Call for Volunteers: We are excited to announce the Call for Volunteers for a 15-week service-learning project facilitated by members of the Graduate Student Assembly (GSA) of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT), and in partnership with Designers for Learning, a nonprofit organization that coordinates volunteer service-learning opportunities for instructional design students who seek to gain experience creating instruction and other types of performance improvement solutions for nonprofits and other social enterprises. We are now accepting applications from students who are enrolled in college instructional design programs and would like to volunteer as part of a 6-person cohort for the upcoming spring 2015 semester. The service-learning project will be managed by three GSA members, including Jason Engerman (Penn State University and GSA President), Wendy Gentry (Virginia Tech), and Paige Hale (Morehead State University).

Project Description: As outlined in the project description, this is the third iteration of a service-learning project focused on the design of open educational resources for adult basic education. While the long-term goal for this project is to develop an online platform with resources to support the missions of many organizations, those selected to participate on this service-learning project will be volunteers of Grace Centers of Hope, a faith-based outreach to homeless and disadvantaged individuals and families. Grace Centers of Hope provides a full recovery and rehabilitation campus for homeless men, women, and children, including a one-year residency program for those recovering from drug, alcohol, or other challenging issues. Clients in the residency program who have not earned a high school diploma (or equivalent) are required to take in-house adult basic education classes to prepare for the General Educational Development (GED) test in order to stay in the program. Continuing the work of service-learning projects that concluded in 2014, volunteer instructional designers selected for the upcoming 2015 cohort will design and develop instructional resources aimed at preparing adults for their high school equivalency exams, as well as college or new careers.

Why Should Students Apply? By applying to join this cohort of 6 instructional designers, you will have the opportunity to engage in an instructional design service-learning project. This project will help you to hone your design and virtual project management skills, and to gain experience for your resume, CV, or design portfolio. This service-learning project may also enable you to fulfill course, internship, or service requirements within your enrolled college program, and to publish materials as a member of an instructional design team. In addition, your team of volunteer designers will help our nonprofit partners as they assist adult learners who are preparing for high school equivalency exams. Designers selected for the project who successfully meet all project requirements will receive a Certificate of Completion in May 2015.

Application Process: Please see http://studio.designersforlearning.org/call-for-volunteers-spring2015/ for information about the Call for Volunteers, including application instructions. Applications are due on or before January 2, 2015, and the volunteer selection will be announced January 16, 2015.

Comments or Questions?
Please forward this Call for Volunteers announcement to other students or faculty, and contact us with any questions or comments. Thank you for your interest in volunteering your time, skills, and knowledge to this important need.
Dr. Jennifer Maddrell, Designers for Learning

Project Description: As outlined in the project description, the focus of this service-learning project is the design of open educational resources for adult basic education. While the outcome of this project will support the missions of many organizations, those selected to participate on this service-learning project will be volunteers of Grace Centers of Hope, a faith-based outreach to homeless and disadvantaged individuals and families. Grace Centers of Hope provides a full recovery and rehabilitation campus for homeless men, women, and children who have been abused or addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, including a one-year residency program for adult male and female clients recovering from drug, alcohol, or other challenging issues. Clients in the Grace Centers of Hope residency program who have not earned a high school diploma (or equivalent) are required to take in-house adult basic education classes to prepare for the General Educational Development test in order to stay in the program.

As a follow up to the pilot service-learning project that concluded this spring, Grace Centers of Hope has asked Designers for Learning to facilitate another volunteer service-learning project focused on the design of instructional materials and learning activities to meet the parameters of the College and Career Readiness standards, the basis of the General Educational Development test. The request for help includes instructional resources for adult learners, as well as instructors and volunteers who work as tutors. Volunteer service-learners selected for the fall 2014 cohort will design and develop open educational resources to prepare adults for their high school equivalency exams, as well as college or new careers.

Application Process: Please see the application instructions on the Call for Volunteers at http://studio.designersforlearning.org/call-for-volunteers/. Applications are due on or before August 15, 2014, and the volunteer selection will be announced September 1, 2014.

Comments or Questions?
Please forward this Call for Volunteers announcement to other students or faculty, and contact us with any questions or comments. Thank you for your interest in volunteering your time, skills, and knowledge to this important need.

Project Co-facilitators

Dr. Jennifer Maddrell, Designers for Learning

Dr. Jill Stefaniak, Old Dominion University