Page 28 - Campus Technology, March/April 2018

2017 CT IMPACT AWARDS IN DEPTH
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CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY | March/April 2018
computer labs.Older PCs were relegated to storage or the refuse pile, wasting any remaining utility.
Jenkins held a brainstorming session with Michael Bachman, director of client services, and they decided there had to be a better way. “Theresa had this idea about donating computers to Baltimore County Public Schools and I had an interest in getting the computers reconditioned because we were throwing away perfectly good computers,” Bachman recalled.
That was the origin story for what has become an innovative “EduCycle” Program to recondition and redeploy computers both on campus and in the community. The program also engages with community partners to provide experiential learning opportunities to young adults and underserved communities.
Getting the program off the ground wasn’t easy, Bachman admitted. “We needed space and people to do the work,” he said. He and Jenkins held a kickoff meeting and invited people who might have resources to contribute. The Hussman Center for Adults with Autism on the Towson campus was looking for work placements for people with autism spectrum disorders, and offered EduCycle a space to work.
Jenkins met with the person in charge of technology for Baltimore County Public Schools, and he was definitely interested in the university’s older computers. Also, the district
“We realized we could help save money for the university, give back to the community and focus on sustainability.” — Theresa Jenkins, Towson University
was interested in having students do internships working on computer refurbishment. “So not only did we have a mechanism to get rid of our oldest computers, which were still new to Baltimore County Schools, but we had a way to store computers on our campus, too,” Jenkins said. “We realized we could help save money for the university, give back to the community and focus on sustainability.”
A pilot program was started in fall 2013 to deploy some refurbished computers on campus, and by spring 2014, EduCycle had fully launched.
Here is how it works: After computers have served in the classroom for three years, they are transferred to the EduCycle program’s storage facility. Volunteers from community partners help recondition them by cleaning them thoroughly, running a hardware diagnostic and ensuring that all necessary components are present. Computers that are to be redeployed at Towson are upgraded to the campus standard of 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD. Any department on campus can submit a request for as many computers as it needs, and EduCycle provides them at no cost.
Funding was an initial hurdle. The EduCycle program wasn’t funded by the university, which made it impossible
to perform any upgrades to the computers it redeployed. But the program’s leaders eventually convinced the university’s budget officer to reallocate funds earmarked for new computer purchases to the EduCycle Program. Now the costs associated with reconditioning are covered by the savings realized by reducing new computer purchases.
The volunteers learn hands-on computer skills while also earning service-learning hours. Fifty-seven percent of work time is performed by interns and volunteers. Michael Scribner, classroom and computer lab technology coordinator, said the recondition sessions bring in students ranging from 5th grade to high school, as well as adults with autism ranging in age from 18 to 22. After a 20-minute walkthrough of the refurbishment process, students dive right in, he said. “We work with them, but it is less about us swooping in and doing things for them and more about the learning experience for them. They are learning some basic diagnostic skills for the computers and they are also learning time management and problem-solving. That skill set is adaptable across disciplines. We find that a valuable outcome.”
To date, the program’s impact has been impressive: