Volunteer Opportunities at Computer Clubhouses
University Mentor Initiative ~ 2004-5

Come to an upcoming event to learn about opportunities at local Computer Clubhouses!

Join us for this orientation session:

Girls and Technology
Wednesday, October 13, 2004, 6:00pm
Harvard Graduate School of Education
TIE Conference room, Longfellow, 3rd floor

RSVP or for more info, contact Rachel at: 2mentor@media.mit.edu







Current Clubhouse Needs and Opportunities


Young Activists Network (YAN)
YAN is an initiative that aims at organizing low-income youth so that they become agents of change in their neighborhood. We are looking for highly-motivated volunteers interested to help in any of the following activities: work with youth at Clubhouse sites on a weekly basis, develop new educational materials and activities, improve our website, implement new tools and many other things.

Girls and Technology
Support gender equity by volunteering to mentor on "Girls' Day," Mondays at the Museum of Science. Or, help launch a new program for girls at the Boys and Girls Club in Chelsea or the Blue Hill Boys and Girls Club.

Scratch Programming
Have fun trying out Scratch, a new graphical programming language being developed at the MIT Media Lab Lifelong Kindergarten group. Support Clubhouse youth using Scratch to make interactive art, mini-games, and other creations. Provide feedback to help in the development of this new language.

Tech Support
For those who want to help in other ways, local Clubhouses are also looking for people to provide tech support for computers, software, and networks.

You can mentor at any of the Boston-area Clubhouse locations.




About the Computer Clubhouse

The Computer Clubhouse is a worldwide network of after-school learning centers focusing on youth (ages 10-16) from low-income communities who would not otherwise have access to technological tools and activities.
Inner-city youth who come to the Clubhouse gain fluency with new technologies and become producers (not just consumers) of new computational media.
  Through projects related to their own interests, Clubhouse members design their own animations, robots, videogames, interactive newsletters, music, simulations, and multimedia presentations.

Clubhouse articles and websites

 Harvard GSE Ed. Magazine article, "Beyond the Digital Divide"

Intel Computer Clubhouse Network
locations worldwide

"Not Just Closing a Divide, but Leaping It" (New York Times)

Listen to the recent "Clubhouse report" ("The World", Public Radio Int'l)

"The Computer Clubhouse: Technological Fluency in the Inner City" (in High Technology and Low Income Communities, MIT Press)

Computer Clubhouse Network website (based at the Museum of Science, Boston)
Mentor Resources
Mentor Handbook, Sparks, and other useful resources


Questions? Contact Rachel at 2mentor@media.mit.edu