Lessons from the Everett Program
Team Members:
Jocelyn Borys, Sociology w/ GISES, Porter ’23
Milo Santamaria, Sociology w/ GISES + minor in Anthropology, College Ten ’22
Suzuka Shinohara, Environmental Studies w/ concentration in Global Environmental Justice, Stevenson ’22
Partner Organization: The Everett Program
Technology can heighten inequalities and worsen social and environmental issues, but it can also be used as a tool for positive social change. Despite technology’s potential for use in social good efforts, there are few resources available to support educators who wish to empower students to realize that potential. The lack of supportive, socially responsible education in tech is caused by unequal access to education and technology, and an educational system that focuses on producing diligent workers rather than on relationship-building and critical thinking. In a world increasingly shaped by digital technologies created by for-profit companies helmed by rich white men, the absence of progressive tech education is becoming more urgent. To address this issue, Everett has partnered with the Public Interest Technology University Network, a network of universities with programs aiming to promote technology’s use for the public interest rather than for profit. With PIT-UN funding, Everett is undertaking a project to share the ways that the program supports marginalized students, creates opportunities for student leadership and collaboration, and guides students through tech-for-social good projects in collaboration with community partners.
Total Funding: $3,512
Project Description
Our team is responsible for the designing, building, and content curation of the Everett Program’s toolkit website, as well as writing one article each about topics relating to our own experiences in the Everett Program.The project hopes to bring insight into the mission and pedagogical approach of the Everett Program through the website’s publication and technology toolkit. It hopes to inform the PIT-UN university community of the Everett programs integration of the Heads, Hearts, and Hands philosophy, as well as provide PIT-UN faculty with toolkits that may enrich their own curriculums. The project hopes that this project will inspire others to collaborate with the Everett Program and create new programs and institutions based on their teaching techniques.
Project Outcomes
The Lessons from the Everett Program project will create a web publication that will act as a platform for the content the fellows and staff are creating for Everett’s partnership with PIT-UN. This website will host the stories of Everett Program students, fellows and staff, as well as an online toolkit detailing the Program’s pedagogical methods. We anticipate that this project will increase the visibility of the Everett Program in the landscape of higher education. We hope that this inspires educators at other institutions to implement the Everett Program’s values and teaching techniques to improve their programs, or to expand their programs to include students from outside of computer science and engineering.