KidsTek, D2Xchange Partnership Helps Students Produce E-Yearbooks
Students in the first class to complete a school year at Denver’s Manual High School all received a 2007-2008 yearbook thanks to a partnership between the non-profit KidsTek and D2Xchange.
“Yearbooks are a time-honored high school tradition,” said Elizabeth Leenhouts, executive director of KidsTek. “But they are also expensive to produce. And with only one freshman class to share expenses, printed books would be too cost-prohibitive for most of the students at Manual to purchase.”
With guidance from KidsTek, a non profit dedicated to bridging the technology gap in Colorado’s under-served communities, Manual students took a non-traditional approach to producing their 2007-2008 yearbooks. They created an electronic yearbook that D2Xchange reproduced on DVDs at no cost to the school or students.
“Students had fun capturing the pictures, stories and memories of their freshman year, while they learned software programs like PowerPoint and Microsoft Word,” Leenhouts said. “They also learned layout, presentation and editing skills, as well as teamwork and the importance of meeting deadlines.”
Once compiled, the yearbook was burned onto DVDs. Students were able to pick up their e-yearbooks on the last day of classes at Manual High School.
About KidsTek
KidsTek is a non-profit foundation established in 2000 by several of Colorado’s leading technology executives to enhance our communities and to bring the opportunities of technology to Colorado’s underserved children. KidsTek partners with Colorado companies and foundations to develop and improve access to technology resources in order to educate and engage kids in the diverse opportunities of the technology sector. For more information, please visit: http://www.kidstek.org.