CST 361S Week 5

CST 361S Week 5

This week I was able to rebuild a desktop computer and configure the software for an individual who was visually impaired. So far I have put in 28.25 hours of service.

This week we discussed how professionals and institutions in the field of computer science have both been beneficial and detrimental to society. 

A video about the organization "Black Girls Code" was examined. This organization serves young African American girls in exposing them to the world of computer science, a field in which they are largely underrepresented. It was illuminating to learn that the percentage of computer science graduates  who were women was in the 35% range in the late 80's and has now fallen to around 18%. I feel this can be attributed to the newness of computer science in the 80's and then a stereotype of it being a male dominated field led to the decline to what it is now. The number is even less for African American women to be below 2%. I am glad that organizations like this exist to help diversify the field of computer science. 

I created a storyboard to be used for my final video project on my service learning experience. 

CST 361S Week 4

CST 361S Week 4

This week we delved into the concept of what it means to serve as opposed to just helping or fixing. To really impact lives and society, one must serve. The intent here is that you are truly doing something for the betterment of others and engage in meaningful conversations with them. We learned of the harms and hazards of e-waste that is shipped to third world countries. Diversity and equality in the technology industry was also explored and discovering ways that we can eliminate the lack thereof. This week I did not get to visit my service learning site. We also looked at Project Management in more detail. The concepts of project planning, project leadership, project teamwork, and dealing with difficult people was explored. I have a total of 22.5 hours accumulated for my service learning.

CST 361S Week 3

CST 361S Week 3

This week I did not have time to do any service but I spent 4 hours in the community doing my community scan. For the scan I interviewed three members from Computers for the Blind and drove around the area to observe the community. It was challenging to figure out what to do as the organization doesn't just serve its immediate community but the entire nation and even sometimes other countries. I have found great value in these interviews, as now I have a better understanding of who we help. I was also to learn a bit of wisdom as two of the men were older retired gentleman from the fields of Computer Engineering and Computer Science. I look forward to the rest of my service learning.

CST 361S Week 2

CST 361S Week 2

This week the concept of the digital divide was explored more. A book entitled, Stuck in the Shallow End was explored. In this book the digital divide amongst minorities, particularly African Americans and Latinos, was explored. It was examined that although these minorities have been given access to computers in schools, very little other a basic understanding of Windows has been explored with regard to furthering their knowledge in Computer Science. These racial groups have had a hard time breaking into the industry as they do not have the proper access and education in their youth. It was also explored in a video that America is lagging behind other countries with regard to the speed and access of the internet amongst it's citizens. This can be attributed to the big business of communications. It is not in the best interest of the large communication companies to give access to American citizens but rather find ways of increasing their profits. It was argued that a shift of changing internet access from from a privilege to a utility must be exercised. I agree with this. 

So far I have logged 22.5 hours with my service learning partner. I hope to incorporate images of myself working at the service learning site as well as images of the site itself. I hope to interview a few volunteers/ workers of the organization. Finally I will be attending an event on August 4th in which I will take pictures and video. The event is where the organization will give computers to high school students who are visually impaired at a summer camp in Ft. Worth.