ARCHIVE – Service Projects
The HCIL is not actively taking proposals at this time.
PAST PROJECTS
WAMU 88.5 FM American University Radio: The HCIL led a volunteer day in which it helped WAMU redesign their Kojo Nnamdi Show archives interface. WAMU is the leading public radio station for NPR news and information in the greater Washington area. It is member-supported, professionally-staffed, and licensed to American University. Their station covers local, national and international news, public affairs talk programming, and traditional American music.
Kids.gov / Federal Citizen Information Center: The HCIL led a volunteer day in which it helped Kids.gov redesign their website for kids. They want to make it more interactive, fun, and easy for kids to use. Kids.gov is the official U.S. government’s website for kids. It provides information and services to three groups, kindergarten through 5th graders, 6th through 8th graders, and educators. The site provides age appropriate information, organized by subject areas, ranging from science and math to history and much more.
The Nonprofit Village: The HCIL led a volunteer day in which it helped The Nonprofit Village think of new ways to use technology to connect nonprofits with their growing services. The Nonprofit Village offers shared office space accompanied by management and operational services to Montgomery County nonprofits. In addition to the spaces they offer, they also provide shared meeting rooms and business machines, such as copier, fax, and postage machines. This helps the small and often non-technologically sophisticated, nonprofits they serve lower their space costs, so they can focus on expanding their services.
National Park Service, Interpretation and Education Program: The HCIL led a volunteer day in which it helped the National Park Service redesign a part of WebRangers, their website for children. The U.S. National Park Service, Interpretation and Education Program provides key strategies for providing experiences, revealing meaning, and establishing relevance to connect people and communities to national parks. The goal of all interpretive services is to increase each visitor’s enjoyment and understanding of the parks, and to allow visitors to care about the parks on their own terms. Interpretation programs help visitors establish personal and meaningful connections with the parks in a variety of ways, including discussions with rangers, signs about their geological history, and educational games on the WebRangers website.
CASA de Maryland: The HCIL led a volunteer day in which it helped CASA de Maryland improve their new Salesforce.com database interface so it is easier for their staff to use, given the diversity of their computer experience. If there is time, we will brainstorm staff development programs to help train staff to use this database. CASA de Maryland works with the community to improve quality of life and fight for equal treatment and full access to resources and opportunities for low-income Latinos and their families. CASA also works with other low-income immigrant communities and organizations and makes its programs and activities available to them. CASA also advocates for social, political, and economic justice for all low-income communities.
Thrive DC: The HCIL led a volunteer day in which it helped Thrive DC redesign the client area of their website so it is easier for their clients to navigate, given the diversity of their computer experience, reading levels, and language background. Thrive DC works to prevent and end homelessness by providing vulnerable individuals with a comprehensive range of services to help stabilize their lives. They accomplish this by providing the last available safety net for people facing economic crisis and housing instability while also providing the first step towards independence for people experiencing extended periods of homelessness. Their services include educational and therapeutic activities, employment preparation, comprehensive social services, and emergency services.
During 2006-2007 the HCIL completed the following service project:
U.S. Holocaust Museum: On April 26, the lab visited the Museum and helping to refine some on-going digital initiatives.
During 2005-2006 the HCIL completed the following service projects:
Forum One Communications: Backyard Jungle User Experience Review
The HCIL conducted a usability study on the PBSkids.com Backyard Jungle website, using two Kids Team research sessions to review and suggest improvements on their design from a child’s perspective.
The Institute for End User Computing, Inc: End User Computing Survey
A formal survey and a Wiki on Computer Rage were developed. Interested in what drives people mad and makes them want to do most grievous violence against their computers, The Institute for End User Computing wanted to see how they could get around these problems. Ultimately, they are trying to figure out how to design future systems where these problems won’t arise in the first place.
Center for Renaissance & Baroque Studies, University of Maryland: Making Lesson Plans Accessible to Teachers
The Center for Renaissance and Baroque Studies organizes summer workshops for teachers. One of the outcomes of these workshops are lesson plans. CRBS asked HCIL for help in creating a database of these lesson plans for easier accessibility. Once CRBS has the lesson plans in a database there are many ways they may choose to make them available to teachers.
