School: George K. Porter Magnet
Level: Middle School
Target Topic: STEM & Digital Literacy (STEM Outreach)
Team Members: 11
Involved Grades: 7-8
Instagram: 129 followers, 21 posts
Posting Frequency: 3 times per week
Facebook: 2 followers, 8 posts/updates
Events: Technology Drive, Elderly Community Work Session
Number of Adults Reached: 120
Meeting Frequency: 2-3 times a week
Meeting Lengths: 30-60 minutes
Partner Organizations: Magnolia Gardens, Muse School
Overall Impact: After over 8 hours of visits to Magnolia Gardens, our impact in our partners lives was clear. Using technology to relive precious memories from the past was a gift that our partners were eternally grateful for. Applications like Google Earth and websites like Youtube showed them a world they had never been exposed to. Teaching them how to use these websites gave them a freedom they had not had in years. iPads and laptops were donated to Magnolia Gardens Community Home, for the elderly there to use as an improvement from PCs, allowing everyone to use them. Tutorials were also created to allow even those with no experience in technology to use the iPads and laptops.
Short Term:
Our short term benefits were measured through what our partners had to say and their emotional reactions during our visits. A song from childhood on YouTube caused one of our partners to cry happy tears.
Rain's first partner did not have a positive view on technology. Rather, he preferred doing things face-to-face rather than over the Internet. By teaching him, we changed his view on technology and he was more interested in learning during the second visit compared to the first.
In addition, our partners really looked forward to our visits. For example, Kailyn's partner said that he found himself looking forward to the visits of our group and that he believed that our idea was "a great idea to widen the horizons of seniors". He also thanked Kailyn for her vision and friendship that was developed over time as we visited the homes.
Long Term:
Magnolia Gardens had only two desktop computers, which made it impossible for bedridden patients to use them. As a result, by donating movable laptops and iPads, we were able to allow even those who are bedridden to use technology. To add on, most of the residents at Magnolia Gardens had no idea of how to even use the mousepad on the Chromebooks, so we taught even the most basic of basics to the residents, so that they can figure out how to follow the tutorials that we made for them. They can enjoy using the iPads and Chromebooks that we had donated to them for the foreseeable future. Some of their views on technology even changed a bit when they had more access and better understood how to use it. When technology was used as a way to relive old hobbies or look at places they had traveled, it became so much more powerful.
Level: Middle School
Target Topic: STEM & Digital Literacy (STEM Outreach)
Team Members: 11
Involved Grades: 7-8
Instagram: 129 followers, 21 posts
Posting Frequency: 3 times per week
Facebook: 2 followers, 8 posts/updates
Events: Technology Drive, Elderly Community Work Session
Number of Adults Reached: 120
Meeting Frequency: 2-3 times a week
Meeting Lengths: 30-60 minutes
Partner Organizations: Magnolia Gardens, Muse School
Overall Impact: After over 8 hours of visits to Magnolia Gardens, our impact in our partners lives was clear. Using technology to relive precious memories from the past was a gift that our partners were eternally grateful for. Applications like Google Earth and websites like Youtube showed them a world they had never been exposed to. Teaching them how to use these websites gave them a freedom they had not had in years. iPads and laptops were donated to Magnolia Gardens Community Home, for the elderly there to use as an improvement from PCs, allowing everyone to use them. Tutorials were also created to allow even those with no experience in technology to use the iPads and laptops.
Short Term:
Our short term benefits were measured through what our partners had to say and their emotional reactions during our visits. A song from childhood on YouTube caused one of our partners to cry happy tears.
Rain's first partner did not have a positive view on technology. Rather, he preferred doing things face-to-face rather than over the Internet. By teaching him, we changed his view on technology and he was more interested in learning during the second visit compared to the first.
In addition, our partners really looked forward to our visits. For example, Kailyn's partner said that he found himself looking forward to the visits of our group and that he believed that our idea was "a great idea to widen the horizons of seniors". He also thanked Kailyn for her vision and friendship that was developed over time as we visited the homes.
Long Term:
Magnolia Gardens had only two desktop computers, which made it impossible for bedridden patients to use them. As a result, by donating movable laptops and iPads, we were able to allow even those who are bedridden to use technology. To add on, most of the residents at Magnolia Gardens had no idea of how to even use the mousepad on the Chromebooks, so we taught even the most basic of basics to the residents, so that they can figure out how to follow the tutorials that we made for them. They can enjoy using the iPads and Chromebooks that we had donated to them for the foreseeable future. Some of their views on technology even changed a bit when they had more access and better understood how to use it. When technology was used as a way to relive old hobbies or look at places they had traveled, it became so much more powerful.
