At the Computer Clubhouse, Boston Youth Direct Their Own Learning

Janet Littell

Two ten-year-old girls put together a computer animation of blue 
and red human figures, dancing to upbeat music. A high school junior 
creates artwork grieving for the victims of street violence, and it's 
displayed on the P.O.V. Interactive Web site sponsored by PBS. Two 
other youths create a 40-foot-square, computer-controlled LEGO city 
that has the lights and sounds of a real city - including a train depot 
and a power plant. 

Kids today, so computer savvy. But what makes these projects even 
more remarkable is that these young artists and builders don't have 
much access to computers at home or in school. What they do have, 
though, is a clubhouse.

The Computer Clubhouse was established in 1993 by The Computer 
Museum and Media Lab Professor Mitchel Resnick. It's an 
environment where kids have the support they need to become 
confident learners who direct their own projects on computers.

The Clubhouse was first envisioned as a place for inner-city youth to 
get their hands on powerful computing tools, and as a model learning 
environment for how technology can support learning and 
community development. The Museum lined up sponsors to get the 
project started, with Intel providing the largest donation of seed 
money. Initially, groups of children from underserved communities 
were brought to the Clubhouse in vans. Now boys and girls in target 
communities learn about the Clubhouse mostly from their friends.

Several satellite clubhouses - each tailored to its community and host 
organization - have been established. There are Computer Clubhouses 
at the Harriet Tubman House, the Roxbury Boys & Girls Club, the 
Patriots' Trail Girl Scout Council, and the Brooklyn (NY) Children's 
Museum. There's even a Clubhouse in Esslingen, Germany, outside 
Stuttgart.

Life in the Clubhouse
Clubhouse members range in age from 8 to 18. They drop by the 
Clubhouse after school and on Saturdays to design and create with 
up-to-date computer technology in a casual but high-energy 
atmosphere. Mentors give feedback and encourage the kids to search 
their imaginations for follow-on ideas and new possibilities.

Members work singly and in groups for days, weeks, or months to 
implement their ideas on the computer - creating art and animation, 
game designs, simulations, video clips, musical creations, newsletters, 
and robotic constructions. There's a high priority on developing a 
culture of respect and trust. In the often crowded Clubhouse, 
members also learn how to share - not just equipment, but skills.

Instead of educational software, the Clubhouse provides hardware 
and software for the professional designer - color scanners and 
software for image processing, animation, multimedia,  and 3-D 
rendering. The Clubhouse has a music and sound-editing studio, and 
a video studio that's under renovation.

One member, Katie Acosta said, 
"I am getting experience with all kinds of software and computers 
that I can't get my hands on yet at school." Katie wrote an article 
about her experience at the Clubhouse for New Moon, a national 
magazine for girls. 

Mike Lee, a member with comic book design skills who had lost 
interest in school, quickly became a mentor for other members. A 
talented artist who had never used computers before coming to the 
Clubhouse, Mike developed such expertise that he landed a job 
creating graphics for a prominent consulting firm. His clubhouse 
experience made him "more aware of my world."

To see some of the collages, self-portraits, and fantastic scenes 
created by Clubhouse members, go to

http://www.tcm.org/resources/clubhouse/pictures.html

Ties with MIT
The Clubhouse continues to collaborate with the Media Lab, serving 
as a test bed for new ideas about learning. The Beyond Black Boxes 
project at the Patriots' Trail Girl Scouts satellite clubhouse introduces 
inner-city girls to scientific inquiry and experimentation. This 
summer, a group of the girls developed instruments using Cricket 
robots to measure, transmit, and graph temperature changes on 
weather balloons at varying altitudes. The Crickets, developed at the 
Media Lab through an NSF grant, are LEGO bricks with tiny 
computers embedded inside. For more information about Crickets 
and the Beyond Black Boxes project, go to the MIT Epistemology and 
Learning Group's Projects page at 

http://el.www.media.mit.edu/groups/el/elprojects.html

Looking Ahead
Gail Breslow, Computer Clubhouse Director, has even more initiatives 
in the works. With Computer Museum and sponsor support, the 
Clubhouse plans to go global, using the practices that have worked 
best in the Clubhouse and its satellites. Closer to home, the Clubhouse 
recently launched the Clubhouse-to-College/Clubhouse-to-Career 
project. This project supports members in planning for the future 
and realizing their potential.

The Clubhouse also intends to expand its online presence. Right now, 
the Web site at

http://www.tcm.org/clubhouse/

explains the Clubhouse philosophy, showcases members' artwork and 
Web pages, and provides links to satellite clubhouses. In the future, 
the Clubhouse hopes to provide an online setting where members 
around the world can collaborate, participate in online simulations, 
and work in virtual animation labs. A newsletter and member chat 
room are also planned.

Mentors
Clubhouse members receive support and guidance from their 
mentors. Mentors are key to the Clubhouse, and the goal is a ratio of 
one mentor for every four members. Mentors can be professionals, 
college students, retirees, or anyone interested in young people and 
art, animation, music, robotics, or the Web. 

If you would be willing to share your experiences, serve as a role 
model, and support member explorations, contact Marlon Orozco at 
426-2800 x347 or <orozco@tcm.org>.