Alternative Spring Break

SWINGING A HAMMER IN A RIGHTEOUS CAUSE

30 iPads for 30 Students.  That is my rallying cry as the Alternative Spring Break Program celebrates its 10th anniversary at The Beach. 

A HISTORY OF SERVICE

For a decade now, students, faculty, staff, and administrators have traveled to south Louisiana to swing a hammer for a righteous cause — rebuilding the communities devastated by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  More than 270 students have contributed over 8,100 hours of service as part of this project.  All are profoundly affected by this experience, and many go on to devote additional hours of service to organizations such as AmeriCorps, JusticeCorps, Teach for America, the Peace Corps, and the Red Cross.  Yet, too few members of our campus community know about this life-changing program. 

Our project will change that. 

ENHANCING STUDENT LEARNING THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

By providing iPads to students participating in Alternative Spring Break, 30 iPads for 30 Students will ensure that the good word about this program reaches all across our campus and beyond.  It will allow next spring’s UNIV 300 class to connect with their peers on campus and on campuses throughout the CSU.  Students will use these powerful tools to document the rich culture of New Orleans, to collect testimonies from its citizens, and to map the city and its demographic patterns.  In addition, our project will give student participants the ability to share their ideas and insights with the people of New Orleans after we return to Southern California.  In fact, all of the students’ good work will be accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.

Whether students are capturing images of the floodwall that breached, the remnants of once-proud homes, or the vibrant working-class neighborhoods of the Lower Ninth Ward, they can use this raw material as the basis for multimedia presentations.  30 iPads for 30 Students will encourage students to work collaboratively and think in different ways about tackling the issues that face New Orleans.  They will hone the sorts of skills sought after by employers: teamwork, collaboration, cultural awareness and sensitivity, and critical thinking.  Moreover, these students will no longer only be consumers of social media; they will harness the incredible power of technology to become producers of digital content.