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Intergenerational Technology Initiative Seeks to Bridge the Digital Divide By Rick Schwartz Director of Programs Council of Senior Centers & Services of New York City Council of Senior Centers & Services of New York City (CSCS) represents over 265 senior service programs in the City. A recent survey by CSCS found that the programs report a wide divergence in both the sophistication of their computer technologies and the staff's ability to operate them. In fact, several programs still rely on typewriters and manual record keeping in sustaining their operations. All of the centers reported that they could benefit from technical assistance to help maintain and operate their computer equipment. But in today's marketplace, the costs for upkeeping equipment and obtaining technical support can be prohibitive. Most nonprofit senior services lack the resources to maintain their systems. If a center cannot afford the cost of training staff to use their computers, then all its equipment is essentially useless to it. If it cannot afford regular system maintenance, the equipment can quickly become unusable. As a solution to this problem, CSCS and Polytechnic University of Brooklyn developed a joint venture, with funding from United Way of New York City, to place student interns at senior centers to provide the much-needed technical assistance. Computer science and computer engineering majors possess specific talents that can be utilized by the senior centers. The program not only helps providers with their technology implementation, but also enables Polytechnic students to gain valuable work experience as they are about to embark on careers in technology. An ancillary benefit is the intergenerational exposure for the young interns and the seniors at the centers. Beginning in the Fall 2000 semester, five students were selected with the assistance of Polytechnic's Office of Career Services and Cooperative Education. CSCS solicited requests from the senior service programs for work that would extend for the better part of the full semester. The students worked an average of 13 weeks at each agency. Students were paid a stipend for their work, which helped many pay for their education or support their families. The senior agencies obtained these services for a small cost-sharing fee of $250. The program has been enormously successful. At Family Home Care Services of Brooklyn and Queens, two students were assigned as interns. The first intern developed that agency's Web site, while the second was responsible for networking the agency computers. The third intern placed at the Fort Greene Senior Center in Brooklyn developed that agency's Web site. The fourth intern at Presbyterian Senior Services in the Bronx provided ongoing supervision of the agency's technology development and also developed that center's Web site. The remaining intern networked agency computers at the Park Slope Geriatric Center Adult Day Service Program in Brooklyn. Students also performed system maintenance, engaged in troubleshooting on a day-to-day basis, helped develop databases, provided training on computer and internet usage and offered comparative shopping for technology needs. A second semester with five students and five locations is presently underway. The experience has been tremendously beneficial for both students and the senior centers. The students were able to hone their skills while developing confidence in their abilities. Students reported that they enjoyed the challenge of working in the nonprofit environment and interacting with seniors and the senior centers had a reliable, low cost technology solution. CSCS is proud of the partnership that has developed between Polytechnic University, United Way, the students and the senior agencies participating in this project. As a result, the senior centers were able to use their technologies more effectively, the students received valuable experience that will enable them to obtain permanent work following their graduations, and Polytechnic was able to enhance the capacity of their programs to find challenging projects on which their students could work. CSCS expects to continue this collaboration in successive semesters. The technology internship program was so successful in matching qualified students with the neediest senior centers, that one of the senior centers hired its intern immediately upon the close of the semester. |
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