Philanthropist Ms. Kathleen Patton is not only one of the Cofounders of Crossing the Digital Divide, she is also the organization’s CEO and Executive Director. With a solid background in business, having started her first NPO in her early twenties, Kathleen Patton was more than prepared to take on the challenge of opening a computer training facility. This facility has been on the cutting edge of “Reentry Programs”. City officials are heralding RP’s as being vital to the cities success as they offer support to some of the most at-risk adults who are recovering from drug abuse and other challenges. Kathleen Patton’s organization, which was formed in January 2004, gives recovering addicts the opportunity to change their lives by learning how to use today’s technology to earn a living. Crossing the Digital Divide, which is located in Los Angeles, California, has three locations to better serve the community of high-risk adults in recovery.

Kathleen Patton utilizes her business smarts to manage and oversee the operations at Crossing the Digital Divide. Because of Kathleen Patton’s efforts, the Crossing the Digital Divide staff, and the numerous volunteers, Crossing the Digital Divide is an award-winning organization that has received recognition from the local government, including the mayor of the city of Los Angeles.

In addition to her work with CDD, Ms. Kathleen Patton also enjoys a close family, friends and colleagues. Kathleen Patton relaxes by participating in swimming, volleyball, hiking, music and film.

Kathleen Patton finds special meaning in the quote, “The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.” Ms. Kathleen Patton also finds inspiration and deep meaning in a quote credited to one of her favorite writers, world-renowned author and poet Maya Angelou: "All great achievements require time."

CDD Weekly Class Report Cri-Help

                                                 WEEKLY CLASS REPORT

                                                       Cri-Help / 7-31-2010

 

 

Opening Comments:

I arrived at 10:30 to try installing the GoodSearch toolbar and to test the Internet. A few computers were not connected to Ethernet cabling. I resolved that problem; all but 1 were connected and working. The last one, I got connected during the break. Renee arrived on time.

 

Attendance:

Renee took attendance. Robert came in nearly 15 minutes late. He decided to leave class since we told him he wouldn’t receive attendance credit. Matthew Humphries showed up in class today. Araceli did not.

 

 

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

We answered a few quick questions about the timing of presentations and due dates for the final essay. Everybody was excited to be introduced to the Internet today. We specified that their browsing would be limited to the websites from the list Soni sent out.

 

1ST TOPIC COVERED:

I covered public speaking, some tips they should use when presenting their papers to the class, and if they’re selected, when presenting to the group as a whole. I talked how important a skill it was, and that speaking slowly, clearly, and loudly enough was very important.

 

2ND TOPIC COVERED:

Renee covered the Internet lecture. Some of the terminology in the material itself confused the students; we took extra time to explain what an Application was, and what a Search Engine did. We also touched momentarily on the basic structure of the Internet, which seemed to make those unfamiliar with the Internet less intimidated by it. We also explained E-mail by comparing it to snail mail.

 

LAB TIME:

At lab time, I focused on reading through and providing feedback for everybody who had a draft of their essay. As a general theme, people needed to focus more on specifics they learned at CDD and in particular, how computers were going to help them achieve their goal. I was pleasantly surprised to find that most students really were focused on their future plans; only a handful focused extensively on their history. Alex, one of the students whose outlines I had taken with me, was particularly focused on his past because he didn’t have the guidance of an outline. I selected a few parts of his past that he could include in his final piece and helped him to flesh out his outline (which I returned) so he could re-write it before Tuesday. I think that Molly’s is going to be particularly impactful if she can just pick a draft and stick to it. Ibra’s is coming along very well, but he needs more concrete information from his tech side. Chris’ outline is excellent and he has a lot to say. Ray had left his draft in his sponsor’s car but said he’s confident of it. I wish I could read it; I think it’ll be great. Jesse’s has a very solid body and conclusion but he needs to introduce himself and his essay better. Those are about all the specifics I could think of; everybody else’s was mostly general feedback. Anna never came to my side of the classroom; I haven’t read her essay. She seemed to be on the computers the whole time, but Renee and I didn’t notice until class was over.

 

[From Renee]

Lab time started rough for group 1. The Internet, which was working perfectly all morning, wasn’t working when group 1 started to use it. So I had them go back into mavis beacon. The Internet was repaired and then the students started working on the internet. I showed them how to type a site into the address bar, how to use the search function, I had them navigate to monster.com and search for jobs in Los Angeles. I sent them to the CDD website, some entered in posts for the blog, they were very uneasy, some were not wanting to use their real names and were making up stories, we then ran out of time.
I did the same things listed above with group 2. Regarding the blog posts, some were able to post a blog, some were not, and the CAPTCHA was a big hold up. 

This Lab session was very hectic. The students were very excited about using the Internet. I learned from this session that in Lab they should have a print out in front of them, a check list of things to do and they should check them off after they have done them, then at random, I go over and ask them to perform a task they have checked off. If anyone is not doing something from the checklist, they are made to get off the computer and work on their paper or leave class. It was very hard to make them stay on track with the lessons when all they wanted to do was surf the Internet. Since the class is so big, it’s hard watching everyone. Also, there is a real problem with the more advanced students, being able to do these lessons easily and then doing something else and negatively influencing the other students (with less skill).

 

FINAL NOTES:

Overall Renee and I concluded after class that it went well. It’s a larger class but we’re working very hard to impose good structure on the students’ time. It seems to be working very nicely.