Here’s an article focusing on our #CivicSummer work:
The article is wrtiten by Jason Tashea, who is one of the people who helped pull together Expunge Maryland. He really understands the value of deep youth work supporting apps of this kind.
This is one in a series of posts that help us at Smart Chicago to develop a cohesive product strategy that helps us deliver on the promise of access, skills, and data. As we’ve grown, more and more cities have an interest in how Smart Chicago works and how the model can be used near them. These detailed posts, showing all of the steps we take, are a way to keep us in check locally while be of service nationally. Here’s more information on our model.
Expunge.io is a youth-led project.
We host a lot of apps at Smart Chicago through our Developer Resources program. In many instances, we get a request, fire up an EC2 instance, and the site is off and running. In other instances, we provide hours of behind-the-scenes technical assistance, product advice, and general jibber-jabber. Other times, we conceive of and execute on the thing on our own, or develop a site for clients.
Today’s launch of Expunge.io by Cathy Deng and the Mikva Challenge Juvenile Justice Council (JJC) is in a category all by itself. The site, which helps start the process of erasing juvenile arrests and/or court records, is pretty much why we exist. For us, it grew naturally out of work we did over our CivicSummer, interacting with youth on the JJC about what interested them, where their research took them, and what issues mattered most to them.
Then, as summer became autumn, I talked on a regular basis with the intrepid and indefatigable Chris Rudd about the need for an app that helped sort out the essential but obtuse process of expungement.
He never gave up, he never stopped talking about it, and he never stopped learning. We talked about how the core of the app was not the technology— it was the info that he, the JJC youth, and their partners like the people at the Juvenile Expungement Help Desk had and had to share.
Then comes Cathy Deng, a super-smart developer looking to do civic apps that make a difference. We had invited her to join us at our final #CivicSumer session at Roosevelt University, where she got a feel for what everyone was up to and connected to people on Twitter. Then came this:
@cthydng my students came up with a great idea for an app, we just don’t know anyone who can make it real.
— PowerE2E (@PowerE2E) November 8, 2013
We set them up with space, and Smart Chicago tech consultant & general civic tech godfather Scott Robbin provided some tech guidance. Mikva Challenge Executive Director Brian Brady supported all of this with the vision of a creative organization not bogged down by process. The legal partners and justice system personnel have been highly supportive.
So here we are today. If you know anyone with a juvenile record and 4 minutes of extra time on their hands, send them to Expunge.io now.
Smart Chicago Collaborative had a very busy 2013 year. Here’s a look back.
Earlier this month, Chicago Chief Technology Officer John Tolva unveiled the city’s very first technology plan. The plan was a result of a year-long process of research, brainstorming, and thinking about how to make all of Chicago competitive in the new digital economy.
This plan is a comprehensive framework for growing Chicago’s technology sector , getting broadband connectivity for everyone, and ensuring that Chicago remains a leader in open government data .
The plan also highlights the work that the civic technology community has been doing in Chicago. From the weekly OpenGov Hack Nights, the Smart Communities Program, and youth STEM programs; Chicago already enjoys a strong set of technology strengths and this plan will enable the city to advance even further.
Smart Chicago Collaborative is proud to have a key role in many of these initiatives and is dedicated to implementing this plan. Here’s a look at our role in the plan and the aspects of our existing work in this context.
#Civic Summer is an experimental summer jobs program for teens focused on civics, media, and technology. Our inaugural program ran from July through August of 2013 and included more than 140 Chicago teens trained to use the latest digital tools to organize themselves, amplify their voice, and take positive civic action.
This program, funded by Smart Chicago based on a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, was largely run by two Chicago organizations focused on serving youth:
The Chicago Community Trust provides significant support for the program as well.
#CivicSummer Session with Mikva Challenge Aldermanic Fellows at The Chicago Community Trust
Jacqui Cheng was the lead instructor for Smart Chicago Collaborative. She and I teamed up to deliver four Friday #civicsummer sessions and custom sessions with each group.
Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy houses many #civicsummer sessions as well as the Mikva Juvenile Justice Council and the Free Spirit Media’s DocuMakers program.
Tribeca Flashpoint Cinema Lab 540a for Civic Innovation Summer
YOUMedia was the location for Mikva Digital Fellows, Mikva CPS Education Council, and Teen Health Council.
1871 was the location for one Friday #civicsummer session.
Devry was the location for the Mayoral Youth Commission.
The youth worked in separate groups, each with their own themes, leadership, and advisors.
The Juvenile Justice Advisory Council theme was “improving the criminal justice system” and reducing youth incarceration rates. Their decision makers were Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Justice Advisory Council led by Juliana Stratton. Smart Chicago worked with this Council on CAPStagram, a proposed app that would allow residents to submit “Community Concerns” via the CLEARPath API.
