Sunday, September 27, 2009

CDD Class Report Uhuru 9-22-09

WEEKLY CLASS REPORT
Uhuru House /09-22-2009

OPENING COMMENTS:
The class started 5 minutes late due to some of the students straggling in. I reminded them of showing up on time.

ATTENDANCE:
We had 13 students in attendance. Tony was absent.

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:
We reviewed module 1 and creating an outline. During lab time, we helped out the students with the two topics.

1ST TOPIC COVERED:
I started the lecture with the review of Module 1. Some of the students were getting confused with the terminology (desktop, task, window, etc.). I explain the term and tried to distinguish between the different terms.

2ND TOPIC COVERED:
Chris followed on with the review of creating an outline. He gave a simple example of getting milk and steps needed to accomplish the task.

LAB TIME:
After break, we divided up the class in half. Chris worked with the students on the outlines, and I went around one by one and made sure they can open a program and bring a certain window to top. With some of the more advance students, I showed them shortcut keys and more maneuvering capabilities.

FINAL NOTES:
It seemed to me that some students are still confused with the outline (as usually is the case). Some were writing papers instead of outlines. Saturday instructors should review this one more time and work with the students. The slowest in the class seems to be Annette. The rest are following along quite well. The more advanced students actually had pretty good attitude and were quite enthusiastic when I showed them something they didn’t know before.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

CDD Class Report Walden House 9-22-09

WEEKLY CLASS REPORT
WALDEN HOUSE/TUESDAY: 09-22-09



Opening Comments:
12 students participated. 1 student dropped out (Frederico Delgado: said he already knew the course material and felt someone else would benefit) 1 student (alternate Javier Herrera replaced Delgado.


Attendance:
12 students showed participated. Since Javier Herrera missed the first two classes, Jonathan informed Herrera that he could not miss any classes or he would be dropped.


INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

Joanne Miller began with overview of material that would be discussed for class 3, reviewed last week's computer discovery terms and followed with "creating an outline". The students were reminded that outlines would be due next Tuesday (class 5).


1ST TOPIC COVERED:
Jonathan introduced Week 2 Computer Discovery Terms and after break worked with group A on computers while Joanne assisted group B with outline questions and discussion. Group B used computers while Jonathan assisted Group A with outlines.

2ND TOPIC COVERED: N/A


ADDITIONAL TOPICS:
Students demonstrated their computer knowledge by logging in and working on typing speed with Mavis Beacon program.


LAB TIME:
Split groups A & B for computer usage.


FINAL NOTES:
Students seem very interested in the topic "Plan for Success" and some completed outlines in class. Some students wanted to type their outline and paper, but understood that handwritten papers were expected.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

CDD Class Report Walden House 9-19-09

WEEKLY CLASS REPORT
Walden House /09-19-2009


Opening Comments:
The 1st Saturday class started on time. All attending student were in class on time
Attendance:

We had 11 students in attendance.

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:
Dawn and I introduced ourselves to the class. We briefly went over our tenure with CDD, our educational and professional backgrounds and how passion for computers. We then went around the class and had the student tell us their names and what they hoped to get out of the class.

Dawn took roll and presented the agenda for the day.

1ST TOPIC COVERED:
We reviewed the 1st 6 computer discovery terms.

2ND TOPIC COVERED:
Dawn reviewed the 1st half of module one.

ADDITIONAL TOPICS:
We went over the help section stopping on page 13. We had a 10 min break afterwards

LAB TIME:
Everyone came back on time from break. Lab time was spent mostly between mavis beacon and accessing the “help” menu.

FINAL NOTES:

The class went very well. Everyone seemed eager and committed to the material at hand.

Friday, September 18, 2009

CDD Class Report Cri-Help 9-15-09

WEEKLY CLASS REPORT
Cri-Help/Sept 15, 2009


Opening Comments:

Class started on time with both Socorro and Cri-help students on time. Both Instructors and Students introduced themselves, some students showed advance knowledge of computers. Workbooks were assigned to Students.


Attendance:
There were fourteen students, including five from Socorro.


1ST TOPIC COVERED:

First item covered was ‘rules’ followed by 500-word paper requirements. Students took turns reading out loud ‘paper requirements’ from the workbook and were given a chance to ask questions.


2ND TOPIC COVERED:

Next, using the workbooks, the first six discovery terms were covered in detail by Smriti. Spare parts were used as visual aids.

ADDITIONAL TOPICS COVERED

Students appeared to be interested in computer hardware. A quick visual sample of how the motherboard, cables, drives and case come together was given while answering any quick questions

LAB TIME:

There were not enough computers for all the students; they were divided into two groups. All but one student were comfortable navigating using the mouse, and two students had more than enough experience.


