Colleagues,
Low-income families residing in assisted housing units in twenty-seven cities will have new opportunities to get free Internet access at home. https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/15/fact-sheet-connecthome-coming-together-ensure-digital-opportunity-all
ConnectHome, a new federal initiative announced today, will provide free Internet access at home, as well as technical training and digital literacy training.
One of the historic problems with efforts like this is that they tend to focus only on the hardware and access, not also on critical related needs like digital literacy training, technical support, maintenance of equipment, and especially how to use the Internet access successfully for online learning. Perhaps you will soon see efforts from city agencies to make this effort in your city a success; if so, I hope you will get involved, and speak up on behalf of the often-neglected education and training aspects, and especially to see that helping low income families — children and adults — includes using the Internet for online information searching, and basic skills, English language, and more advanced online and blended learning.
David J. Rosen
Technology and Learning, and Program Management CoP Moderator
djrosen123@gmail.com
Comments
Colleagues,
In collaboration with the federal ConnectHome initiative, Google Fibre has announced free broadband service for affordable housing residents in select cities such as Kansas City, MO, Atlanta,GA; Durham, NC; Nashville, TN and San Antonio, TX. You can read about this here.
David J. Rosen
Moderator, Technology and Learning CoP
djrosen123@gmail.com
Colleagues who are interested in addressing the digital divide,
In 2015, the Obama administration launched the ConnectHome program as a way to get broadband computer access to families in low-income affordable housing developments. It's continuing, and expanding. Read about how it has recently expanded to Akron Ohio here . Learn about other cities and communities that also now have ConnectHome.
Does your community have ConnectHome? Have you -- and your students -- had experience with ConnectHome? If so, tell us about it here.
David J. Rosen, Moderator
LINCS CoP Integrating Technology and Program Management groups