When we started doing the ‘Family Computing Workshops’ in December, we realized we did not have the capacity to deliver the number of workshops that would be required to meet our distribution goal with only a few parents showing up to each one. In the past two months we have implemented some changes to the program and found more success with a new family recruitment strategy. Unfortunately, we had to make some sacrifices which included reducing the length of the workshop from 3 hours to 1 hour by eliminating the hand-on portion of the workshop.  Although this limited the more personal and community oriented aspect of the workshop, we were able to take more time to work with our school partners to get more families to attend and hold the workshop in a bigger space.

We got some advice from our affiliate, Computers for Youth (CFY), an organization that has been giving away thousands of free computers to students with reduced/free lunches in New York City for many years. Being a member of their affiliate network has been very helpful. In times when we are unsure of our next step they have provided us with a wealth of experience.  Stemming from CFY’s suggestion, we gave some of our school partners a stipend in order to recruit parent volunteers who could make phone calls home to every parent in the grades selected for the program. If parents were not interested we had the volunteers record why so that we could use this data to improve the program in the future. The parents that were interested got another call reminding them when the workshop was taking place.

Improved Recruitment Flyer

Another suggestion CFY gave us, which we implemented in a few of the schools, was giving in class demonstrations to the students to get them excited about the program.  During the demonstrations we had volunteers show the students the features of the LATCH computer which included a demonstration of some of the educational games (that really got their attention). Once we had their interest we told the students they needed to do two things to get the computer: 1. Have their parents bring in a $10 deposit and pay the other $30 before the workshop date 2. Come with their parent/guardian to the one hour workshop at their school. We stressed to the students how much fun learning can be on the computer and that the LATCH computer would be their own.

This new approach has been very successful spreading the word about LATCH to more families. We have now distributed 210 computers and are half way to our goal, providing more Baltimore City students with a center for home learning every week!

Regardless, we have to go back to the drawing board and think of new ways we can help schools inform more parents about this opportunity. We will be making a poster for each school to hang up by the front office. We hope the poster will remind students to talk to their parents about L@TCH and remind parents to sign up for the program.

Gayle and I have also been considering the possibility of having a high school student go to the schools to demonstrate of a couple of the educational software programs that come on the L@TCH computers. We are still planning the demonstration and discussing this possibility with our school partners.

L@TCH is a wonderful program and I think so many students can benefit from it, it’s just a matter of finding ways to inform families that the opportunity is there.

I welcome any feedback or suggestions!

One of the most essential pieces of the LATCH program is the Family Computing Workshop which we require families to attend before they receive their computers. It is not enough to just provide computers for students and their parents, we want to give wrap around support with the computers to insure they are used as an educational and informational tool.

The workshops take place at the schools or in a nearby community facility so that families know the location and it is easily accessible. We make sure the workshop environment is comfortable and friendly by having the participants fill out name tags so we can get to know them. The workshop is not only teaching but facilitating discussion and encouraging questions.

We start off the first half of the workshop in a classroom, away from the computers. First, the mission of L@TCH is explained, we let families know the purpose of this program and how it works. We then transition to an activity where families discuss all the possible outlets the internet can be used for. All the ideas end up fitting into three categories entertainment, information and communication. After families see all the uses and benefits the internet possesses, we move on to talk about the dangers.

When discussing internet safety we cover predators, cyber bullies and griefers (video game bullies). We remind parents to monitor who their child is talking to, forbid their children to enter chat rooms, become their friend on Facebook, tell their children to never lie about their age and never give out too much information about themselves.   Parents then discuss cyber bullying and how they would be able to tell if their child was being bullied. We remind parents that although they could simply turn off the computer and the bullying would be over, to the children this would be like turning off their social life. We also tell parents to talk to their child about not becoming the cyber bully.

In the second part of the workshop we move to the computer lab. Here we ask parents to Google ‘Homework Help,’ just so they see how many millions of hits come up and we give them time to explore some of these resources. We show parents how to help their children with research and how they can find out which sites give valuable, unbiased information.

When the workshop is over we ask those who do not have email addresses to stay after and we help them get one.  This is my favorite part of the workshop, parents get excited to have an email address to give to their friends and family.  Their enthusiasm makes me so glad to be working to provide families with a new form of communication and learning.

