects of Connections programming are noticeable, especially in clients like “Joe Smith.” When Joe arrived at Connections, he had recently lost his job and his unemployment compensation had quickly run out. Fortunately, he was a skilled welder and with a Connections focus, guidance and accessible computer lab, he was able to find work quickly. However, with most of his paychecks being spent on hotel stays, he lacked the ability to stabilize his housing situation. He returned to Connections, this time in search of financial guidance. He and his case manager created an action plan that included DESC’s free overnight shelter service, a monthly budget, savings account, and they set a date for when Joe could start looking for stable housing with his case manager. Within two months, and with only a couple of setbacks, Joe was a proud resident of his own apartment.

Case managers, volunteers and access to technology all made this process a bit smoother for Joe and many other folks with similar stories. For more information on this project, contact Jen Bliss.

This is the first Presidential Election that King County has voted all by mail. Voters are reminded to turn ballots into ballot drop boxes before 8 pm on November 6 or make sure the ballot is postmarked November 6 or earlier.

If you’re a new voter and you haven’t registered yet, it’s not too late. New voters can register in person until Oct 29. Here’s how:  http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/registration.aspx

Registered voters should receive ballots no later than October 23. Track your ballot packet and get questions answered at http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections.aspx.

The Seattle Channel has covered the election during the last few weeks, and a roundup of the video election coverage can be found below:

• Initiative 502 – The marijuana debate (CityClub, in partnership with the UW Debate)  – http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=5551206
• Referendum 74 – Same sex marriage (Seattle Speaks) – http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=3381202 
• Governor’s race  (City Inside/Out) – http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=3061227 
• Proposition 1 – Alaskan Way Seawall funding (Council discussion) – http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=216122 
• Election debate (City Inside/Out) – http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=306122
• Find more videos about this year’s election issues at http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/watchVideos.asp?program=Elections

 Don’t forget to vote on or before Nov. 6!

Over $75,000 in prizes was awarded in the Evergreen Apps Challenge on October 1 at Seattle City Hall. See the list of winners and try out their apps at http://www.evergreenapps.org/congratulations-to-the-winners-of-the-evergreen-apps-challenge/

Entries were reviewed by a panel of expert judges, including Francis Benjamin, of Washington State University; Adam Gentz, of BizXchange; Mónica Guzmán, of Geekwire; Susannah Malarkey, Executive Director of the Technology Alliance; Manny Medina, CEO of GroupTalent; Jason Preston, co-founder of Dent the Future; and Bill Schrier, Deputy Director of the Center for Digital Government.

Read what judge Monica Guzman had to say in her Seattle Times blog at  http://blogs.seattletimes.com/monica-guzman/2012/10/02/living-voters-guide-whichbus-win-top-honors-in-state-app-contest/#.UGtfv6ts8hM.twitter

The apps were assessed against a range of criteria including innovation, user experience and design, potential impact on Washington State, King County, and/or Seattle residents, visitors and businesses. They also had to be available for public use for the next year.

More than 100 people joined dignataries at the awards event, which  included Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, King County Executive Dow Constantine, and Washington Governor Chris Gregoire (via video).

Congratulations to the winners!

Ready to bookmark and load some exciting tools? Watch out for Which Bus, Living Voters Guide, Trash Backwards, Alike, Seattle Rainwatch, and Food Inspector! These new civic apps were chosen from twenty finalists in the first Evergreen Apps Challenge.

Mayor Mike McGinn and King County Executive Dow Constantine joined judges, developers and Conrad Saam of Urban Spoon at City Hall to celebrate the winners and award $75,000 in pizes. See more about the awards and contest. Take a look at the winners and links to the awesome apps.