Service Learning
What is service learning? National Youth Leadership Council
(NYLC) defines it as “a method of instruction that emphasizes both the
service and the learning goals in such a way that both occur and are enriched
by each other” (3). The fairly new concept of service learning can
be beneficial in so many aspects. Just to list a few of the benefits
for students that have been noted about service learning: it improves self
image, leading to more confidence and competence; a feeling of control
and importance in community, group work skills, increases social and civic
responsibility, increases critical thinking skills, and additionally, the
students are able to become learners, teachers, achievers, and leaders,
all with one project (NYLC 8). How could this kind of activity not
benefit students? The question then becomes, of all the possible
ways to incorporate service learning into the classroom, what are some
of the subjects that should be incorporated into service learning?
Technology
Technology is one of the best subjects to incorporate service learning
into because it is one that is rapidly influencing our lives. Every
day it is becoming more and more prevalent and becoming increasingly imperative
that students understand it. Unfortunately, while some students readily
embrace technology, there are some students that do not understand it and
do not want to use it beyond the typical use of aol chat rooms and Internet
surfing. Sally Spencer, and activist for service learning programs
states, “I have to say, the students as a whole are not very fond of the
use of technology except when it saves them time. They are mostly freshmen
and not as computer literate as the popular press suggests. They are fond
of instant messaging and surfing the web, but not much more beyond that.
Also, I think the quality of the writing--even basic grammar--is low which
may be related to the 'casual' tone of emails.” Through the implementation
of service learning, some of this can be solved. It is possible to
teach the students more than the typical chat rooms, but then even better,
they can productively pass on the information they learn to help other.
Another problem with technology they relate to is that people are not getting
the social interaction they need. What better way to solve the social
interaction dilemma of technology than to have people who are great with
technology but not social skills help those that do not understand technology
improve their abilities? In essence, this is the theory behind service
learning. By combining service learning with technology, students
that are unfamiliar with computers will have the chance to learn, those
that are good with computers will get better, and all groups of students
will improve their social and group skills, improve the communities, learn
how to make a difference, become leaders and achievers, while at the same
time benefiting the people around them.
Eric Hartman: TechServ
In efforts to find information for this paper, there were two main
sources that I consulted, the Internet and a listserve that I am involved
with. Although I consulted these separately, I discovered that they
are not mutually exclusive. The people that answered my question
of, how to implement service learning into technology for high school or
college level students, were extremely helpful and gave me wonderful ideas.
One of the responses that I got back was from Eric Hartman, a Service-Learning
Consultant at the Community College of Allegheny County. He wrote:
I work with TechServe, a program in which middle school girls receive
technology education and use their new skills to design fliers, etc., for
a woman's homeless shelter, and the Digital Divide Video Project, a program
in which high school students are learning digital video editing skills
and using those skills to design a PSA about the divide and how the public
can work to address it.
One of the aspects that I thought was wonderful about this is that middle school girls, the ones that are least likely to really enjoy computers, were given a project that they really have the chance to enjoy and learn from. In this particular project, the girls are improving their technology skills with computer design to bring awareness to the problems of the homeless shelter, one of the biggest ones being the digital divide that concerns so many. Thus, not only are the girls learning more computer literacy, actively partaking in a very real problem in their community, but they are also learning that they can make a difference in helping the diminish the digital divide. Hartman also gave me the email address www.pitt.edu/~psla, so that I could look up more information regarding the program he works with, “Wired for Service”. While I was investigating this site, I also found technology and service learning through Faith Tech. “Faith Tech brings technology education to those who need it most –those who are in the Digital Divide. Computer learning labs and educational programs are placed in Episcopal churches. Classes are free and open to the public. Students at Faith Tech Centers are encouraged to volunteer time in their communities in exchange for the classes” (http://www.faithtechcenter.com/). Thus, the students are getting class credit for helping out people that do not have the computer experience needed in the society today. It is important to note that the students will also be learning because in order to teach information about technology, one must really know how to do it.
Technology Consulting in the Community
Another email I received was from Joe Mertz, director of the Center
for University Outreach at Carnegie Mellon. Mertz and his co-worker
Kathy Schroerlucke have developed a course on Technology Consulting in
the Community:
The class teaches students to be consultants: first by clarifying
what their role is and then by leading them through a process of investigating
the community organization's current situation, analyzing their problems
and opportunities, designing and negotiating a scope of work and a work
plan, documenting evidence of increased capacity, and providing recommendations
for sustaining the gains that have been made.
