Centro de Amistad is hosting its first out of three "Build-It Trust-It Use-It Workshops" that will give Hispanic immigrant families hands-on experience with technology. In parent-child teams they will:

o learn about computer hardware by building a computer themselves;
o learn how to manage a computer by installing and configuring Windows, and setting up accounts for each family member;
o learn basic usage of common computer software;
o learn how to protect a computer and its users from dangers on the Internet;
o learn about education and careers in Information Technology.

There will be three 8-week workshops: Fall 2006, Winter 2007, and Summer 2007. All workshops will be held at Centro Amistad in Florence. Child care for young children, as well as lunch for all participants, will be provided.

Ten families will participate in each workshop. The families are selected by Centro Amistad. If you are a Hispanic resident of Northern Kentucky and have children in school up to Grade 12, then you can apply to Centro de Amistad (click here...):



More pictures are in the Cincinnati section of our Photo Gallery (click here...)

The workshop is not meant to be an formal course in computers, but an "experience" that will stimulate further interest.
Families who complete the workshop will be given a new Dell desktop computer to bring home.
Families will be assisted by students at Northern Kentucky University who are majoring in Computer Information Technology or Computer Science, or who are bilingual in English and Spanish.

The NKU faculty leaders on this project are:

o Dr. Gary Newell (newellg@nku.edu). Dr. Newell is chair of the Department of Computer Science, and was the first director of NKU's Computer Information Technology Program.

o Dr. Kevin Kirby (kirby@nku.edu). Dr. Kirby is Professor of Computer Science at NKU, and was co-founder of NKU's service learning program in Mexico City.

o Dr. Holly Riffe (riffeh@nku.edu). Dr. Riffe is Associate Professor of Social Work at NKU, and is the director of Latino and Multicultural Center.

This project is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, as part of their Broadening Participation in Computing program. The purpose of the program is to stimulate interest in computing careers among groups that have been under-represented in information technology fields. For more info, click here...