[ Organization ] [ Preparation ] [ Value ]
Every year, the High Tech TSA chapter conducts a series computer courses for the community as fundraisers. These courses are organized and taught by the student TSA members. The appeal is wide, as parents, neighbors, and even teachers come to learn new skills. Most of the courses cover specific programs and the popular functions used, such as the Microsoft Office programs. Students also hold a course on using FirstClass, the program used for the school’s bulletin board system. With this knowledge, parents can get more involved in their child’s school life and be aware of happenings. Another popular course is on Internet searching, a highly useful and necessary skill in today's wired world.

These courses are held every fall. The TSA chapter holds meetings to discuss places for improvement based on the experiences from the last year, what courses should be offered, if any courses should be changed, and to assign the groups of students to teach the different courses. After those preliminary decisions are made, the club puts together a flier and advertises to the teachers of High Technology High School and the other academies of the district. The flier also goes into the PFA newsletter, which is sent out monthly to the parents of High Technology students. Through these advertisements and through word of mouth, the chapter gets many responses for the courses and typically has between 15 and 25 people sign up for a course.
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Each computer course taught is led by a different group of students, with one as the main teacher and the others helping him or her prepare for the evening. These groups of students have several obligations to meet in the teaching of the course. They first draw up an outline of the specific topics to be covered. After an initial basic lecture, those taking the course have planned activities to complete as a sort of hands-on experience while the “teachers” go around the room, giving help and advice. Handouts must also be prepared so that each member of the community is able to take home something tangible from the course to help remind them of what they have been taught.
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These fundraisers are very valuable to not only the community, but also to High Technology's teachers and the students. Many young students don't realize that the use of a now commonplace tool such as the computer may greatly perplex and thus cause fear in parents, teachers, or elderly citizens. In passing on their knowledge, the students acting as teachers learn the value of patience, organization, and preparation, all of which they will use in their real world lives.
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