FINAL NOTES:

Everyone was excited to be there and learn what they can. A student from the Socorro group brought up a possible time conflict with Saturday’s class, from 10-6pm they are having ‘face-off’(???) more information is needed.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

CDD Graduation Event Wrap Up

Session Beginning Date: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Graduation Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Location: Memorial Park Auditorium, Santa Monica, CA
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Emcee: Sally Cirello, CDD Instructor
Guest Speakers: Gary Binas, Motivational Speaker and Kathryn Pope, Antioch University

Names of Instructors:

House of Uhuru- Sally, Marie, Misty, Ethan
Cri-Help- Ashok, Robert, Paola, Lindsay
Walden House- Austin, Chris, Eric, Dawn

On August 25th, CDD hosted its third graduation of 2009 at Memorial Park in Santa Monica. As guests filed in, the excitement built as the graduates prepared to receive recognition for their accomplishment. At 7 PM, Sally, the Emcee, started the ceremony by welcoming everyone and recognizing the graduates.

She then introduced the first Guest Speaker, Gary Binas, a very accomplished professional and an experienced public speaker with the Toastmaster's organization. Using examples from the computer world, Gary gave an inspiring speech outlining the importance of 3 "Don’ts" for students after they leave the program: Don't be afraid, don’t stop learning, and don’t stop dreaming about tomorrow.

Following his speech, Sally introduced Antioch University's Kathryn Pope. She spoke about the Bridge Program; a fantastic Antioch offering that gives CDD graduates completely free access to a college education. She had sign up forms with her and several students decided to take advantage of this opportunity. The audience received both speeches very well.

Then, before the students came up and presented their papers, Sally introduced the Walden House Women's Choir. The choir performed a few songs to get the crowd excited, including "Presence of the Lord" and "I Believe I Can Fly."

Student presenters from each center were then called up to share their personal plans for success with the audience.

First up, Michael Glaze from Walden House talked about the steps on his journey to the top. After finishing the Walden House program, he plans to use the computer to find his dream job as a crane operator and to connect with people who came help him. Being a crane operator has been his dream since he first used one in his Navy tour in the 1980s. After his speech he received huge applause and a Walden House cheer.

Up next, Roxana from the House of Uhuru talked about her dream for a doctorate in psychology. She explained how she had always been very inclined towards learning, but had dropped out of UCLA and furthered her drug use after a false arrest forced her to miss a semester. She talked about the role of CDD in giving her computer training, but also for helping her overcome her biggest fear: going back into the classroom. She mentioned Sally in particular who helped re-spark her interest in education. Roxana will re-apply at UCLA for the fall semester.

Last up was Morris from Cri-Help. He gave a funny and inspiring speech about how computers will help him and mentioned being able to play Pacman with his granddaughter.

After these speeches, it was time for the moment everyone had been waiting for: handing out the certificates. CDD Director Kathleen Patton, speaker Gary Binas, and staff from each center formed a receiving line as the students were called up one by one for their certificates. The graduates proudly accepted their certificates and received congratulations.

After that, the official ceremony was over, but everyone stayed around for refreshments, pictures, and to talk with their families, guests, and instructors. The ceremony was a great success and a nice way to end another CDD session.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

CDD End of Course Report Walden House 8-25-09

Instructor End of Course Report


Center Name: Walden house

Beginning Date: July 21 2009

Graduation Date: Aug 25th 2009

Names of the four Instructors: Dawn, Austin, Eric and Chris

This session started out with 12 students. The class was evenly divided between students who knew a bit about computers and students who didn’t know too much. The students were a little intimidated at the beginning but eventually got used to the grove of things. Austin and I started off the session on July 21st. Austin was great at asking the students to take notes, reminding them constantly of the quiz date as well as their various assignment due dates. We also thoroughly went over the rules and regulations with the students.

Most of the class had worked very briefly on a computer before but was not too proficient. Albert was probably the only student in the class with an advanced knowledge in computers. Nonetheless the students were very enthusiastic about learning computer software and hardware. They thoroughly enjoyed Austin’s explanation of discovery terms. Almost everybody caught on really quick to practically using the computer. In a short period of time they learned to use the mouse, play around with the desktop icons and the various software related modules we went over during the session.

Most of the students didn’t mind the fast pace setting of the class. Johnny was a little slow at picking up things but Chris and Eric did an awesome job at giving him special attention and helping him catch up to the rest of the class.

All the students improved and learned a lot in this class. Michael, who presented was enthusiastic from the beginning of the class. He didn’t know too much about computers but had a heart willing to learn. He was very attentive in class and did well on all the assignments and the quiz. We teachers couldn’t have been happier with his presentation during graduation. He was very thankful to all the volunteer teachers. Another student who surprised me was Greg. Though he was very talented in writing, he was quite intimidated by computers. He initially had a very long paper and after working with all of us teachers he cut it short to about 500 words which in itself was a huge triumph. But to top it all he also typed his paper up by the last class and submitted it to Eric and Chris. This is a huge victory for him because he types really slow and did not know too much about using word.

Over all the session was good and went smoothly. Even though we were sad to see only half the initial class graduate, we were proud of the students who stuck it out and graduated.