The student's consulting goal is to increase the technical capacity of the community partner to use, plan for and manage technology. By focusing on the community partner, the consultant works to expand the technical capacity of the partner's organization. Technical capacity is defined as the value of technology to the organization, which is realized by well functioning computing and networking systems, and just as importantly, by staff who have the knowledge and practices to use them productively. Increasing technical capacity is linked directly to the organization's mission. The student consultant seeks opportunities and effective ways for the community partner to apply technology in order to accomplish the organization's mission. (http://outreach.mac.cc.cmu.edu/tcinc/AboutTheCourse/ABTC-HomePage.html)
Like the last example, the students are working towards helping others; however, in this case, instead of helping individuals, they are making an entire company run more efficiently. By doing this, the students are forced to really understand the components of becoming a technology consultant. Unlike simply reading information out of a text book and memorizing it, through this project, they are responsible to other people. How much they learn and how much they understand is reflected in their work. I believe that when students know they have an obligation to other people and not just themselves, the quality of their work greatly escalates. Thus, the students are learning their information better so that then they go into the work force, they have a better understanding. Additionally, the company they are doing their service learning with now has better resources to help others with.
Kapi'olani Community College
One of the websites that I discovered that was extremely interesting
was Kapi'olani Community College (KCC). This College has the obstacle
of having many ESL students so this particular service learning project
was interesting because it not only combined service learning and technology,
but also ways to work around the language barrier.
During a semester, students worked in small groups to produce brochures, reports, or World Wide Web sites for various community or campus organizations. One group worked with an arts council to produce a brochure about art works and museums on campus. A second group coordinated with a community hospital to help produce a newsletter. A third group worked with the local Alzheimer's association to produce their Web page. A fourth group developed an elaborate Web site for an educational group, the Hawai'i Writing Project. Each group was responsible for interviewing their partners, finding out what kinds of information they wanted published, writing and editing the content, preparing the layout, checking the final copy with their partners, and publishing the work.
Technology in these projects was used not only for production and publishing of the document, but also for maintaining communication with community partners. For example, students used e-mail to initiate and maintain contact with the community partners, to ask follow-up questions, and sometimes to conduct informal or formal interviews. Students thus learned to use computer-mediated communication to help overcome obstacles of time, distance, and language. (http://www.gse.uci.edu/markw/service.html)
I really liked the way that this was set up because the students had a variety of options to choose from. They worked with everything from making brochures and websites to helping people navigate the Internet. Through the use of technology and things like email, the students also did not have the pressure of language. They had the time to figure out what they were going to say. Additionally, by helping those in the community with technology, they were improving their English skills. Through this project, the students became more confident in helping others and learning English and technology.
Learning in Community at the U of I
There are also new great service learning classes on the University
of Illinois campus. Recently, there has been a push for service learning.
The service learning program on the U of I campus is called Learning in
Community (Linc). Linc offers a variety of courses ranging from Habitat
for Humanity, Computer Curriculum Development, and Unity East Grade School.
There are a total of nine programs; however, the amazing thing is that
all nine of them involve technology in some way.
One of the goals for the Habitat for Humanity project is to have:
Website scheduling and document creation project. Each group that
builds a Habitat house needs a work schedule, however each schedule needs
to be different based on, among other things, the desired time to completion
and the amount of volunteer labor needed. A web-based schedule generator
is needed to adjust work schedules for each new HFH construction project.
How can schedules be revised if there is a delay or advance in schedule?
http://www.linc.uiuc.edu/projects/HFH/hfh_projects.html
The Unity East elementary school has a goal of creating “Technology-assisted mentoring programs in science and math could be developed. The mentors could be either college students or high-schools students” (http://www.linc.uiuc.edu/projects/UES/ues_projects.html). Both of these examples are extremely different, yet they both have the possibilities of helping the community as well as the students that are in the classes. One of the beautiful things about this program is how much is left open to the students. If they were to feel that more technology would be beneficial to a particular program, then they are given a little bit of freedom to do that. Linc is a great service learning program because it, “encourages engagement in real-world problems through an extended learning experience, providing a model of how students can learn while working together in a multidisciplinary setting, simultaneously benefiting themselves and the community” (http://www.linc.uiuc.edu/whatis.html). Through Linc, people have the opportunity to really learn multiple uses of technology, gain leadership skills, and help others in the community. It is an overall positive experience.
