USF JESUIT FOUNDATION Grant Application Coversheet
Name: Chris Brooks and David Wolber
Campus Address & Phone: Harney 529, 422-6451
E-mail Address: [email protected]
College/Division/Dept: Department of Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences
Title of Proposal/Project: Securing the Digital Bridge in Peru
Total Amount Requested: $5000
TYPE OF GRANT APPLICATION: (CHECK ONE) IGNATIAN SPIRITUALITY GRANT PEDAGOGY GRANT X RESEARCH GRANT COMMUNITY IN CONVERSATION GRANT
Include with this grant application coversheet—
A written proposal (2-5 single-spaced pages) that includes each of the following: Project Title. Statement of project’s purpose and relationship to the Foundation’s mission. Desired methodology, outcomes, and assessment standards. Timetable. Relationship to the applicant’s past and future experience, research, or teaching. Itemized budget with justification.
Written letter(s) of support/recommendation from the applicant’s immediate supervisor. Specific requirements for such recommendations are included in the proposal format section of the criteria. NOTE: the recommendation requirements are different for each category of grant.
GRANT DEADLINE: November 1, 2003__ or April 1, 2004_X_
Bridging the Digital Divide in Peru Wolber and Brooks Submit all documents to: Office of the Provost, LMR 4th Floor
Bridging the Digital Divide in Peru Wolber and Brooks Jesuit Foundation Grant Proposal Budget
If a category is not applicable to your type of grant leave it blank. Cost A. Personnel Costs (e.g., stipends or honoraria for staff, faculty, student assistants, $1600 x 2 = invited speakers, and benefits where applicable). Describe the responsibilities of $3200 each person listed, and justify costs:
B. Supplies. E.g., photocopying costs, refreshments, books; include justification for each item listed:
C. Hotel Accommodations & Per Diem. Include length of stay and calculate cost per day according to http://policyworks.gov/org/main/mt/homepage/mtt/perdiem/travel.shtml.
.
D. Airfare. Attach estimate from Clement Travel, Expedia, or Travelocity. $600 x 3 = $1,800.00
E. Other expenses. Itemize and include a brief statement justifying each expense.
Total Cost of Project:$5000
Amount requested from Jesuit Foundation:$5000
Bridging the Digital Divide in Peru Wolber and Brooks Project Title: Bridging the Digital Divide in Peru
Purpose During Spring Break 2004, two computer science faculty (Wolber and Brooks), along with eight CS students, traveled to Tacna, Peru and spent a week installing and networking computers at two local K-12 schools. The project was initiated by two of the Computer Science Department’s most successful alumni, Alberto Yepez and USF Board of Trustees member Teresa Win, who donated many of the computers we sent to Tacna (others were donated by USF). The trip was partially funded by a generous grant from the Jesuit Foundation, which paid the airline expenses for the participants. The project was a great success; we were able to supply both schools with up-to-date equipment, as well as the infrastructure needed to get both schools onto the Internet (providing reliable outside connectivity is an ongoing problem).
However, all of this work will be in vain if the resources are not used by the students and teachers. One of our greatest concerns is that the computers will lay unused due to lack of familiarity with the technology, particularly on the part of the teachers. To mitigate this, we would like to send two students back to Tacna over the summer to spend an extended period of time (approximately three weeks) to work with both the students and teachers and help them incorporate computers into their classrooms. This will also provide the project with some continuity; we are currently planning to return next spring with a new group of students, and this will help maintain relationships with the teachers and administration in Tacna.
Relationship to Foundation’s Mission The project supports the mission of the Jesuit Foundation in many ways, most directly in its emphasis on educating the whole person. The moral and social aspects of education are typically less emphasized in the sciences as compared to the humanities, which is unfortunate given the world we live in and the increasing importance of technology and science in social and political policy decisions. We found that the initial Peru trip gave the students an opportunity to experience the joy of using their technical knowledge to directly help people, as well as the self- confidence that comes from working hard and accomplishing a significant tangible result. It also provided students with first-hand experience regarding one of the key societal issues of computing—the disparity between the haves and have nots and how lack of access to information can be a significant detriment to the building of a society. The poverty and lack of access was an eye-opener for many of the students, and they saw first-hand how they can make a huge difference in people’s lives.
Methodology, Outcomes, and Assessment
The goal of this trip, as described above, is to follow up on our original project and provide support and education for the teachers and students at Cristo Rey and Miguel Pro schools in Tacna, Peru. This follow-up will also provide us with an opportunity to assess the results of our trip before planning a trip for next year's Spring Break; we'll be able to observe, four months later, what was useful and what was not.
Bridging the Digital Divide in Peru Wolber and Brooks Before the trip, we plan to spend a great deal of time preparing documentation and tutorials for both the teachers and the students. As this is primarily a “teaching trip,” we will not be bringing significant amounts of equipment with us. We plan to develop suggestions for how computers can be used at all levels within both schools. Some activities we would like to assist with include:
•System administration. We feel that it is essential to get the students actively involved in the administration and maintenance of their computers. After all, the students who went to Tacna in March acquired much of their practical knowledge by working as assistants at ITS or within the CS department. • Basic programming. During our initial visit, several students expressed an interest in learning to program in Java. We would like to create a set of basic tutorials that will encourage students to learn to program and potentially pursue this as a career. •Reading and spelling. In our initial trip, we set up a lab for younger (K-3) students. In this case, the students were very excited about using the computers, but the teachers were more apprehensive. We would like to help the teachers learn how to use this technology effectively by showing them how to use programs for helping learn the basics of (for example) reading and spelling. •Web design/graphic design. We would also like to help the students at both schools learn to use the computers to tell the world about themselves. The USF students will install a web server, teach system administrators how to maintain it, and teach students how to construct and deploy web pages for projects such as an on-line school newspaper. •Teacher tutorials. We would also like to work with the teachers in small groups to help them brainstorm about ways that they can integrate computers into their classes.
