TECHNOLOGY AND LEARNING
Having a Blast at the Washington Intensive Learning Center
BY CHALON EMMONS
"I see students race to get here so they can get their spot at the computer. They love it," said Kevin Bailey. Bailey teaches middle school students and their undergraduate mentors to create web pages and movies in the Washington Intensive Learning Center UC Links (WILC UC Links) after-school program in Long Beach. Bailey knows how motivating it can be for kids to have access to computers after school, because he was once a student at Washington.
As an eighth grader, he worked as a student aide to the computer teacher. "When I was a student here," he said, "I was getting in a little trouble, and they told me I wouldn't be able to keep working on the computers if I kept getting in trouble. After that, I got straight A's." Now Bailey has returned to the school as a staff member to work with computers and to share his love of technology with a new generation of kids.
Kehau Fujikami also enjoys watching the kids explore computers after school. "It's great to see how much they like to work on the computer," she said. "Most of the kids don't have a computer at home. Volunteering in the after-school program reminds me not to take things for granted."
Fujikami has participated as a mentor in the WILC UC Links program for two years. Her involvement began when she was a student in an information systems course at CSU Long Beach taught by Professor Mike Godfrey. "At CSU Long Beach," Godfrey said, "we're trying to help our business administration students become more engaged in activities that have 'longer shelf-life' academic and civic development components." To achieve this goal, Godfrey requires his students to mentor youth in the WILC UC Links after-school program.
Washington Intensive Learning Center is "exactly the right spot for my students to become 'engaged,'" Godfrey said. Godfrey worked with the Long Beach BLAST (Better Learning After School Today) agency and with WILC computer teacher George Tsai to design a program where all participants—middle school students and undergraduates alike—would develop information literacy skills. During the first year of the program, Tsai taught middle school students and their mentors to create web pages. Undergraduates helped younger learners do research, conduct interviews, write, and organize information for web sites that explored such themes as "Good Ideas for Living" and "Make It Better."
Once children completed their web pages, they became program veterans. These veterans worked with Kevin Bailey and another computer teacher to make movies on the computer. Bailey loved teaching these advanced students to be movie-makers. "The kids had a blast, and it was the best experience I ever had. The kids did very productive, positive things with their movies. It was great to see kids talking with adults about their topics, and to see them doing all of this after school."
When Tsai left WILC, Bailey took over as primary teacher of middle school students and undergraduates in the WILC UC Links program. Bailey believes that the program is beneficial for the middle school students. "It's great that our kids get to build relationships with mentors who are in college," he said. Fujikami feels the same way. "The students are so proud to have a mentor," she said.
The WILC UC Links program offers middle school students the chance to work on computers. It also offers them an opportunity to develop friendships with college students. No wonder kids race to get there after school.
Chalon Emmons is editor of the UC Links Newsletter.
Internet2 Videoconferences Connect Partners from Mexico and California
Technology and Learning
Having a Blast at the Washington Intensive Learning Center
Evaluating Children’s Writing Development at Club Proteo
Picturing the University: A Study of Children’s Drawings
Links for Kids
UC Links and the Fifth Dimension: A Global Network Convenes in Amsterdam