Everyone we work with to make L@TCH possible is important to the success of the program but, teachers are especially vital. A teacher can inspire a student to reach their potential and encourage parents to take an active role in their child’s academic future. This major influence is achieved within the confines of the classroom but when every family is connected with a home computer there are few limits to what a teacher can accomplish!

When teachers use the internet as a tool they act as a window to parents, providing them with a clear view of their child’s progress and attendance. When every family has a home computer teachers are able to supplement their lessons by recommending learning software or online resources to students who may be falling behind.

Last week, for the first time, I encountered a teacher who refused to give her email address and did not want anything to do with a home computer. She stated that she doesn’t just give out her email address to anyone. As my supervisor Gayle so eloquently put it, “that’s counter-L@TCH!” Being able to convince teachers the program will make their jobs easier and help their students is an art I have yet to master. Since there are so many benefits that come with students having home computers, I am confident that I will be able to persuade teachers like this to see the doors L@TCH can open.

Some teachers do not need persuasion, they see the opportunities L@TCH presents for them and their students right away. Another teacher I met with this past week is a good example. She was so excited about the program she couldn’t wait to get started and she couldn’t thank us enough for bringing the program to her school. She even said she would volunteer her extra time to teach family computer workshops at her school. Teachers like this, who are so passionate about new opportunities for their students, are the ones that will help not only to make the program a success but help their student’s achieve success in the classroom.

Having a clear and executable plan not only gives an initiative or program a course of action for those bringing it to fruition, it also helps when sharing your vision with others involved, providing a view of the big picture.

For L@TCH, we broke our plan into four phases. As we progress through the program these phases enable me to ask our school partners for certain information while making sure they do not lose sight of the overarching goals.  The four phases of L@TCH are: Teacher Awareness, Family Recruitment, Training and Distribution and finally Evaluation.

Teacher Awareness is first because it may be the most important phase. If we did not have the support of the teachers, the program may not be successful. We want to enable teachers to add more technology based lessons to their curriculum and keep in touch with parents more easily. In order to track the effectiveness of the program in the classroom, we are asking teachers to fill out a brief survey on Survey Monkey in the first semester, before computers are distributed and then again in the second semester after distribution. In summary, the survey will help us gauge how many technology based lessons are taught in each classroom, how comfortable students are with technology and the ways parents are involved in their child’s academic career.

L@TCH Family Recruitment Flyer

At the moment I am pushing along the Family Recruitment phase which relies heavily on our school partners. Although we provide schools with some materials for recruitment, they must seek out families who will benefit from a home computer. We will begin putting a sample L@TCH computer in each school as a recruitment tool so that families can interact with the computer before signing up for the program.

Before we distribute the home computers the student and one parent must attend a ‘Family Computing Workshop.’ At the workshop community volunteers will teach families about basic computer set up, function and most importantly online safety.  We will also introduce parents to the BCPS Parent Portal, an excellent resource that makes student grades, attendance and progress readily available to parents. Our school partners hold the workshops on their terms, they decide on the location and date of each workshop.

Finally, the evaluation phase of the program will utilize the teacher surveys as well as group parent interviews to measure how effective L@TCH was in engaging parents and improving home learning. More details on the evaluation phase to come!

A latch is a connector, it joins two things together. Releasing a latch opens doors.

L@TCH (Let’s All Take Computers Home) is program that provides Baltimore City students and their families with a home computer. It has been proven that the more involved a parent becomes in their child’s education, the more successful their academic career will be. With a home computer parents can more easily connect with teachers. When students see their parents using technology they will mirror this behavior, L@TCH connects child and parent by encouraging them to use and learn about technology side by side.  Families who receive L@TCH computers also get 30 educational software titles that comes loaded on the computers. This computer can become a learning center for home. Interaction with a home computer can open doors for students by introducing them to technology and preparing them for the work force of the 21^st century.

My name is Devon Smolca, I am a Digital Arts Service Corps VISTA working on the L@TCH program with my supervisor Gayle Carney, executive director of the Center for Community Technology Services. We work in partnership with the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition with funding from the Abell Foundation. I will be updating this blog with details of the program’s progression. I want to inspire those who are interested in starting a computer initiative in their town or city but are unsure where to start. I will also be posting unique experiences with the L@TCH program from the perspective of teachers, students, parents and principles to show the impact computers can have on communities. I want to use this blog to hook L@TCH into the global community to increase awareness concerning the impact technology has in empowering lives and strengthening minds.

Discussion and feedback  is encouraged and appreciated!