Compiled by Jayashree Janardhan, Asha-Seattle
Aug 2001

(1) Content creation. Asha volunteers in the US are in a unique
    position with access to plenty of information that could perhaps
    form the basis for creative and simple content for the schools we
    work with. Good content is expensive for most of our schools. If
    we can provide *free* *quality* content - it will be a *huge*
    help. It does not take as much time as we think. So just give it a
    shot. Each one of us may have an area of interest.  It may be
    worth exploring writing simple content in our individual area of
    interest. I think there is no limit on the topics - so anything
    that you feel like pursuing could potentially be explored. Also
    topics dont have to be an entire area. They could even be
    pamphlets of information that could benefit the students. Work
    with your school(s) in finding out if they are interested.
    Sometimes, you may have to create content first and then explore
    to find schools that may find it useful. As an example - I worked
    on computer related content for schools which have no technology
    background.  Most computer literature in the market today assumes
    atleast some technical exposure and I found that even this was
    intimidating to some potential users. I went ahead and created a
    bunch of content really tailored to keeping things as free of
    jargon as possible. "Vikasana" a school near Bangalore was finding
    that learning computers (both the teachers and students) was an
    uphill task. To them it was a maze and they kept putting off
    taking the first step. So I brought up the possibility of starting
    lessons using the content I had developed. Malathi akka, who is
    one of the main teachers jumped at the idea. We first decided to
    explore the viability of the notes on the teachers first. 2
    volunteers from Bangalore - Lokesh and Vibha joined in this
    effort. Vibha, inspired by the school, decided to donate her
    computer. The three of us set it up for them and then started the
    "lessons". This turned out to be a real success and both the
    teachers and children are now enthusiatically learning. They feel
    that the content really helped them overcome technology
    barriers. Vibha and Lokesh continue to teach and are a big hit
    with the teachers and students.

(2) Research and input on access and technology for special
    education. I have worked with schools for visually impaired and
    spastic children to give them input on what is available in the US
    in terms of access aids. Simple devices or potential curriculum
    design really helped the schools get their students with
    disabilities into areas of vocational training. For example - a
    screen reader software JAWS opened up 21 visually impaired
    students to getting trained on computers. This program was
    initiated by the school in 1998.  Ashok and myself worked with
    them in researching the products, ordering it for them and then
    giving our input on curriculum content. Today 18 of them have jobs
    and the program has expanded way beyond our expectations. It did
    not take that much effort from us. I think in total it took less
    than 3 weeks of volunteer hours over 3 years! Most of our time was
    spent learning about JAWs, ordering the package and then working
    with them to get it installed. Visits every time we went home
    helped us and the school shape the curriculum well.

(3) Input on reducing administrative burden for our NGOs. Many of our
    NGOs are really not in a position to figure out how to use
    technology to make their admin work easier. They are extremely
    short staffed in most cases so this type of input will work
    wonders for them. This is one area we can really help in. As an
    example - "Sutradhar" is a non profit resource center for various
    teaching aids, experiments and books. Like most NGOs they are very
    short staffed. They were really looking for help with choosing and
    procuring library, inventory and web related software. A couple of
    us worked with them in defining their needs formally and then
    helping them get a process in place for evaluating different
    options.  In fact, they still need help finding inventory software
    that suits their budget. If any of you are keen please send me
    email.

    Another example is work being done with Avehi Abacus. Volunteers
    from the Seattle team are working with Avehi Abacus in scanning
    their curriculum material and getting things online so their
    editing processes become easier.  We have initiated this and Avehi
    Abacus welcomes our help.

(4) Website development for our projects.  If your project has some
    cool ideas - wont it be nice to make them available to a larger
    audience including other schools and teachers? Can we create
    websites for them?  Asha can really help share information between
    projects.  This is an area with HUGE potential yet untapped by
    Asha volunteers. We can be good liasons of information. If
    volunteers are interested - it is worth exploring forming a team
    for just this.  The asha-research group was set up partly for this
    purpose. Interested volunteers could join in and initiate action.