PTP Blog

Our upcoming TechCamp is overbooked. This is surprising good news, but it’s forcing Arif to scramble to add capacity, i.e. computers, so that we can bring the waitlist into the fold. This being our first attempt at this camp, naturally we are quite excited at the turnout. Based on this response, it won’t be long before we announce our second TechCamp. If this camp turns out like we expect, we will offer two a year — one in the East and one in the West.

Equally exciting to us is the collaboration with a stalwart band of interns, known as GIIPsters (pronounced jeep-sters), who are working remotely with Arif to produce this this training event. This is an interesting group. They come from the Global Information Internship Program (GIIP) at the University of California Santa Cruz. GIIP is unlike other internships in that it’s both student-led and practical. It takes a hard-headed approach to delivering technology learning and services. PTP isn’t the only GIIP collaborator — they are also placing interns in Central America and West Africa. What I think we have in common with the other sites is that we all work with populations that are not particularly technology and internet savvy (not unlike some U.S. Senators). Therefore technology training and technical assistance needs to be based on the reality on the ground in the communities. The GIIPsters, despite being overly wired like most students, have developed a program that emphasizes a project support model that reflects the wisdom that you can’t just come in and slap an unsustainable technological fix into these organizations and then walk away.

PTP’s approach fits nicely with the GIIP program. For us, TechCamp training is one part of a sustainable model. Individual training is confidence building ands lays the basis for organizations to think strategically about how they can implement mission-driven technology, but it’s not a one way street. The interns will share their desktop skills and they will learn much from the organizers attending TechCamp. And we expect to learn a lot from both the organizers and the GIIPsters.

How to help someone use a computer is a great compilation of tips for tech trainers.

you’d think it would be easy, right?  Format Excel sheets to alternate row color so that its easier to read, especially when you print it out.  And it is easy, once you know how:

Excel: Automatically alternate row colors (dynamically)

Oh, and if you are wondering how long I’ve been wondering how to do this - at least 2 years, and I just now took the time to do the 1 minute google search to find the answer.  Well, maybe this will save some time for you.

Dave Winer’s got some interesting ideas in his list of things that would be “would be more useful than the family members [that would be members of the Edwards family] blogging:”

check out the list