3C's (Community Computer Center) Lab
Bristol Bay Borough Schools
Naknek, Alaska

by Dawn Scott, ACS Community Service Chair
 

  Mike Bruzzone of the (former) WinChip company gave a presentation to ACS in 1998, and while here offered to donate some computers to a rural site in Alaska.  After some conversation, it was established that one of our board members was familiar with the Naknek/King Salmon area and could help coordinate this donation.  Our board worked with the community to find a home, set up an access agreement, prepare the proposal for the donation to the WinChip company, and finalize the shipping plans for the four fully equipped computers (monitors, sound cards, speakers, CD drives, modems, etc.).

  Amy Riddle, a teacher at Bristol Bay Borough Schools, was instrumental in pulling together resources in the community to coordinate this donation.  Her high school classroom is the host site for this lab, and the school district offered classroom access to the community for day or evening classes.  When the computers were received a board member visited the site to help set up the computers and introduce them to the community. ACS also set up a training session on hardware and maintenance through the University of Alaska Fairbanks, with one of our ACS members teaching the 1-credit course in the 3C's lab. The class was well attended by the community, including the host teacher for the site and a university employee who will be using the lab for university-sponsored courses.

  The 3C's has Internet access, provided by the school district. Additional donations from the community and Compaq’s Teaching with Technology Grant program have brought the total to six computers in the lab. Amy is also applying for grant monies to procure more machines.  As you will see from Amy's description of the program below, this could serve as a model for community and rural-urban partnerships in Alaska.

  The following is a project overview by Amy Riddle:

 

  The 3C’s (Community Computer Center) has been a wonderful addition to our community - both the school community and the community-at-large. The middle and high school staffs are using it during the school day.  Our high school English teacher and middle/high school gifted and talented teacher have scheduled time in the 3C’s on a daily basis.  My desktop publishing class is held in the lab each day. The 3C’s computers have enabled my staff to learn:

• MS Publisher97
• MS PowerPoint
• Corel Draw and PhotoPaint
• Scanning (with a flatbed scanner)

  Our high school lab’s computers do not have CDRom drives so use of the 3C’s computers has enhanced this class.  My staff is in charge of our print
newspaper that is published bi-monthly and our online newspaper at
http://www.highwired.com/bbbsd/angelconnection.

  Outside of the school day both the 3C’s and high school labs are being
utilized by the University of Alaska.  Classes that have been scheduled so far this year include:

• MS Publisher
• Introduction to Computers
• Introduction to the Internet
• Building a Webpage
• MS Access
• MS Excel (two different classes)
• Keyboarding

  Before the donation of the 3C’s lab, there was no use of the high school lab by the University. With the 3C’s in place and “thinking outside the box” that was initiated by its donation, a sharing of our facilities is now not only possible but absolutely necessary.  This is evident in the high enrollment in classes and demand for more classes to be held.

Amy Riddle
Bristol Bay Borough Schools
Naknek, Alaska
 

  For further information about ACS community service programs, contact Dawn Scott, Community Service Chair.
 

Page last updated 2002-08-13

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