May June 2010 Project for Interns

[Daniel Bassill]

We will have two new interns joining us from IIT next week. If you scroll through past discussions in this group you will see work that was done by previous interns. Below is a graphic that I'd like to see our new team work on. It shows the stages kids need to go through to move from first grade to first job.  In this article I point to a concept map that illustrates the same idea.

I've been trying to illustrate this concept for many years. When people say "pipeline to careers" or "diversity pipeline" or "birth to work" I want them to think of a process like building a hotel. The blueprints would show what work needs to be done from when the land is cleared and a hole dug for the foundation, to when the building is finished and the last furniture is installed. You can't do the last step before you do the step previous.

Thus, kids won't be ready for 21st century jobs, unless the work from first grade through college or vocational school is done.

When people look at a graphic like this, they should be able to click into each grade level, and find information in a web library, that show how other people are helping kids at that grade level, and that points to places where they can share ideas and communicate with people working with kids at that grade level. It should even show donors who fund tutor/mentor programs working with kids at that grade level.

This type of information should be available for each grade level, or for groups, such as elementary school, middle school, high school, etc. 

The challenge for our animators will be to try to convey this idea in a way that builds instant understanding and commitment among people who view their presentation.

Please post your questions and ideas and show your work plan once you start on this project.

[Daniel Bassill]

Today will be your first day with Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection.

You will spend your time reviewing the various web sites and building an understanding of what the purpose of each site is. The web sites are listed on this outline.

One of the links on this list of web sites is a "learning path"

During the first week on the job you will

a) review these the web sites and learning path, to build an understanding of what we do
b) introduce yourself by writing a blog article and posting it on the Ning site on your profile page.
c) every two or three days, write a summary of what you understand to be the purpose of Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection, based on your review of the web sites

Next week, Thursday and Friday, May 27 and 28 we host a conference at Loyola University. You are expected to attend. Bring your cameras and take pictures of what is happening. Post the pictures to this ning site. Use your blog to show what you learned at the conference.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we will be preparing for the conference and you will be asked to help.

[Daniel Bassill]

Your work schedule will be Monday through Friday, starting at 9am and working till 4:30pm. On Friday you will leave at 4pm as we close early.

Occasionally you will be asked to stay late to participate in one of the clubs, or another activity. On those days you can come in later in the morning.

Use the email feature of Ning to ask questions. Use the forums to post ideas about the project you will work on. Use blogs to show what you are learning.

Work together so both of you have a successful internship.

[Daniel Bassill]

In one section on the Tutor/Mentor Institute web site I have three PDF essays related to starting a program, the planning cycle, and operating principles. Here's the link.

It would be useful to translate the Steps for Starting a program PDF to a flash animation because we need to help people work through those steps. The Planning Cycle would also be useful.

After next week's conference I'll ask you to tell me which project you want to work on. Next week you might tell me a bit about how well you know Adobe Flash.

[Minsang Lee]

Ok I will read these pdf files during this weekend.
but Unfortunately I don't know flash. I need to study about flash.
Can you help me?

Have a nice weekend :)

[Daniel Bassill]

What the students have done in the past is teach themselves to use flash, using material on the internet. I suggest you try to contact Kudo or Peter who were here in January and ask them how they learned. Does Chuck know flash?

[Daniel Bassill]

Are there other visual tools that you are familiar with, that you use in your classwork? It's not necessary to you use flash if you have a different way to try to improve how we communicate these ideas.

[Daniel Bassill]

Today Dan talked about our role. He wants us to read his blog every day. Then he wants us to write about what he wrote about, in our own blog articles on Ning. If we can, he wants us to convert some of the graphics that he created with Quark Express (a desk top publishing application), and Power Point, into new graphics, that other people might be more likely to read and understand.

When we write about what Dan writes about, Dan wants us to tell people we know about our stories, so they will read them and share them with other people. This is a chain reaction,

that can reach thousands of people who might become volunteers, donors, or communicators who share this message with even more people.

Kudo created a presentation last winter that illustrates this concept,.

Dan wants us to use whatever talents we have to try to communicate these ideas, or to learn new talents, such as Flash, just as Kudo and Peter did.

One thing you might do is review the animation projects done in the past, and write stories about what these mean to students from Asia who attend IIT or other US universities.

[Jiwon Seo]

So. we set up Flash on my computer, and study Flash by the internet.
it is a little hard for me to find Flash program.
I believe that my skill of Flash is getting better

[Daniel Bassill]

We have Flash on the MacIntosh computer which you can use if you don't have it on your computer.