Technology For All Develops Relationship with UH College of Technology

Students and Curriculum to Help Support Community Technology Initiatives

Houston, Texas - (September 10, 2002) – Through a relationship developed with the University of Houston College of Technology, students at the University will be working with Technology For All (TFA) to develop projects that will enhance the efforts of TFA to serve the community. Beginning with the Fall Semester of 2002, students in the Information Systems Technology Program of the Department of Industrial Technology are required to take the course “Technology in the Community”. The course is designed to provide practical experiences for students by working with nonprofits using technology to solve community problems.

Technology For All-Houston and its 170+ grass roots community partners will be a primary community partner in the program, which was envisioned by Cheryl Willis, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Information Systems Technology Program. Supported and encouraged by Dean Uma Gupta and Associate Dean John Hansen, the new curriculum will eventually enhance the education of the 625+ students enrolled in the program.

Dr. Karla Back, Assistant Professor at UH, is teaching one section of “Technology in the Community” for the first time this fall. Three sections of the class will be taught in Spring 2003. Students in the class are working with Technology For All and other nonprofits to develop projects that will enhance their learning experience and provide a needed service to TFA and the communities it serves. Students are required to document their experience to allow for the transfer of knowledge and the building of capacity within the nonprofit and the community.

TFA President and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Will Reed noted, “We are grateful to the University of Houston for its commitment to the community and look forward to providing meaningful educational experiences for the students in the program. We are hopeful that the relationship we are building with the university can be expanded to include students in other classes and programs. This opportunity to enhance our mission to bring technology to underserved communities is significant in that it brings the tools of research and project-based learning to a field of inquiry so important in today’s world. It is also significant in that the newer field of community technology is becoming an important discipline for community development practitioners.”

About Technology For All

Technology For All (TFA) is a national nonprofit initiative focused on bringing technology to underserved communities. Over 300 community based organizations in fifteen U.S. cities benefit from services provided by TFA. In the Houston area, TFA’s local affiliate, Technology For All-Houston, works with local groups to help develop, create and support local community technology centers with grass roots community organizations thus creating educational, economic and personal opportunities for Houston’s underserved.

Web site: www.techforall.org

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