Is there an online directory of community technology centers in the U.S.A.?

[Deborah Elizabeth Finn]

Dear CTC Colleagues,
.
I'm searching in vain for an online directory of CTCs here in the U.S.A.  Does such a thing exist anymore?  If so, I would love to have the URL.

Many, many thanks from Deborah


Deborah Elizabeth Finn
Strategist and Consultant
Technology for the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sector

304 Newbury Street #275
Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA

Mobile phone:  1-617-504-8188
Voicemail: 1-617-958-1959
Email: deborah....@finn.com
Web site: http://www.deborahelizabethfinn.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah909
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Deborah.Elizabeth.Finn
Skype: Deborah909
Twitter: Deborah909

I bring resources and needs together for nonprofits and
philanthropies, mostly through strategic use of information
and communication technologies.

[Angela Siefer]

No, there is not such database. Because many community technology programs are grassroots based and call themselves a variety of things, it is very difficult to keep a database accurately updated.

Connect2Compete has a partial database but I hesitate to recommend its use.

Angela

Angela Siefer

Digital Inclusion Strategist

http://angelasiefer.com

Adjunct Fellow, Pell Center at Salve Regina University

http://www.salve.edu/users/angela-siefer

Mobile 614-537-3057

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[John Zoltner]

Such a sad state of affairs... I remember a nonprofit national network that used to maintain a 1,000+ list of those centers. Well, at least it's good to see questions coming across this venue, if not the answers we'd like to see.

[peter miller]

If you think about it, one of the things you ask is, “who would maintain such a database and why?” And the sad part is that there’s just no org currently operating that has this kind of thing as part of its mission (all this complicated by Angela’s good point about what CTCs call themselves these days).

 

Digitaldividenetwork.org used to maintain a database, searchable by zip code, of over 20,000 (although Andy Carvin, who oversaw it, would tell you 2/3 were libraries with limited staffing) — you can see the database and how you search it at archive.org.  The CTCNet database is actually pretty good through the early 2000’s — you can get listings on a state-by-state basis from it.  —pm

[Frank Odasz]

Greetings John, Angela, Deborah, Peter Miller, and other greybeards of the CTC and community networking movements of the last century! 

BTOP connected 20,000 CAI (community anchor institutions), most of which were intended to serve a community outreach and digital literacy training role.

However, CAI's are diverse across library, clinic/healthcare, educational institutions, and eco-dev agencies, and tend to function as silos not lateral collaborators.

In my view, most CTC/CAI tend to prefer in-person training, often 10 weeks or so, instead of the far more scalable online training, which, if done right, can be

ongoing and reach far greater numbers of learners.  

In our age of accelerating change, ongoing short video updates via social media seems to be the direction forward, highlighting innovations most relevant

to specific individual needs.  I'm working on one of the last remaining NTIA/SBI technical assistance projects; The Alaska Native Innnovations Incubator.

A recent article: http://lone-eagles.com/digitizing-alaska.pdf   With the open invitation having just been sent; http://lone-eagles.com/invitation.htm

See the screencast at http://lone-eagles.com/opportunities.htm

and the two short screencasts at the bottom of this page.

Regarding elders and the Silver Tsunami; http://lone-eagles.com/silver-tsunami.pdf

Here is a 20 minute presentation I delivered in DC last May for shlb.org;

Digitizing Alaska and Sustainable Localism Presentation

by Frank Odasz for the Schools, Health, Libraries Broadband Coalition conference, Washington DC, May 2014. (www.shlb.org ) 

http://www.screencast.com/t/dQBhfdLaPx  (20 minutes)

The last issue of www.bbcmag.com lists the hundreds of munis, fyi. And the NY times and Wall Street Journal has

had recent articles about the failure of most gigacities to define a strategy for digital inclusion.

When BTOP first started, I remember reading (paraphrased) BTOP joins the Gates Foundation with the intent to fund lots of grassroots innovations

from which to discover the most scalable solution to roll out nationally.  But BTOP meaningful metrics webinar #3 had Laura Breeden state "BTOP

was primarily a top down infrastructure project (96% of the money went to infrastructure) and perhaps next time we should focus on the bottom up grassroots 

innovations."   I believe Laura would have done more with bottom up grassroots innovations if the politics had not been so anti-risk-taking-innovation.

Sigh, next time?

This is part of my draft article for Broadband Communities; America's Challenge for Mass Innovation

which I sent  to John Windhausen, but he typically doesn't respond to my emails. I presented for him in DC last May on Sustainable Localism in a Rural Context, representing the Rural Telecom Congress, after he presented for RTC at BBC Austin, April 2014.

Advice for all CAI’s:

Local CAI’s need to overcome the silo mentality, and work together to sustain their awareness of the best solutions for community outreach across all specific needs and demographics. Generalities prevail, due to the politics of appearances, when it is specific solutions for specific needs that are most needed. Already emerging are the politics of transparency, where measurements define success, and honesty matters. Consumer loyalty will follow those businesses who can be trusted to not exploit consumers, their personal data, and their friends of friends, etc.

A logical database of the five broadband sectors (health, education, eco-dev, public safety, and energy) searchable by specific demographic, and organized by individual abilities to learn, retain, and willingness to help others, has yet to appear.
The top 3-5 apps for specific needs in the above triple axis matrix would have been a useful innovation. 

BTOP’s meaningful metrics webinars invite everyone’s input…, now that the money has been spent, and the toolkit with only grantee’s innovations has been published.

What’s been missed, is how effective “Crowd-Sourcing” has proved to be. “No one knows as much as all of us.” “If we all share the best innovations we’re individually discovering, we’ll all have access to all our knowledge.” I.E. The Power of All of Us, as trademarked by Ebay. 

BTOP’s four Meaningful Metrics Webinars:

(https://ntiabroadband-technicalassistance.pbworks.com/w/session/login?return_to=https%3A%2F%2Fntiabroadband-technicalassistance.pbworks.com%2Fw%2Ffile%2F83557075%2FMeaningful+Metrics+Webinar+IV_7+30+2014.pdf) 

Citizens without a predilection toward education are unlikely to make the choice to self-educate, and seek out entrepreneurial innovations, without some new motivating form of opportunity literacy effort, peer encouragement, and social recognition for their participation in a trusted mutual support local network.

Here is a quick personal assessment;

What’s your optimal info-diet? How self-directed are you? (Rate your geekatude) http://lone-eagles.com/academy-info-diet.htm

Regarding elders and the Silver Tsunami; http://lone-eagles.com/silver-tsunami.pdf

Here is a 20 minute presentation I delivered in DC last May for shlb.org;

Digitizing Alaska and Sustainable Localism Presentation

by Frank Odasz for the Schools, Health, Libraries Broadband Coalition conference, Washington DC, May 2014. (www.shlb.org ) 

http://www.screencast.com/t/dQBhfdLaPx  (20 minutes)

Lastly, here's my pitch for us all gathering and sharing measurable best practices.

http://lone-eagles.com/bestpractices.doc 

My whitepapers initially advising BTOP, the FCC, and Others are at the end of

http://lone-eagles.com/americas-challenge.doc

Specifically;

Lone Eagle’s Original Advice to the BTOP Initiative

http://lone-eagles.com/getitright.htm
America’s Historic Challenge to Fund Mass Innovation
without the risks of political backlash due to lack of documented results 

Lone Eagle’s Whitepaper for APEC 2008 in Tokyo, presenting for NTIA

http://lone-eagles.com/social-engineering.htm

Global Best Practices for ICT Capacity-building 

Strategies for Efficient Ongoing Identification and Sharing of Best Practices

http://lone-eagles.com/RTCletterofinquiry.docx
The Rural Telecommunications Congress best practices clearinghouse proposal. 

Recommendations on Best Practices Clearinghouse Models
 http://lone-eagles.com/bestpractices.doc 

What Gets Measured Gets Done  http://lone-eagles.com/measures.docx

Still Kicking,

Frank

Frank Odasz
Lone Eagle Consulting
http://lone-eagles.com/expertise.htm
PH/Fax: 406 683 6270
Cell: 406 925 2519

Everyone both learner and teacher, consumer and producer, all the time.

Your life is a gift from the Creator, what you do with it is your gift back to the Creator.

[Ronda Evans]

Hi Everyone... it has been some time chatting with this wonderful group of CTC'ers.   In 2004 Bruce McComb and I took over www.4People.org, a resource database for all 39 counties in Washington State.   Click on a county or click on the mobile link to select html or pdf of the county resources.   Scroll down and you will see a technology category with listings of computer access.  

Bruce and I have been retired for 5 years traveling around in our Airstream trailer, with autonet mobile for our Internet, and solar panels that provide the juice. We love being off the grid.. just not off the Internet.   We are transferring 4People.org non-profit to another group that does a lot for re-entry offenders.  So ends our days of Resource Directories.

We look back on our time during those start up days and love what we accomplished in our small part of the world.  Stay safe, warm, and happy.

Ronda Evans and Bruce McComb.

[michael gurstein]

Great to see a bit of life in this part of the e-world J

 

I’m spending most of my (work) time internationally these days so I’m quite out of touch with what might be happening in N Am particularly in the US with respect to community based ICT initiatives.  What I can say is that contrary to rumour and speculation community based ICTs/Community Informatics is alive and well and even thriving in many parts of the world where mobile access is either unusable or financially inaccessible for specific Internet applications or even for general Internet use.

 

Best to all,

 

Mike

[michael gurstein]

Since folks are on this list I’d be very curious to know what community technology initiatives in the US look like these days and what kind of applications/functions they might be serving.  (BTW, I’d like to share any responses with the Community Informatics e-list which I know that many of you are subbed to and of course to which all of you folks are welcome http://vancouvercommunity.net/lists/info/ciresearchers

 

Best to all,

 

M

 

From: ctcnet-...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ctcnet-...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Deborah Elizabeth Finn

Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2014 8:10 AM
To: ctcnet-...@googlegroups.com

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