Tech on wheels

Techmobile brings the latest in technology to students at Boys and Girls Club

MOSES LAKE — Four o' clock in the afternoon at the Moses Lake Boys and Girls Club is a busy time of day.

The usual socializing, games and homework go on as usual, but this Wednesday students had a new option for after school activities: The Techmobile.

It is literally a technology center on wheels, traveling to areas where there is a lack of technology available to young people. The Techmobile makes stops in 30- to 90-minute increments and has a state of the art multi-media center, online radio station and other software programs.

This will give students a better idea of what the Boys and Girls Club has to offer, said Moses Lake Boys and Girls Club branch director Ryan Davenport.

The Techmobile is funded through a $1.2 million grant over three years which the Boys and Girls Club of America requested from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The BGCA received the grant which will help the Washington State Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs provide 77 club sites with technology programs.

The alliance is a nonprofit group that works with the Boys and Girls Club sites throughout the state to offer programs and to act as a liaison between clubs and outside organizations.

On Wednesday, students learned how to create their own movies.

After the projects were created, they were up-linked to the Web so students could view their work.

"Instead of being the passive users of technology, they create it," said Abraham Sabbagh, technology project manager with the Boys and Girls Clubs Washington State Alliance.

On board the Techmobile, two types of programming are offered.

One is an activity station program designed to provide brief exposure to a variety of technology resources in five- or 10-minute exercises. The second type of programming is a program center, intended for smaller groups to create radio spots for online broadcasts, digital scrapbooks and newscasts.

Boys and Girls Club staff training is another component of the Techmobile.

"It gives you more choices of what else to do versus going on the Internet," said 15-year-old Desiree Garcia.

Seven-year-old Eddie Reyes liked being able to create music.

"I get to make whatever music I want," Reyes said. "It's really cool."

The aim of the technology is to promote teamwork, problem solving and other life skills promoted by the Boys and Girls Club, said Sabbagh. "We want them to engage their imagination," Sabbagh said.