Learning Leadership Through Technology

WSULC-NOP was honored to host ten students, aged 15-18 years, from the North Valley Provinces of Imbabura and Pichincha in Ecuador. A two-day workshop was taught by Pamela Roberts, Jefferson County 4-H Coordinator. With the stamina of a marathon runner, Pamela shared her knowledge of many free software programs available. With Pamela's instruction, everyone created an e-mail account with Gmail , created their own blogs using blogger, participated in a Skype conference to Africa, uploaded their pictures from their digital cameras to their blogs, and learned how to use their to use their cell phones as microphones for long distance interviews. Pamela taught them some useful interviewing skills and how to take photos and video and upload it to Youtube and how to embed this video into their blogs. In all, Pamela showed them about 30 different open source programs. Robert Force and Susan Lionhart from the LC staff demonstrated the virtual world of Second Life.

These young people (with teachers & translators Oscar Beltran, Valentina Benavides, Rodrigo Flores and Barry Moses) visited the Learning Center as part of a month-long visit to WSU and Washington State to learn about tools and technology related to democracy, the environment, and leadership. The excursion was funded by the State Department and in order to participate students are part of a rigorous selection process. Theses were top students in their schools and active volunteers and leaders in their home communities for the environment, human rights and democracy.

Colleen Taugher (Coordinator, WSU International Programs) Valentina Benavides (Teacher, Translator, In-Country Partner and Support Services) have been working around the clock with the kids, providing everything they need to make this experience beneficial to the students while they are here and helping them acquire the valuable tools and information they will take back to their homes in Ecuador.

Pamela Roberts created a group blog for the youth leaders and their teachers so they can stay connected with one another and continue to share ideas and information. This blog is beautiful to view, with many pictures of the group's adventures and links to the individual blogs the students created.

WSU Virtual Journalism Summit

Robert Force, Kris Raikes, and Susan Lionhart of WSU NOPLC attended the world's first Virtual Journalism Summit at WSU in Pullman, WA.

They attended virtually within a program called Second Life. This ability to travel within virtual spaces was a topic that was discussed at length during the summit. Cost effective and environmentally friendly networking in this manner is rapidly becoming the norm.

They were able to participate in Q&A with Helen Thomas; Former White House Bureau Chief, Bob Scheiffer; CBS News Chief, Washington Correspondent, Philip Rosedale; Founder of Second Life, Lane Merrifield ; Executive Vice President, Disney Online Studios,
Lila King; Senior Producer, CNN Interactive Storytelling, Erica Driver; co-founder, ThinkBalm, Wagner James Au; Virtual World Journalist, Bernhard Drax; Virtual World Journalist.

Egyptian bloggers Eureka Dejavu and Schmilsson Nilsson of DIP's (Dancing Ink Productions) Dispatches from the imagination Age were able to be present in Second Life and premiere their latest documentary - Virtual Journalism: Inside the Virtual Newsroom of the American University in Cairo.The virtual event took place on WSU Island, a replica of the actual brick and mortar of the Pullman WSU campus. If you would like to see more of this event, please visit http://experience.wsu.edu/

The Second Life Adventures of Kittie Serendipity

The WSU Learning Center has our own Second Life cheerleader, Kittie Serendipity. Kittie is always on the move and out researching new places in SL, attending SL classes, meeting people and learning how they are utilizing their Second Life .

She will be taking snapshots of her adventures and gathering useful information and links to the places she visits.
The Second Life Adventures of Kittie Serendipity is the blog where you can find out what's new and exciting in her Second Life.

Although Kittie's main focus in Second Life is education and new media, she also likes to have fun on the way. She will report on places of exceptional beauty or unique interest she encounters on her quest for knowledge.

OlyCAP & the LC - pt. 3

Continued from Pt. 2

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

Susan Lionhart was initially brought by OlyCAP to us as an un-paid Supported Works client to polish her professional skills and gain insight on developing technologies. She studied at Lake Washington Technical College in the field of multimedia and 3-D computer animation.

Soon it became apparent that Susan had a wealth of skills that fit well into the Learning Center's objective of discovering new channels of discovery and education. One such outlet with which Susan was familiar was Second Life, a virtual environment that allows interactive collaboration and connections to people around the world.

Her capabilites spurred the Learning Center to rent space in this virtual network to develop a presence for WSU. We then hired Susan to create 3-D objects to customize our area, find educational content, network with other interested individuals, and assist state-wide Learning Center staff in navigating this new world.

The near goal was a free, interactive, and easy-to-use substitute for teleconferencing. The ultimate goal was to test the virtual world as a viable area to facilitate distance learning. Susan has proven an apt researcher and, with her natrually bubbly personality, a great asset in networking and relations.

If you want to see some of the results: Susan complements her virtual work with updates on her blog and and Twitter (which are new phenomena, yet more tradtionally website based).

Read Pt. 1 of this onging article

OlyCAP & the LC - pt. 2

Continued from previous article

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

One of the recipients of the program, Erik Montoya, was placed with the NOPLC as a paid (by OlyCAP) intern as well as in the capacity of a part-time, non-credit student. During the time he was at the LC (thirty hours a week) not only did Erik achieve his GED from Peninsula College, but he also graduated from the Clemente Course with 6 college credits. After his initial placement for six months, his LC-directed job skill acquiring regimen was assessed as having been been so effective that he was given a time extension by OlyCAP, ten months total.

During his internship, Erik digitally remastered three years of Chimacum Valley TV footage for the LC's Community Archive Project (in cooperation with the Jefferson County Historical Society and Port Townsend Television). He gained new skills in hardware and software maintenance as well as in networking. As he worked on various community video projects, Erik decided he would like to become a video journalist. For the short term, he also looked into the possibility of starting a local, small business installing high-tech entertainment systems.

In addition to the other projects Erik worked on at the LC, he was also able to put his new knowledge to use for the Port Townsend Film Festival, creating an animation sequence for the 2008 Festival's 36 film trailers, seen nearly 6,000 times by over 750 attendees. Working with the LC staff and the creative directors at the PTFF, Erik was an integral team member in designing and executing the spotlight-in-sky portion of the animation

Through his LC study and paid internship, Erik was able to advance his education, provide a living wage for his family, and to learn to apply new skills to creatively solve technical issues in a state-of-the-industry, publicly-acclaimed manner. The development of his technical capacities, social and office skills, and the creation of a contemporary, well-rounded and documented portfolio has provided Erik with the confidence to be an asset to the community, whether as wage-earner or as an entrepreneur.

OlyCAP & the LC - pt. 1

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

In Fall of 2007, Karolina Anderson approached the WSU Learning Center-North Olympic Peninsula in her new position with the Olympic Community Action Program (OlyCAP). Karolina was familiar with the LC from her participation in the Bard College Clemente Course that takes place here. After graduating from the course she came to the LC for counseling and as a consequence enrolled in, and graduated from, The Evergreen State College.

After getting her degree Ms. Anderson came back to Jefferson County and began working on the Community Jobs program at OlyCAP to assist those in her community with similar hurdles to those she had had prior to beginning her path to further education. As part of her new job, she asked if we would collaborate on working with her clients in conjunction with WorkSource, a State-run employment assistance agency. She believed our strength in the technical & computing fields could greatly help those in need of these skills for the contemporary workforce.

Continued>> Read More

Mobilisa Unveils New Buoy

Image courtesy of Pamela Roberts of 4H - click to enlarge

Dr. Nelson Ludlow, WSU graduate and CEO of Mobilisa, unveils the company's newest project, a buoy that can be multi-tasked to wirelessly report on shipping, tides, water quality, and more.

To his left is Port Townsend City Councilwoman, Michelle Sandoval. To his right is WSU Extension's Vice-president for Economic Development, John Gardner. Next to him is Team Jefferson's, Bill Wise, and WSU Jefferson's, Kai Wallin. Dr. Gardner was part of a group from WSU Extension and the newly-formed local economic development consortium, Team Jefferson, for a presentation acknowledging the company's innovation and its contribution to local economic development. NOPLC 's Robert Force is pictured documenting the event, viewable at:
http://video.google.com

Kind Words

We recently received a letter -by post!- that wonderfully addresses the community presence we strive to provide here at the Learning Center. (Click on image at left to read entire text.)

"... I was extremely happy to find the computer lab at the WSU Extension office on Patison Road, open to the public, free WiFi, very fast, and most of all, welcoming to all residents of the community...

...I have seen all kinds of uses of its resources: student's preparing papers and doing research older people creating family genealogies with pictures and audio components, others participating in video conferences and oral history projects....

...What a wonderful community resource you have here, There is nothing comparable where I come from, and I can see Oracle headquarters from my windows. Please keep it in operation for the residents of this area."

Thank you, Sherely Higuera, for taking the time to write to us. Your letter is very much appreciated.

Todd Trewin, US Olympian

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

The third day of shooting for the Jefferson County Equestrian Park video took Robert Force and Sharon Denbro to Redmond, WA. Todd Trewin, a member of the US Olympic Team at the 1992 Barcelona Games, spoke with them about his lifelong love of horses and the opportunities this has provided him, both personally and professionally. Todd recounted that the WA State Legislature, having recognized that such facilities represented nearly 1.2 billion dollars a year of potential revenue, approved 3.5 million to begin construction and appointed him Chairman of the Authority Board for the new Washington State Horse Park under construction near Cle Elum. He said that both Oregon and British Columbia have as many as six each of these types of parks and he looks to helping Washington become a similar destination. Much of this dialogue for the camera was given as he was simultaneously training his son, Alex, in jumping techniques. He pledged his support to help get the Jefferson Park underway.

Growing Green Enterprise Workshop

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

More than 80 people gathered at the WSU Jefferson County/ Learning Center facilities this past Tuesday for a Growing Green workshop. Presentations and breakout sessions focused on exploring trends in the evolving field of sustainable business practices and related opportunities for green enterprise development and community revitalization.

Noted eco-investment, risk-capital speakers included Margie Brand from EcoVentures International, Jason Friedman representing Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, Mark Bowman from ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia, and Denise Pranger of the Northwest Natural Resource Group.

Sponsors included the Northwest Area Foundation, EcoVentures International, Women Entrepreneurs of Baltimore, the City of Port Townsend, the Port Townsend Food Coop, Enterprise for Equity, Northwest Natural Resource Group, Kitsap Bank, First Federal Bank and Washington State University Jefferson County.

LC staff recorded the event in high definition. Copies of the presentations are available on DVD from Jefferson Extension as well as net-streamed. Each segment is downloadable and able to be embedded to websites or blogs.

View the event on Google Video:

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
  

Lela Hilton receives 2007 Humanities Washington Award

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

Former Learning Center Director, Lela Hilton, was honored for her work in the Humanities as the force behind the Jefferson County Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities. The Clemente Course, prior to Lela's adaptation of the program, was only available in urban communities. Her rural version has been such a success that the founder of the Clemente Course, Earl Shorris, is using it as a template for his new undertaking in Darfur, Sudan.

Lela's friends and colleagues joined her for the award ceremony at the Inn At Port Hadlock's Art Mine Gallery. Among the WSU supporters were Associate Dean Rob McDaniel, Learning Center-NOP Director Robert Force, and Clemente graduate & assistant at the LC-NOP Kris Raikes.

At the end of the ceremony, Lela Hilton pledged her $1,000 cash portion of the Humanities Award to the above mentioned Darfur Clemente Course.

Learn more at the Humanities Washington site

Making Use of Photo-sharing

To give everyone a window into the LC-NOP, we have created a flickrr account to share ourselves with the world. Below is a uniquely interactive slideshow widget of those images, or you can view the profile at www.flickr.com/photos/cougarroom

To make your own go to the Flickr Slideshow Generator. You can make slide-shows of your flickr account or someone else's. But, you'll need the site's assigned ID number. It can be traced at the idGettr.

Lela Hilton in the LC

Image courtesy of Matt Sircely - click to enlarge
Lela Hiton (far-right) awards diploma to Clemente Course graduate

Lela Hilton recently needed a base of operations to continue her work with the Bard College Clemente Course and teaching online courses for ECC. The Learning Center was happy to accommodate. The pairing is a logical step, as making education available to our rural residents is the driving goal of WSU's Distance Degree Program and the Jefferson County affiliate of the Bard College Clemente program is the only rural component to the urban-based education initiative founded by Earl Shorris.

Read Mr. Shorris' note to the Jefferson County Bard College Clemente Course

Ten-year and Tenure

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

John Winder, Associate Dean and Associate Director of WSU Extension beams for the camera along with North Olympic Peninsula Learning Center Director, Robert Force, and Jefferson County's WSU Extension Water Quality and Environmental Stewardship faculty, Pat Pearson. Dr. Winder's recent visit to Jefferson County was happily coincidental with personal landmarks for the two local Extension educators. Robert is holding a certificate commemorating ten years of service to the University, and Pat, earlier the same week, had just finished all of the exacting documenting process for her tenure review. Big smiles all around!

Learning Center by the Numbers

With the addition of Kris Raikes to the NOPLC staff, it has been possible to closely track our interactions with the public this past year. His "data mining" expertise has helped us paint an accurate picture of the areas in which we serve the public.

Click for detailed view

In these two charts, the first depicts public contacts made via telephone, email, or in person by which LC staff have: (1) met the needs of a WSU enrolled student, (2) addressed community classes or projects or, (3) provided one-on-one college or career counseling. Not recorded are any meetings, conferences, presentations, or other public encounters. Last year, 1,147 individual patrons used the LC facilities and/or worked directly with LC staff a total of 3,381 times.

Click for detailed view

This second chart adds the internal (WSU and Jefferson Extension) emails we generated to facilitate our services. IN-email is not tracked, only OUT-email requiring a staff response. In this way all list-serve or spam is sorted out of the tally. These important exchanges enable us to get advice from our University and County colleagues, hence its name: the "Business of Doing Business", bringing the total of LC-NOP Community & Educational Support contacts for the year to 5,385.

Gabe Van Lelyveld - diligently editing his film

Image courtesy of The Cougar Room - click to enlarge

Our new docent, Gabe, is seen above taking a rare, brief break in the process of editing his independent documentary film, "Walk". He is using the facilities at WSU Learning Center-North Olympic Peninsula equipped with 9 iMac's, each installed with Photoshop and Final Cut Pro, among other softwares.

In return for lab time and learning materials, Gabe offers his time and expertise to other Computer Lab patrons. Lab availability can be ascertained using our calendar below.