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 Class Report Uhuru 7-14-10

                                           WEEKLY CLASS REPORT

House of Uhuru, 7-13-2010
 

INTRODUCTIONS OR OVERVIEW:

Nine students were present at the start of the class.  Peter introduced himself to the class, and explained his background.  Midway through the class, Wayne informed us that he would only be enrolled in the class for the next two weeks, as he is leaving UH afterwards.  The students also said that Michael Alcantera has dropped the course.  The main issue encountered was that the computers are not completely setup and need some additional work.  None of the computers have Mavis Beacon or Microsoft Office installed.  Three computers do not boot up, and one (first row, far right) does not have Windows XP installed.  There are seven usable computers total, for the nine students. 

 

1ST TOPIC COVERED:

Jeff started by reviewing some of the topics in module one, including cutting/pasting and minimizing/maximizing.  He then explained that outlines are due in a week, and went over the concepts and purposes of an outline.  He reviewed the sample structure of the outline in the workbook, and gave some examples of how it could be filled in.  The students seemed to comprehend this topic, and many began working on their outlines during the lab. 

 

2ND TOPIC COVERED:

Peter quickly reviewed the first six computer discovery terms.  He then explained terms 7-12, providing analogies for each computer part.  Example: Video card is like artist painting a picture, in that it is responsible for the display of all colors/graphics.  The students seemed to understand the functions of the parts, and had good follow-up questions about each part. 

 

BREAK

Break went as planned, for 10 minutes.  All students arrived back from break on time. 

 

LAB TIME:

Since Mavis Beacon was not accessible, the students worked on typing their outlines using Wordpad, or wrote them on paper.  Jeff and Peter went around the room and assisted the students with creating their outlines, and with several Wordpad formatting issues.  A few of the students completed their outlines, and started typing their papers.  The features of Wordpad are basic, and did not offer many of the features that the students normally have (double-spacing, centering, etc). 

 

FINAL NOTES:

No disciplinary issues were encountered.  Other than the issues with the lab, it was a successful class.