Month: January 2014

Join us at our next Connect Chicago Meetup: Teaching digital skills in an ESL context

Christopher Whitaker

In our next meetup, we’ll cover practices and methods in teaching digital skills in an ESL context.

Connect Chicago Meetup, November 2013

We will have Roberto Pang from the CyberNavigator program of the Chicago Public Library talk about their work in this area.

Stephen Alderson, Director of Adult Education at Instituto del Progreso Latino will talk about their CYBER-ESL, a blended online ESL program for adult ESL learners. CYBER-ESL students use computers equipped with cameras and microphones, and access free resources on the USALearns website (www.usalearns.org). Instructors assign lessons and supervise students through a series of phone conversations and video conferences. Students also meet in person as a group with their instructor twice a month to take tests and clarify issues.

You can RSVP for the meetup on the Connect Chicago Meetup Group page. If you questions about the Connect Chicago program, feel free to reach out to us on our contact page.

On our Partnership with Cook County to Expand Open Data

Smart Chicago

328px-Seal_of_Cook_County,_Illinois.svgToday the Cook County Board approved a contract that codifies a partnership between the Smart Chicago Collaborative and the County of Cook. Here’s a snip from the County’s announcement of the partnership:

“Entering into this partnership with Smart Chicago will help the County find ways to improve the lives of residents through technology,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. “It is part of my administration’s commitment to provide accessible and up-to-date information.”

Here’s the item that came up for a vote before the Board. The full agenda, pulled from the Board meetings homepage, can be found here.

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Livestream: Inaugural Meeting of the Health Data Liberation Group

Christopher Whitaker

In our first meetup, we’ll do some self-organizing and get to know each other better. Our goal is to get as many health data workers and thinkers together and work on how to liberate more and more health data to make it useful to people in Chicago.

We’ll have a place for people watching online to ask questions on our Google+ Page or you can just watch below. We’ll start the stream at about 6:10ish.