|
What if a group of individuals who
were dedicated to positive social change, grass root organizing,
and committed to improving the quality of their lives and that of
their neighbors, had access to the latest in communication technology
and the skills to utilize them? What if this technology could enable
them to create a “people’s network”, which could
bridge thousands of miles? What if we could demonstrate how this
could be done from rural Down East Maine? What would it take to
make this revolutionary concept a reality?
To start with you would need a core
of dedicated people who have committed their lives to continually
improving the quality of their collective lives. These would be
ordinary people with extraordinary vision. It would be a community
where people from all walks of life invest in each other’s
unique abilities. They would possess the skills of every day life,
from managing family budgets to the demands of full time employment.
What they would share in common is a vision of a world where people
regardless of color, religion, economic status, age, or nation of
origin can reach out to each other to make a difference.
You would need an organization that has demonstrated it has the
ability to bring individuals and groups together. This organization
would provide the administrative structure to generate the necessary
resources. But more than anything else this organization must be
open to questions. It is only by encouraging dialog, where all voices
can be heard, that true educational and social transformation can
take place. The Cobscook Community Learning Center was conceived
when a group of neighbors started asking basic questions about the
way their schools were run. Five years later they are asking a far
bigger question, what if our community learning had center state-of-the-art
technology.
The Vision
Tucked away in
rural Down East Maine is an organization, which holds the potential
to become a leader in the area of communication technology based
education and its impact on local communities, schools and other
grass roots organizations. This technology would include the following:
· High speed laptop computers in a wireless environment
· Videoconferencing equipment
· Smart Boards, LCD projectors, Document cameras
· Video and sound production
The plan would fall into four overlapping divisions.
Administrative
Videoconferencing / Distance Learning Center
Technology Resource Center
Video and Sound Production Studio
Getting The Word Out
The CCLC recognizes we live in an age where
certain technology, with the click of a mouse, can transport the
average individual to mountains of information and to any corner
of the world. Through the use of computers, not only has our life
improved on many levels, but the walls of distance disappear and
people can share their cultures, struggles and success regardless
of the miles that separate them. Through the use of videoconferencing
this exchange can take place not in months or weeks not even in
a few days, but instantly. The technologies exist to turn the CCLC
into a model learning center whose impact reaches far beyond its
own neighborhood. With the right equipment the CCLC could change
the paradigm by which community based learning centers exist and
operate. The CCLC would demonstrate creative ways to harness this
technology, which for the most part has not found its way to the
grass roots community learning centers in our society.
Administration
The CCLC will
build its technological infrastructure from the ground up. The first
stage will be building its administrative capabilities. We would
need four high speed computers and the following office equipment:
fax, copier, speaker phone, four regular phones, filing cabinets,
four desks, four office chairs and one conference table with appropriate
chairs and lighting. These workstations will provide support for
the day to day administrative functions of the CCLC. In addition
they will be utilized by the various directors. These administrative
activities will be conducted out of the first building to begin
construction in the fall of 2003. Select staff members will design
and lay the groundwork for the overall technology plan from this
office. We will build a technological foundation to bridge the digital
divide by creating innovative digital opportunities.
Videoconferencing / Distance
learning Center
In today’s
sophisticated technology based world it is possible to communicate
in many different formats. One of the most dramatic and effective
is through videoconferencing. In educational contexts it is being
used to expand the concept of distance learning. Students can take
courses, which were once unavailable to them because of their rural
location, through videoconferencing. Corporate America has been
using videoconferencing for years. It enables professionals to consult
with other professionals located thousands of miles apart. The CCLC
would help to create the first ever peoples network using videoconferencing
to link community groups around the world. The goal would be to
provide them with a dynamic forum to share successes, failures and
to work on solutions to common problems. This people’s network
could become the backbone of a social movement stretching across
the country and possibly the world. Using this technology the CCLC
will become the 21st century version of the town green for groups
regardless of their physical location. A few years ago the possibility
a network of ordinary people meeting face to face over videoconferencing
would have been beyond most everyone’s means, but the cost
of the equipment and the cost of connectivity have fallen dramatically.
What is needed is for one group to take the first step to show others
the great potential videoconferencing has on a grass roots level.
We feel the CCLC is the ideal candidate. In addition we will be
providing our own community with a variety of distance learning
courses. We will also make avaible to others around the country
our unique Down East experiences. We will become a full service
videoconferencing center dedicated to breaking down the walls of
separation and bridging gaps created by ignorance.
Technology Resource Center
The Technology Resource Center will provide
CCLC community members with the opportunity to work with some of
latest educational technology. In today’s society the great
advances made in the digital revolution have not always found their
way into the lives of ordinary people. Many of our neighbors are
not fortunate enough to have either the financial resources or education
to take full advantage of this digital world. The CCLC proposes
to address this inequality in our backyard by providing a technology
center, which would be a safe harbor for all members of our community
to enter the world of computers, video production and sound recording.
We will create a wireless campus to enable connectivity from virtually
any location on the grounds of the CCLC. This will encourage individuals
to access the digital world capabilities from classrooms, art studios
or under a tree. The CCLC campus will serve as a computer hub where
local folks regardless of their previous education or past experiences
can begin their own journey of exploration into cyber space. In
the classrooms, community center, hallways and dormitories, the
CCLC wireless campus will be connected to the world. The CCLC campus
computers will help our neighbors bridge the digital divide, which
has left millions of low income people unable to gain access. The
walls of fear built from years of feeling unwelcome in this new
high tech world will be overcome by the commitment of the CCLC staff
to train and encourage all to become computer literate.
Video and Sound Production
Center
Working with state-of-the-art low-end professional
video and sound recording equipment the CCLC will produce professional
quality videos and recordings of the region, its people and cultural
gatherings. These educational videos, tapes and CDs will be made
avaible to groups and individuals from around the world. This will
be a major opportunity to provide students in the area with marketable
skills associated with video production. Trained cadres of local
high schools students armed with video cameras will be avaible to
help groups to record their stories either on sound or through video.
From the Passamaquoddy Native American in the area to local fishermen
there are many stories to be told from the point-of-view of the
people who lived them. Today’s professional video productions
can be made at a fraction of the cost just a few years ago. Students,
both young and old, will move from apprentices to journeymen on
to the master level acquiring the skills necessary to pursue carriers
in video and sound production. They would also be able to help other
groups who have important stories to be told but lack the equipment
and expertise.
Getting the Word Out
A major component of CCLC’s mission is
to spread the word across the country of what we accomplish with
the technology both from a programming effort and as resources to
other interested in acquiring similar capabilities. To this end
CCLC staff members will be prepared to travel as necessary to advise
other groups. We will act as unpaid consultants to insure like-minded
groups get the best advice on equipment and functionality. With
high tech equipment that some folks may be unfamiliar with what
they would need to be able to consult with an organization they
can trust to insure they get the most from their dollar. The CCLC
is prepared to play that role. And by aggressively helping to spread
the word we will quicken the day that the people’s network
becomes a reality.
Conclusion
Webster provides a number of definitions for
the word vision. The one that comes the closest to our use is; A
person or thing of extraordinary beauty. Our vision is the celebration
of ordinary people doing some extraordinary things.
With the right resources we can translate our vision into a beautiful
thing.
|
