|
|
|
|
|
State and National ResourcesA listing of programs, organizations, articles and reports pertaining to the bridging the Digital Divide. Programs Friends for
Youth is an award winning mentoring agency which serves at-risk
children (ages 8-17) in the San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The
program creates and cultivates children's friendships with caring adult
role models who help them strengthen their skills, develop their values
and realize their full potential. The youth meet with their carefully
screened, trained volunteers every week for a minimum of one year. Hewlett-Packard Telementoring
Program pairs HP employees with 5th - 12th grade and college students
from public, private and home school environments to excel in math,
science and career planning through email correspondence. Hispanic Community Network Initiative is a $20 million software donation program designed to support and enhance the efforts of nonprofit organizations that serve Hispanic populations throughout the country. INROADS INROADS
is a non-profit organization which develops and places talented minority
high school and college students in business and industry, preparing
them for corporate and community leadership. Students participate in
a summer internship of ten weeks or more, over the course of 2-5 summers,
and learn corporate exposure through hands-on work experience and participation
in the INROADS summer training institute. KnowNet Open Initiative aims to popularise and facilitate knowledge networking in developing countries for overall human development through the amalgamation of Information and Communication Technology and remote volunteering. Some resources have already been developed and hosted on the website at www.KnowNet.org under the KnowNet Initiative namely KnowNet Weaver-a tool kit for creation of interactive websites and TechKnowNet - an email administered /on-line training course for web development for laypersons. Both these resources are free and are being put to use through the help of remote KnowNet volunteers. Many more resources are in the pipeline. Puente High School Program, open
to all students, helps students stay in school, enter college and succeed.
High school students who participate in the program: (1) work with Puente
counselors who introduce them to college and career opportunities; (2)
take a two-year English class that includes Mexican American and Latino
literature in the coursework; (3) meet with either a student or adult
mentor who has been successful in school; and (4) take field trips to
college campuses and professional workplaces. Puente Community College Program
works to increase the number of educationally underserved students who
transfer to four-year colleges and universities, earn degrees, and return
to the community as leaders and mentors to future generations. Students
in the community college program are provided with: (1) accelerated
English writing instruction; (2) sustained academic counseling; and
(3) mentors from the professional community. Share the Technology maintains an online, searchable computer donation database listing requests and offers throughout the world. Listings are free for donors and requesting nonprofits, schools and people with disabilities. "To bridge the digital divide, you must first provide basic computer hardware to provide the foundation upon which other efforts may be built. Some of the millions of machines discarded each year should be recycled for reuse by organizations in need." SkillsNet is a website connecting employers, educators and job seekers in the animation, digital effects, web and multimedia fields. Stanford Friends
Program provides students with exposure to diverse career options
and a source of inspiration, by pairing Stanford student role models
with children who need extra support. Stanford Friends commit 3 hours
per week for two quarters, assisting with homework, going to sporting
events and hanging out on the Stanford University campus. OrganizationsAlliance for Community Technology was launched in 1997 as a strategic partnership between the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the University of Michigan through its new School of Information. The partnership was motivated by the perspective that information technology has emerged to the point that it could have an increasingly vital role in the Foundation's fundamental mission to help people help themselves through the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations. Alliance for Global Learning is a strategic partnership between Schools Online, World Links for Development (WorLD), and the International Education and Resource Network (I*EARN). An unprecedented consortium, the Alliance for Global Learning was created to provide education opportunities for students around the world. The vision of the Alliance for Global Learning is to link students and teachers around the world using new technologies to improve education, provide collaboration opportunities and build global awareness. The Benton Foundation works to realize the social benefits made possible by the public interest use of communications. Bridging the worlds of philanthropy, public policy, and community action, Benton seeks to shape the emerging communications environment and to demonstrate the value of communications for solving social problems. The Black Family Network "The Internet's center for technology resources and services that make a positive contribution to the lives of black families around the world." Break Away Technologies was established subsequent to the Los Angeles riots to promote and improve the quality of life of urban children, youth, and families through values-based, character-building education, focusing on increasing the level of computer literacy and availability in targeted areas. Through an integrity-grounded education, the organization helps urban children, youth, and families "break away" from unproductive behavior and then connect to that which holds the promise of a bright future. Center for Virtual Research within UC Riverside, explores ways in which emerging technologies can be incorporated within teaching, research and the development of local on-line communities. Community Connect uses a fleet of mobile Community Technology Centers called eBuses to overcome barriers in location, income and even language to provide access to technology and technology training in neighborhoods throughout California. Computers for Learning Federal Government Site for program which donates surplus Federal computer equipment to schools and educational nonprofit organizations. Computers in Our Future is a $6 million, five-year initiative established by the California Wellness Foundation to develop eleven community computer training centers in low-income neighborhoods across California. The project seeks to improve educational and employment opportunities for young people in low-income communities by increasing access to training, technology and jobs. Connect for Kids provides information for adults who want to make their communities better places for kids. Their award-winning Web site, e-mail newsletters, radio, print and TV ads help people become more active citizens?—from volunteering to voting. Cyber High Fresno County, California, Office of Education is in the process of developing a prototype to bring high school curriculum to any student who wishes to earn credit toward graduation. It will no longer be necessary to learn from a textbook alone or to follow a set schedule of class time dominated by the clock. The classroom walls will be taken down and learning will be possible anytime the student has access to a computer and the Internet. The Detwiler Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in September 1991 by John, Carolyn and Diana Detwiler. Now in its seventh year, the Computers for Schools Program has program activity nationwide and is the largest source of computer equipment for K-12 schools in California. Digital Divide Network is produced and managed by the Benton Foundation, in association with the National Urban League, to tackle the growing gap between those who have access to technology and information skills and those who do not through a powerful knowledge network. The purpose of the DDN is to enable and facilitate the sharing of ideas, information and creative solutions among industry partners, private foundations, nonprofit organizations and governments. GetNetWise is a public service by Internet industry corporations and public interest organizations to help ensure that families have safe, constructive, and educational or entertaining online experiences. The GetNetWise coalition wants Internet users to be just "one click away" from the resources they need to make informed decisions about their family's use of the Internet. Heaven is a non-profit organization dedicated to using technology and the Internet to benefit society and bridge the divide between technology haves and have-nots. IBM Charitable Contributions Site IBM?’s Reinventing Education program helps grant recipients by contributing funds, researchers and technology. Internet Education Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and policymakers about the potential of a decentralized global Internet to promote democracy, communications, and commerce. Kids Computer Workshop has a mission to bring technology and mentoring to Washington, DC's at-risk children. The program teaches computer skills with a focus on activities that develop literacy and critical thinking. They provide kids with a safe, supportive place during out-of-school hours where they are exposed to positive role-models and build confidence and self-esteem. Latino Issues Forum is a nonprofit public policy and advocacy institute dedicated to advancing new and innovative public policy solutions for a better, more equitable and prosperous society. Established in 1987, LIF's primary focus is on the broader issues of access to higher education, economic development, health care, citizenship, regional development, telecommunications issues, and regulatory issues. National Telecommunications and Information Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Executive Branch's principal voice on domestic and international telecommunications and information technology issues. NTIA works to spur innovation, encourage competition, help create jobs and provide consumers with more choices and better quality telecommunications products and services at lower prices. National Urban League is a nonprofit, community-based organization headquartered in New York City, which has been operating technology-based programming since 1968. The organization has 114 affiliates in 34 states and the District of Columbia. National Urban Technology Center is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to preparing inner-city communities across the country for full participation in the information age. It helps communities create a technology and telecommunications infrastructure. Neighborhood Networks is a community-based initiative of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that encourages the development of resource and computer learning centers in privately owned HUD-assisted and/or -insured housing. These centers work to build self-reliant neighborhoods that meet the needs of lower-income families and seniors where they live. NetDay Digital Divide Initiative Connecting Communities through Technology. The NetDay Digital Divide Initiative (NDDI) has a clear purpose: to bridge the digital divide by re-establishing schools as community centers in low-income communities where students, educators, and parents have access to technology, and to use these new high-tech schools as models to replicate the program in communities across the United States. NDDI is a program that works with school and community leaders in Empowerment Zones to improve educational outcomes through technology and to develop a high-tech school model that could be replicated in other schools. The program was launched in spring 1999 with a startup grant from the Department of Education. NetDay Digital Divide Initiative programs are currently in place in 37 K-12 schools in 7 Empowerment Zone communities Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City, the Mississippi River Delta, the Rio Grande Valley, Oakland, and Washington, DC. Over the past year, NDDI project directors have been working to complete infrastructure development; establish community advisory boards; assess of education and technology needs and goals; and, create professional development programs. New Oregon Trail Resource On-Line Guide: Federal Technology Grant Programs Parents, Educators and Publishers has a national directory of computer recycling programs. PowerUp: Bridging the Digital Divide PowerUP will bridge the Digital Divide by ensuring that America's underserved young people acquire the skills, experiences, and resources they need to succeed in the digital age. They use technology as a means unto an end: To build skills and confidence in youth. They implement their program, based on the "Five Promises" of America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth, in established environments conducive to learning. Each of the "Five Promises" comprise our "Power Pack" of resources - caring adults who serve as mentors, safe places in which to explore computers and the Internet, a healthy start through snacks and online programming, marketable skills via technology and opportunities to serve. Salesforce.com Foundation is a new organization in California dedicated to bridging the digitial divide. SeniorNet is a nonprofit organization that provides adults 50+ access to and education about computer technology and the Internet to enhance their lives and enable them to share their knowledge and wisdom. Technology Access Foundation teaches computer skills to communities of color. Tomas Rivera Policy Institute is a freestanding, nonprofit, policy research organization which has attained a reputation as the nation's "premier Latino think tank." Through its strong capacity to conduct primary and secondary data analysis, TRPI is uniquely positioned to fill the void in information that exists among policymakers and political leaders regarding the complexities that characterize the U.S. Latino population--e.g. its heterogeneous composition, its bilingualism, and its diverse nativity. U.S. Commerce Department's "Closing the Digital Divide" The Commerce Department's Digital Divide Website, a comprehensive clearinghouse for information about the Clinton Administration's efforts to provide all Americans with access to the Internet and other information technologies that are crucial to their economic growth and personal advancement.
ArticlesBridging the Digital Divide: Thinking about Community Technology by Josh Senyak & Albert Fong Digital
Divide? Civic Engagement, Information Poverty & the Internet
by Pippa Norris, November 2000 "Living
Wage"- - It's About Time by Neal Peirce La brecha se vuelve abismo August 24, 2000 Closing the Gap: Joint Venture Seeks to Include Poor in Valley's Boom. Joint Venture President and CEO Ruben Barrales and State Sen. John Vasconcellos, D-San Jose, an adviser to the project, talked about how they intend to close this digital divide. San Jose Mercury News, February 19, 2000 PBS Series on the Digital Divide PBS viewers can preview this upcoming two-part series through the accompanying website of the same name. The Digital Divide examines the digital revolution and how the spread of computer technology is affecting young people in the United States. The website is arranged into four main sections: Classrooms, Gender, Race, and At Work. In each section, there is an interactive lesson on the issue (Interact), interviews with experts (Voices), and list of annotated Internet resources on the issue (Links). The first part of the Digital Divide aired nationally on PBS stations on January 28, 2000. Native Americans and the Digital Divide by the Benton Foundation, Digital Beat, October 1999 Internet-Savvy Hispanic Kids Still Need a Boost in the Basics San Francisco Chronicle, October 17, 1999 Technology Professional Development for Teachers: Overcoming a Pedagogical Digital Divide by the Benton Foundation, Digital Beat, September 1999 A Bridge Over the Digital Divide and Poverty Gap by Herb Boyd, published in The Black World Today, September 21, 1999 About Race: A Special Report Exploring Bay Area Race Relations ongoing series in San Francisco Chronicle State Study Finds Ethnic Gap in Computer Use/ Worry that Latinos are falling behind San Francisco Chronicle, September 13, 1999 Mexicans Divided By Digital Revolution: Large sectors of society lack access to Internet San Francisco Chronicle, September 27, 1999 The Digital Divide and the U.S. Hispanic Population by the Benton Foundation, Digital Beat, August 1999 Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide III July 1999 Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 1999. A Public-Interest Vision of the National Information Infrastructure by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility The Digital Divide by the Benton Foundation, Digital Beat, July 1999 Digital Divide: High Tech as a New Civil Rights Battleground by Donna Ladd, published in The Village Voice, July 21-27, 1999. Computer Access in the Inland Empire Divided Along Color Lines by Max Neiman and Richard Chabran, UC Riverside, 6/99 The Digital Divide ABC News, March 1, 1999. Half of American households don't have a computer. Rev. Jesse Jackson Slams Silicon Valley ZDTV, March 1, 1999 Clinton Condemns "Digital Divide" in America President Bill Clinton delivered an address at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on June 8, 1998 in which he condemned the racial "digital divide" in America, and re-affirmed his support for the "e-rate" subsidy for school and library computer networking, Internet access, and phone service. Falling Through the Net II: New Data on the Digital Divide by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, July 1998 Rare Breed: High-tech mentor for Blacks San Francisco Chronicle, May 4, 1998 Roadblocks for Latino venture capitalists San Francisco Chronicle, May 4, 1998 Closing the digital divide early San Francisco Chronicle, May 4, 1988 "Digital Divide" Imperils U.S. Economy? Wired Magazine, April 16, 1998. Falling Through the Net I July 1995 (Some of the listed Organizations and Articles are from the following web site: www.sen.ca.gov/CLIC/) ReportsCreating
the Will: Hispanics Achieving Educational Excellence by the President's
Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for Hispanic Americans
The state of Latino youth in the San Francisco Bay Area, by the Hispanic Community Foundation Loosing ground bit by bit: Low-income communities in the information age The Evolution of the Digital Divide: Examining the Relationship of Race to Internet Access and Usage Over Time by Professors Donna L. Hoffman & Thomas P. Novak, Vanderbilt University; May 18, 1999. The Digital Divide Confronts the Telecommunications Act of 1966: Economic Reality versus Public Policy by Dr. Mark Cooper and Gene Kimmelman. A Sampling of Community Based Resources to Bridge the Digital-Divide by Gus Koehler, Ph.D., California Research Bureau The Rise of the Net Generation: Growing Up Digital Dedicated to the latest publication by Don Tapscott, this site deals with the influence of technology on society, youth, and the forces of transformation which are poised to emerge out of this trend. Closing the Digital Divide (digitaldivide.gov) U.S. Department of Commerce Digital Divide website. Bridging the Digital Divide: The Impact of Race on Computer Access and Internet Use by Novak and Hoffman, Vanderbilt University; February 2, 1998 |