Students participating in the VICTORY Tutorial Program will get an added boost to their studies. The program offers free tutoring to students in grades first through 12 at designated branches of the Austin Public Library, and students are matched on a 1:1 basis with volunteers from the greater Austin community.
Working with Austin Free-Net, a nonprofit that provides computer training and Internet access, the program introduced the TechnoRead program. In December 2012 the TechnoRead pilot was born, and through it iPads were integrated into the tutoring sessions at the Carver Library.
Recently, the TechnoRead program was expanded to offer the use of five iPads and five Androids to VICTORY students at the Twin Oaks Library branch. Students and volunteer tutors are working together with the tablets as another educational tool to help with homework assignments and skill reinforcement.
Meredith Sisnett, the TechnoRead program's team lead and project specialist at Austin Free-Net coordinated with Corrina Noriega, the VICTORY tutorial program coordinator to integrate iPads into the tutoring sessions at the Carver Library. Sisnett has first-hand experience with the VICTORY Tutorial Program; as both a tutor and parent of a tutored student.