We are proposing to send two students to Tacna for a period of approximately 3 weeks to accomplish these goals. Father Fred Green, who directs the Miguel Pro school, has offered to allow USF students to stay in the same housing that is used for the Jesuit Volunteers who teach at Miguel Pro. In addition, we propose to pay both students a monthly stipend equivalent to what they would earn if they worked here at USF. This will help defray their expenses and make it easier for the students to be away from home for several weeks.
We will select the students by advertising both positions openly to all USF students. Preference will be given to: 1) students who participated in the March trip 2) students who are fluent in Spanish and 3) students with some system administration experience. We expect to train both students on the details of how the Peru machines are configured before the trip.
We are also proposing to send one faculty member for a shorter period of time (4 or 5 days). This faculty member will accompany the students to Tacna to help with travel, and also participate in the initial assessment of the results of our March visit.
Bridging the Digital Divide in Peru Wolber and Brooks We have a number of desired outcomes for the trip:
Evaluate the effectiveness of our March trip and acquire first-hand knowledge of how both high schools are using the provided technology. Work with local teachers and administrators to identify needs and tasks for a future trip in March 2005. Provide extended training for both teachers and students. Greater immersive experience for USF students. Maintain continuity and relationships with teachers and administration in Tacna.
This trip will also be invaluable in assessing the effectiveness of our initial trip; we will be able to see firsthand what worked and what did not. To assess the effectiveness of our training session, we will conduct exit interviews with the faculty and administrators in Tacna, asking them whether they feel more comfortable integrating technology into their classes, how (and if) they plan to do so, and what needs they have that still need to be addressed.
We would also like to track the students at both high schools and find out whether there is an increase is students pursuing Computer Science at the university level.
Finally, we plan to conduct exit interviews with the USF students that go to Tacna, with the goal of finding out what can be done to make the trip more effective, and also what impact the trip had on them personally and on their view of the digital divide.
Timetable May 1, 2004 Applications due May, June 2004 Training, construction of Spanish-language tutorials July 2004 Students travel to Tacna, PeruAugust 2004 Post-trip reflection and assessment.
Relationship to Applicant’s Past and Future Experience Our project working with the schools in Tacna is part of a broader effort of the USF Computer Science Department to emphasize public service projects. The program, called Community Connections, is led by Professors Chris Brooks and David Wolber. To date, it has focused on sending students to local nonprofits and community technology centers in San Francisco. The pilot project for the program took place at the Computer Technology Center run by Network Ministries. This center provides computer and Internet access to underprivileged and homeless adults, as well as children in a special lab that is open during after-school hours. It is a non-profit organization which is chronically understaffed and lacks the funds necessary to hire technical staff to keep their technology up to date. When USF students arrived, the two labs at the center were in poor shape with out-of-date or broken computers and networking capabilities. The USF students, as part of their senior project course, completely revamped the labs using the technical knowledge they had learned over the course of their studies.
Bridging the Digital Divide in Peru Wolber and Brooks The people at Network Ministries were amazed at what the students did and incredibly grateful. The students who participated in this program were not previously the most motivated students. The chance to do “real work” with an obvious direct impact transformed them into hard- working, responsible, and highly motivated computer scientists. They learned a great deal of practical computer science, both through their direct experience and through the continual interaction with the professor for the senior course who taught them on an as-need basis.
We have since expanded the program to include more students and centers, including Breakthrough Collaborative, Hire-Ability.org, and SafeHouse, and in each case have had similarly positive results. The program was awarded funding from the Leo McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good as part of a larger FIPSE grant—it was the only award given to a program from the sciences.
We believe that our work in Peru can serve as another highly visible example of how service learning and social justice can be integrated into the sciences. The response from students has been overwhelming, and we have been encouraged by the enthusiasm from the faculty in the sciences and from the USF Community as a whole. We feel that, for the project to do some tangible good, it is essential to keep the momentum going, rather than letting it wither away. We also hope that the project's continued successes can help promote our Community Connections program, including both San Francisco based and International-based projects, and also lead to a wider inclusion of public service projects in the sciences as a whole.
Itemized Budget with Justifications
Our budget for this trip consists of two major items: Air travel for two students and one faculty from San Francisco to Tacna (estimated at $600/person) and two one-month stipends of $1600 for each student.
As mentioned above, Fr. Fred Green has generously offered to provide housing for both of the USF students. We feel that the stipend will allow students to live comfortably in Tacna, and also help defray some of their domestic expenses.
We have also allocated some funds from our FIPSE grant to defray additional costs (such as additional equipment), but FIPSE is very resistant to using grant funds to pay for international travel. Funding from the Jesuit Foundation, therefore, would help to make this trip a reality.
Bridging the Digital Divide in Peru Wolber and Brooks