Technology-based community service

Abstract

Engineering programs do an excellent job of preparing students to contribute to society. Students are offered well-structured technical programs that develop their problem solving, teamwork, and communication skills and that expose them to the impact of technology upon society. However, many programs overlook their responsibility to encourage students to develop a life-long commitment to community service. Even when universities integrate a community service component into the students' learning experience, they often fail to encourage engineering students to apply their technical skills to community service projects. Only a few examples of technology-based community service projects have enjoyed widespread acceptance. However, a wide variety of technology-based community service opportunities exist in most communities. Engineering programs should take the lead in identifying these opportunities and in encouraging students to provide these services. This paper describes the author's experience with two, semester-long technology-based community service projects that were conducted at Washington State University during the 1994-95 academic year. Both of these projects were centered around the theme Multimedia and the World Wide Web (WWW). Based on this experience, the author developed a set of guidelines for establishing technology-based community service programs. These guidelines are presented together with a discussion of the importance of training, interdisciplinary teamwork, communication skills, field supervision, structured reflection, and the periodic evaluation of the projects.