AYV Training Requires Closing Clubhouse

The NWAC Intel Computer Clubhouse will be closed from April 5 - 15, 2010.


I announced a few months ago that our clubhouse has been awarded the Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) grant. This is an exciting opportunity that will give our clubhouse enough copies of the Adobe CS4 software for all of our computers. This package includes Photoshop, InDesign, Flash, Dreamweaver, Premiere, and more. These programs are awesome for graphic design, photography, web design, video editing and movie making projects. Right now, the only computer in the clubhouse with all of these programs is the one primarily used by Donovan. And as far as I can see, he only uses Photoshop (which he is very good at), but it would be nice to see some of the other programs being used.


I hope that all of you are looking forward to the creative projects that we will be able to produce with this new software. If you are not familiar with these programs, take the time to investigate each of them and know what types of projects can be produced using Photoshop, or Flash, or InDesign, or Primiere. You might also learn that you can do a variety of projects that use a combination of these programs. Check out some of the projects done by other AYV participants. The AYV motto is "Create With Purpose". We have the tools, let's put our brains to the task of planning meaningful projects about our neighborhood, our school, our city, state, country, and planet. We can use InDesign to create a magazine; and Adobe Premiere to create documentaries and short films; and Adobe Dreamweaver for awesome websites. Think about the projects you want to create and you can learn the software needed to create it. I don't know exactly when we will receive the software, but I will be going to Atlanta next week to receive training, so I should know more when I return. I am hoping that the software will be available shortly after the training.


So take note: The clubhouse will be closed April 5 - 15. It will reopen with a new schedule on Monday, April 19. I will be announcing the schedule change throughout the remainder of April, with the new schdule will be fully enforced beginning on May 3rd.

The Final Candidates

The deadline to declare a desire to become the NWAC Computer Clubhouse President and Vice President was March 24. I am excited that we have two candidates vying for each position. They are (in order of declaration): Tyler for VP; James for President; DeMario for President; and Shahnaz James for VP. The voting will start on Monday and end on Wednesday with the selection of the president and vice president with the highest votes. Remember: you can only vote once -- be mindful to select the persons you believe will best serve our computer clubhouse.

There are a lot of clubhouse activities that our clubhouse members can be part of each year. This year we have been selected to join the Adobe Youth Voices program. This program will give members an opportunity to produce meaningful video projects about living (and surviving) in Detroit. These videos will be posted on the AYV website and may be entered into contests. (See my blog post: AYV Training Requires Closing Clubhouse.) In addition to AYV, this is the year of the Intel Computer Clubhouse Network Teen Summit event that takes place every other year in Boston. This event allows the best two - three clubhouse teenaged members to spend a week in Boston with clubhouse members from all over the world. It is a fun and creative week that leaves a lasting impression on everyone (kids and adults) that attends. This year Teen Summit is especially significant for me because it occurs during my birthday week (July 27 - August 1). My birthday is July 31. There is also the Clubhouse Scholarship applications for members who are high school seniors. We will announce when the application is available, but keep in mind that the projects you post to the Village are your portfolio. They should reflect your best works because members and clubhouse managers from around the Network can view your projects. We will also begin our Field Trip Fridays, where members who are interested in photography and videography will be able to sign up to go on community shoots. The clubhouse leaders are essential to helping with plans.

As you can see, there are lots of plans to work on. You can see why I am looking forward to the assistance of a clubhouse leadership group. I think that our candidates are all worthy of the tasks. If you didn't get a chance to meet the candidates, I will tell you a few things that I know about each of the them:

Tyler is the only girl in the race. She is running for vice president. She is ambitious, creative, intelligent and a fast learner. She has created projects using programs like The Print Shop, Bryce and Paint. Even if she doesn't win (this time) I am proud of the work she did on this campaign. Tyler created several posters, she had a campaign manager (her cousin, Miya), she had business cards and made a commercial featuring rapper extraordinare, Marcellous. Awesome job, Tyler!

James is a dedicated clubhouse member. He joined the clubhouse in 2008. This makes him the candidate with the longest membership. He is running for president. He has amazing music knowledge and skills. His Village projects display creative music talent, but his portfolio includes works in other programs, like Bryce, Word and even, 3ds Max. His poster states his intentions to help the computer clubhouse.

Demario is adventurous and explorative. He is running for president. He will certainly bring the spirit of "lets do something" to planning fun and creative activities for our clubhouse.

Shahnaz is the newest clubhouse member among the candidates. He has jumped into being an outstanding clubhouse member by posting several creative projects on the Village and expressing the desire to be our computer clubhouse vice president. For a while we thought that Tyler might be the only person running, so I'm glad that Shahnaz decided to run. His campaign poster shows his love for the wolf. My motto is "an animal lover is never a bad person".

Good luck to all the candidates. I hope that each of you will be in the clubhouse on Wednesday, March 31, when the final votes will be taken and tallied, and the winners will be announced.

Gearing Up for the Vote

I am excited that there are several candidates vying for the positions of clubhouse president and vice president. Right now they are: Miya, James and Demario for president and Tyler for vice president. You still have another week to declare your interest in one of the positions. I hope that you understand the importance of clubhouse members taking on leadership positions in the clubhouse. It makes a real difference for ideas and decisions to be implemented that are the desire of members. As we move forward to improve the overall clubhouse program I believe that our clubhouse will be better as we gain greater input from members. Remember, the last day to declare your candidacy is March 24, and voting will begin on Monday, March 29. All votes will be counted on Wednesday, March 31 and the winners will be announced. Please be sure to ask the candidates about their plans for improving the clubhouse. You want to be an informed voter who helps select the best people.

There were some great projects uploaded to the Village last week. A total of 21 projects were uploaded by the following 15 members:

Shai (1) - I always like pictures and I really like the black and red colors in this project.
James (2) - You continue to post great music and I'm glad you are running for Clubhouse President.
Breeya (1) - I like that you are working in PowerPoint, but you have to learn to add pictures and some of the creative touches available in the program. You should get with Mikayla or me to learn how to animate your text and add pictures.
Taryn (1) - This is a very creative idea for a Pivot project. I can see the cheerleading theme being used in a variety of ways. I like that you completed the interview section when you uploaded your project. Although you stated that you want to do a "softball" project next, I would encourage you to continue doing a few more cheerleading projects.
Donovan (2) - Please read my comment on the Village. I really like the work you are doing in Photoshop. When I see how outstanding your creativity is in Photoshop I cannot wait until the Adobe Youth Voices grant is awarded, because we will then have Adobe CS4 on all of our computers. Don't forget that you can get a lot of help using Photoshop from several websites, including adobe.com and youtube.com
Tyler (1) - This is a very cute Paint project.
Miya (2) - I hope your business class liked this as much as I did.
Demario (2) - Another candidate for president, I think you produced some great posters. Let's hope that they get you the votes you need.
Hailey (1) - I hope the Eagles are winning because they certainly have some terrific cheerleaders.
Kenyea (1) - Things that make you go hmmm!
India (1) - These are some nice family pictures. I think that you should put them on a card for you mom and dad.
Kevin (2) - We are going to figure out how to save a morph in a format that can be viewed in Media player. Maybe the programs website can shed some light. You should check it out at http://www.morpheussoftware.net/
Anthony (1) - Everybody should check out this basketball game done in Pivot. It takes patience and creativity to do Pivot well. You did a great job on this project, I really like it.
Mikayla (1) - I hope that this worked for your locker.
Deonte (1) - Another, thing that makes you go hmmm!

I am very pleased with most of the projects that are being uploaded. I hope that you will continue to share your "best" works on the Village.

Great Job!

I am very pleased with the variety of creative projects that have been done by clubhouse members. This past week there were 36 projects uploaded by 12 members. Marcus uploaded a total of 10 projects. Unfortunately, the general consensus is that all of his projects look like they were done by a pre-schooler and not a middle schooler. I have to say that the projects that you do and upload to the Village should not be about quantity, but rather, they should be about quality. You should use the Village as a place to display "your best work". Everything that you upload should be worthy of receiving a "cool ping". It does not please me to see projects that look like crap. Most of you do chose wisely and upload wonderful projects. Please take the time to read the comment I leave when I view your project. I may give you an idea on how to make your project better.

In addition to work uploaded by Marcus, the following members also uploaded at least one project:

Tyler
Mikayla
Miya
Breeya
Glynn
Donovan
James
Kenyae
Tiara
Martez
Jada

Next week I will begin listing those members who were in the clubhouse but did not upload any project. I have previously stated that when you put your projects on the Village, I can see the work that you do and be assured that you are not wasting our clubhouse space. I was pleased to see that members like Tiara and Jada worked on some very creative photo projects that really look great. I was surprised to not see the project that India was working on for two days. (What happened, India? Did it make it to Facebook, but not to the Village?). If you don't get your project uploaded, you need to make sure that I know what you are working on.

Plans are proceeding for a clubhouse election day on Wednesday, March 31, 2010. The following members have proclaimed their desire to work towards the betterment of our clubhouse:

Miya for President
James for President
Tyler for Vice-President

There is still time for you to announce your interest in running. The final day to get your name on the ballot is Wednesday, March 24th. I'm hoping to see some great posters and commercials about why you would be the best person to choose. Remember, if you want to help make our clubhouse the best after-school program in Detroit, then you should run for president and let your ideas be known.

Until next week...design, create, invent, explore!