University of Hawaii at Manoa
A detailed example of how beneficial service learning in technology
can be is demonstrated through the course given by Alison Regan and John
Zuern at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The essential idea of
this particular project was that 24 students would help 50 community members
that lived in the largest public housing complex in the state by:
“Working in a computer lab run by a social service agency
on the grounds of the public housing complex, students conducted 20 afternoon
workshop and tutoring sessions for residents. For their writing projects,
students produced print and Web-based learning materials for members of
the target community, essays reflecting on their service learning experiences,
and formal research papers on topics such as literacy, public access to
technology, and social policies relating to computers and the Internet”
(Regan and Zuern 177-178).
Through this project, students had the opportunity to see first hand the inconstancies and digital divide that exists. No longer is this concept abstract, but by working and helping the community members, the students are able to put faces to the problem we are facing with technology. Regan and Zuern continue to state that, “Through a direct engagement with real audiences, students acquired writing and Web development skills and gained valuable experience teaching people whose life experiences, levels of literacy, and understanding of computer technology were different from their own” ( 178). These students were still learning many very important technology skills, but they were learning through a hands on method. Through this, they will be able to retain more information and also hopefully want to continue to help people become more technologically literate.
As one student of this service learning project states, “I learned more by practicing and experimenting than any text book could have taught me. I was work, but it was undoubtedly worth it. If there’s one thing that I’ve found out about computer literacy, it is that computer literacy is always expanding” (Regan and Zuern 188). There were also comments such as, “Our work will increase their computer abilities. It might also give them the feeling that they are not alone” (189). Both of these comments demonstrate a higher level of learning besides the obvious increase in technological skills for the students. Instead of only being the students, they had the chance to be students, teachers, leaders, and mentors; they were able to learn and make a difference at the same time. That is a great gift that we, as educators, can give to our students.
Integration of Service Learning
Really, the options are endless on how to incorporate technology into service learning. There are many options that were not discussed here. One idea is to implement a tutoring program for younger students on how to make a webpage, navigate the web, do PowerPoint or excel, etc. There is also the opportunity to teach people how to take apart, reassemble, or make computers. Additionally, there are people that might just want to know how to troubleshoot some problems they might be experiencing with their computers. This can all be done with younger students, or other people in the communities. Places such as the community park districts, libraries and retirement communities are always looking for people to aid with technology. Because of the amazing capacities that technology has, there are also possibilities to communicate with people in other communities through innovations such as email and instant messenger. The possibilities for technology and service learning are endless.
Another huge benefit that I saw with combining these two aspects
is that they can be applied at any other subject. Without a doubt
you can involve technology and service learning with anything from English
to Biology to Music. It is simply a matter of how the course is constructed.
With all the benefits that go along with service learning, who wouldn’t
want to implement at least one unit of service learning into their lesson
plans. For example, in my future English classes I hope to integrate
service learning by having my students work via the Internet and with another
class. One possible idea is that they will teach a class of the same
age level or a younger group a piece of literature. Then, each student
will be paired with a student from the other class and they will be required
to respond to an email at least once a week with their cooperating student
and also write an online response regarding their responses to the teaching
of literature or helping another student. With something like this
they are learning the literature better themselves, helping someone else
to understand it, and also becoming more familiar with technology.
Overall, service learning appears to be benefit to many causes.
With technology growing at such an exponential rate, it is logical to combine
technology and service learning to help the maximum amount of people possible.
Through this, students will be helping themselves, the community, and learning
and remembering more than they would have otherwise. Service learning
should be implemented through high school and college to help students
reach their highest potential.
Works Cited
Learning in Community. University of Illinois. April
10, 2002. <http://www.linc.uiuc.edu>.
Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance. April 10, 2002.
<http://www.pitt.edu/~psla/>.
Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance. April 10, 2002.
<http://www.faithtechcenter.com/>.
Regan, Alison and Zuern, John. Community-Service Learning
and Computer Mediated Advanced Composition: The Going back to Class, Getting
Lonline, and Giving Back Project. Computers and Composition.
Volume 17.2. p 117-195. Elsevier Science Inc. 2000.
Service Learning and Technology. TEOSL. April 10, 2002.
http://www.gse.uci.edu/markw/service.html
Technology Consulting in the Community. Carnegie Mellon.
April 10, 2002 <http://outreach.mac.cc.cmu.edu/tcinc/AboutTheCourse/ABTC-HomePage.html>
