Allen University opens Community Technology Center - Tech Talk - Allen-Waverly Community Technology Center

Black Issues in Higher Education, May 8, 2003 by Ronald Roach

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Working to bridge the digital divide for nearby residents in Columbia's historic Waverly neighborhood, Allen University has opened the Allen-Waverly Community Technology Center. The center is expected to serve the community, as well as students and Allen University faculty members.

"The center will host after-school tutorial and homework assistance programs for school-age children," says Garrick Rogers, university director of information technology. "It will also provide computer access for children and adults."

The center hosts technology and computer-based classes for adults and children and will provide workshops for adults seeking career-search assistance. According to Rogers, software instruction available to the community includes the Microsoft Office 2000 suite of products, Adobe products, Macromedia products and several Web-authoring tools.

Visitors to the center can learn to use a digital camera and its accompanying software. The community will have access to the center from 4 to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Located in the heart of the Waverly Community, the facility that has now become the Allen-Waverly Community Technology Center was previously home to a prominent Columbia dentist and his family. A $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funded the rehab of the facility and will provide equipment and salary for a center coordinator.

In addition to the community technology center, Allen University officials have launched in recent months an "E-Learning Initiative." The initiative--a joint effort between the university's Offices of Information Technology and Academic Affairs--emphasizes computer-based technology into the curriculum. Within the past year, Allen has opened four new computer labs for student use through the initiative.

"(The initiative) also concentrates on instructors utilizing lecture notes, homework and quizzes online, as well as audio/video presentations and computer-based applications to enhance the learning process," Rogers says.

Two of the labs are located in the J.S. Flipper Library and Learning Resource Center and are funded by UNCF Special Programs and SCANA, respectively. The other two computer labs--a music facility and a foreign language center--are located in historic Arnett Hall, the university's oldest building. These two labs were funded through a grant from the UNCF/Lilly Foundation.