The Teen Health Council theme was “how to improve the health of wellness for Chicago youth” and their decision makers were Dr. Bechara Choucair, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, and Dr. Stephanie Whyte, Chicago Public Schools Chief Health Officer. Smart Chicago worked with this Council on Chicago Health Atlas, where you can view citywide information about health trends and take action near you to improve your own health.
The Mayoral Youth Commission theme was “making youth issues a top priority for the City of Chicago” and their decision makers were Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other City departments. Smart Chicago worked with this Council on the open data policies of the City as well as the data published to data.cityofchicago.org.
The Education Council theme was “how to improve school culture through increased use of youth voice” and their decision makers were Barbara Byrd Bennett, Chicago Public Schools CEO, and Chicago Public Schools Director of Youth Development and Positive Behavior Support. Smart Chicago wored with this Council on Go2School, a site that allows you to explore travel options to your Chicago Public School. Here’s the curriculum we used with this group:
The Mikva Government Fellows theme was “how government works and how it can work for youth” and their decision makers were City Aldermen. Smart Chicago worked with this Council on Chicago Works for You, which uses the City’s Open311 system to display information about city services. Here’s the curriculum we used for this group:
The Free Spirit Media DocuMakers worked on media throughout the summer. Smart Chicago worked with this group on EveryBlock and the significance of citizen journalism, tutorials on using open-source data tools, and a review of Creative Commons and other useful tools you in youth reporting. Here’s the curriculum for this group:
Jacqui Cheng speaking to Free Spirit Media DocuMakers at Tribeca Flashpoint Academy for #civicsummer
Here’s a two-pager on the program:
Here’s a nice writeup of a spot we did on Chicago Tonight. Keep tabs on existing #CivicSummer work on its project page.
Civic Innovation Summer— the experimental summer jobs program for teens focused on civics, media, and technology— has been rolling all through July. This program, funded by Smart Chicago based on a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, is largely run by the Mikva Challenge, which develops the next generation of civic leaders, activists, and policy-makers and Free Spirit Media, which provides education, access, and opportunity in media production.
But on Fridays, we pull together all of the youth into one room and teach them about technology and the concept of open. We had our first such session last Friday at 1871. Smart Chicago is a founding member of the digital startup center located in the Merchandise Mart, and days like Friday are exactly we why decided to be one of its first tenants.
Here’s the complete set of photos from our day, and a quick look at some illustrative ones:
The raw space inside one of the largest commercial buildings in the world provides a great palette for teaching youth.
Jacqui Cheng put this entire program together, including arranging for a tour of the space and lining up all of the speakers:
It was quite an experience to run 150 youth through a space where hundreds of people are running businesses. We appreciate everyone’s patience!
That’s a lotta people.
Mari Huertas of Mozilla talked about her path to a career in technology
Rayid Ghani showed a video about self-driving cars. Teaching computers how to do things is hard.
Jason Kunesh talked about the importance of designing technology to meet the needs of humans.
Is there anything more important than lunch?
Gene Leynes spoke of his business, Yolobe
We went ahead and got limbered up over lunch
Jeff McCarter of Free Spirit Media got everyone fired up about what we’re doing.
Dirk McCoy talked about Spendbot and his path to starting the company.
Jimmy Odom of WeDeliver talked about starting a business.
I talked about the importance of real Twitter accounts and having an authentic voice all day, every day.
Lastly, here’s the curriculum we used to guide our day:
Next up: our Friday session this week will be at Tribeca Flashpoint Academy and will have lots of special guests!
Today Jacqui Cheng and I talked with the #CivicSummer youth working as Documakers for Free Spirit Media about open technology as it pertains to the media industry. We talked about the building blocks of the web and some specific technologies and standards that help media makers do their jobs.
Here’s a complete set of photos and some representative images:
Jacqui talked about different social networks and how they can be used to spread messages and find content:
The huge monitors and great equipment at Tribeca provides a great basis for the youth as they make their media pieces:
Today Jacqui Cheng and I hosted the Mikva Aldermanic Fellows (“30 youth interning in Chicago aldermanic offices this summer. We are working to bring a larger voice to youth across the city.”) at the Chicago Community Trust.
Here’s a complete set of photos and some highlights of what we covered:
Jacqui reviewed the basics of the Internet, including TCP/IP, as a platform for talking about how open technology and standards can pave the way for innovation:
The Trust board room, with its nearly 100-year history of Chicago leadership, provided a great setting for our session:
The Aldermanic Fellows are staffed all across the city and come together periodically to share experiences:
Vint Cerf looks on as Jacqui enlightens:
I covered lots of examples of civic technology that helps Aldermen serve constituents, including Open311 and the yet-to-be published Chicago Works For You.
Here’s the presentation we used to guide our time together: