Teen Techs^TM is an after school program that serves Wood Middle School students, grades 6-8. During SY 2013-14, it meets on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons,from 3:00 – 4:30. Enrollment is limited to 22 students on each day, or a total of 44 students. This limit is based on the actual number of computers that we have available for our students, which is currently 12. Students must complete an application with an essay on their reason for applying, must have parental consent,must maintain a gpa condoned by AUSD, and must consistently attend the program. Every meeting day students sign in, to verify their attendance; there continuesto be a waiting list for membership. There is, of course, no charge for the program.

Teen Techs^TM originally started as a technology podcast show to support computer technology in 2005. Jonix Gabato-Telmo and Timothy Ma were the 1st Teen Techs kids to build and learn about computer architecture featuring the first pinless Pentium 4 CPU in 2005. In January 2012, Teen Techs^TM was offered at the Alameda Multicultural Center as the community outreach program for children interested in Computer Science and Technology. Both Jonix and Tim were head teaching assistants for the program and also shared their experiences in the technology world with other middle and high school students. In Spring 2012, they were both admitted to a 4 year college institution. One went to Baskin School of Engineering at U.C. Santa Cruz and the other in Management Information Systems at San Jose State.

Teen Techs^TM was then “hatched” in the fall of 2012 as an idea of a collaboration between Ms Ely, a long-time Wood Middle School teacher, and a parent, Liza Morse. Mrs. Morse is a business owner of a computer repair company and Liza is a product of UC Berkeley in Computer Programming. In Teen Techs^TM, she teaches students to “Frankenstein” computers by removing non-working parts and replace them with parts recycled from other machines. These reclaimed computers not only account for the computers we have available for Teen Techs^TM, but also have been gifted to Wood students who do not have computers at home. We have saved a number of computers from the landfill!

Ms. Ely’s role in Teen Techs^TM has been one of shaping the curriculum, dreaming, writing, and administering grants, recruiting students and checking their eligibility, providing copy for our website, and promoting the various programs of Teen Techs^TM. Ms. Ely has also written the MOU we have with Purdue University’s EPICS program, arranged for training sessions with Purdue, and worked with PTA liaison Lisa Fong on grant possibilities.

Ms. Ely has also worked to collaborate with others from our community to bring their skills to Teen Techs^TM:

After Teen Techs^TM began in January of 2013, it became clear that we could use another computer-literate adult to help manage the programs. Mr. Henry Stohner, another Wood parent, was recruited to help us with computer refurbishing and later, with robotics. Mr. Stohner stayed with us for several months, until his schedule no longer allowed his participation.

Another collaboration is our alliance with an AUSD charter school, ASTI (Alameda Science and Technology Institute) for SY 2013-14. For the past several years, ASTI has been participating in a national LEGO robotics competition (at the high school level). We have recruited a parent, Mrs. Maria Thorne, who is involved in this ASTI program and transports her daughter, Mercedes (a senior) and Adam (a sophomore), both ASTI students, to our Teen Techs^TM sessions. Both Mercedes and Adam have been tutoring our middle school kids in LEGO robotics programming.

Ms. Ely has also enlisted the expert teaching skills of jewelry-maker Erica Scone-Rees, who owns an art gallery in Oakland. Ms. Skone-Rees has been visiting Teen Techs^TM to teach jewelry-making skills to students on both Tuesday and Thursday classes. Parts left over from “reused” machines have now been culled into making “nerd jewelry.” Parts include keys, mother boards, resistors, etc. Beyond jump-rings, students have been learning skills in wrapping and have produced a number of items – necklaces, bracelets, earrings. Ms. Skone-Rees has now invited our students to exhibit their nerd jewelry at her gallery as the featured artists on an evening in late May – student-made items will be available for sale at this artists’ showcase. Proceeds from the sale will go back to the coffers of Teen Techs^TM for future programs. We are very excited!

Beyond all this, Ms. Ely has partnered with the school counselor, Kai Dwyer, to promote the school-wide No Bullying program. Students used a program called Bitstrips (paid for by our School Site Council) to produce cartoons about how to stop bullying on our campus. These cartoons are scheduled to be exhibited in the school hallways beginning the second week of April (after Spring break). We expect that these cartoons will make a big impact on student behaviors.

If this isn’t enough, Teen Techs^TM are about to take on a challenge of producing videos (using FLIP cameras, in a curriculum designed by Ms. Ely. The premise is that they are reporters from ancient Greece. They are to interview important people from the times of the Trojan War, the Persian War, or the Peloponnesian War. They will be encouraged to make costumes, props, and find appropriate settings (for example, the Ionic columns of Alameda High School and the beach of “Athens” down the street from our school. The students are very excited about this creative assignment and we can’t wait to see the results!

Two grants for Teen Techs^TM have been received from the Altamont Landfill Advisory Board. Ms. Ely has also won an East Bay CUE grant, to purchase LEGO robotics equipment, in addition to a PTSA grant for robotics, as well. We have also had the support of the School Site Council, for the purchase of a software program that allows students to create cartoons on the theme of anti-bullying. Ms. Ely has also recently received a $500 grant from the Alameda Education Foundation, which will allow Teen Techs^TM to purchase the new educational edition of Minecraft – the students will be setting up their own server and doing educational activities. There have also been parent contributions, as well as proceeds from the sale of Holiday ornaments, using computer parts.

There is truly something for everyone’s interest at Teen Techs^TM. There are some die-hard robotics students who are into programming. There are a number who LOVE to come to terms with computer problems and solve their issues. There are kids who like the creative side and enjoy the jewelry-making and the idea of video production. Kids who want to make a social change enjoy the cartooning about bullying.

Teen Techs^TM is an exciting and evolving after school education program that utilizes community resources to bring excitement and engagement to Wood Middle School students!

Send email to info@teentechs.org