Using Home Technology to Implement "Project Citizen" in a Community Setting

A pilot project with Girls Inc. Youth Development Center

Project Citizen Background
 Project Citizen was designed by the Center for Civic Education and the National Conference of State Legislatures to introduce students to the political process and to help them develop a commitment to active citizenship. The goals of Project Citizen are to provide  practical experiences and the knowledge and skills necessary for effective citizen participation. 

Project Citizen is traditionally used in a school setting with students in grades six through nine. Students are expected to identify and research a public policy problem and to develop a recommended policy and action plan that responds to the problem. These materials are presented in a class portfolio.
 

Pilot Project Organization and Goals
 Our project moves Project Citizen out of the classroom and into the community. It also shifts the presentation of the young people’s product from a portfolio to a web site. The project is a partnership between the WHYY Education Connection Project (PBS Channel 12), Girls Incorporated Youth Development Center, the Delaware Department of Education, and the Delaware Law Related Education Center, Inc. (DELREC). DELREC functions as the coordinating organization and provides the content material for the program. The project builds on WHYY Education Connection Project’s program and that program's desire to expand from schools into community organizations. The WHYY Education Connection donated use of the computers during the project and oversees the technical aspects of the project. Girls Inc. provides the young people to participate and a community location for the project’s activities. 
Objectives of the Pilot Project
 The project has two major goals.
  • To determine whether the Project Citizen curriculum can be effectively used by a community organization to teach young people civic participation skills.
  • To determine if the use of home-based computer technology, Internet access and technical skills training can be used to support the development of civic participation skills. 
The project provides participants with computers to use at home.  In addition, there is filtered Internet access, a web site, computer training and technical support for the computers. 

Participants received Project Citizen materials and training on the Project Citizen process. The specific objectives of the pilot project are for the young people to:

1. Identify a neighborhood problem.
2. Use the Internet and interviews to research the problem and identify alternative solutions.
3. Analyze, share and discuss the information gathered using a web site and meetings.
4. Develop a public policy recommendation and an action plan.
5. Learn computer and Internet skills.
The project supports the State of Delaware's Civics Standard Four for grades 9-12 to "develop and employ the skills necessary to work with government programs and agencies".

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