Tips for Using Community Resources

What can your local software associations or educational institutions and businesses do for your IT career education needs? There are many reasons to get to know what your local resources are and how they can help you. Here are some real life examples.

• One educator contacted her local software association looking for a guest speaker and the association ended up donating computer equipment to the school.
  
  
• Another educator contacted his local software association in search of a guest speaker and the association ended up founding a speaker's bureau. Teachers also now sit on the association's advisory committee.
  
  
• Lessons 3 and 4 of the CyberCareers.org suite suggest that you utilize a guest speaker. A guest speaker can provide a compelling story that might inspire your students to think about their own futures in more effective ways.

• Finding the right folks to help you can be a challenge. To help you meet this challenge, we are in the process of putting together a White Paper that documents known successful efforts to find and use local resources for IT Career education.
  
  
• The Information Technology of America Association's list of regional affiliates is a good place to start looking for local contacts.

You might also contact the following and ask what resources they know of or have available:

• Economic Development Council
• Chamber of Commerce Speaker Bureau
• State and Regional Software Associations
• Governor's & State Technology Policy Offices
• Community College and Vocational Technical Colleges
• Local and regional newspapers
• Regional employment offices
• Local radio or television stations

In many communities we've found independent business owners who have progressed through the IT career world with great success and are now pillars in the local business community. Many of these people are very interested in sharing their stories and helping others. Your local software association or High Tech Council may be able to put you in touch with these individuals.

As you explore these resources, use our worksheet to keep track of what you find.