Digital-Divide Solutions for Kids Could Mean Success for All

I've been studying digital-divide-bridging solutions funded by major U.S. technology corporations (Intel, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft Corporation). Lessons learned on designing and deploying programs in underserved communities can be applied to economic-development efforts in everyday communities, like my own in Winston-Salem, NC, USA for example-where industry is changing but conditions are still pretty good for most people.

How I did all of this:

I've chronicled my research on this blog.

I started reviewing online educational games and activities. Next, I studied current thought and practices on the use of technology, specifically Internet resources, in education. My findings: Internet technology is so new that although there are great uses for it, there are few models with proven results; some large corporations are funding non-profits or non-governmental organizations worldwide to provide programs not through the schools but other community centers. Next, I studied corporate initiatives and their guiding principles as well as programs implemented in Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation, Arizona; Chicago, Illinois; and Baltimore, Maryland, USA as well as Dublin, Ireland; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Helensville, New Zealand. I was limited by my language skills (English) so special thanks go to my South American friends who published websites in English.

I verified press releases on one website with information on other websites. For example, if Intel says they have a computer clubhouse in Dublin, then I would find the clubhouse website and also third-party verification via news articles. In many cases, I went back and forth to clarify what I had found and realized that some of my original "findings" were wrong. Typically my confusion resulted from multiple programs being funded in the same area--i.e., HP funded an Intel Computer Clubhouse at a Boys and Girls Club in its Baltimore Digital Village AND a computer center at another non-profit organization in the same village. Also the relationships between organizations got a bit confusing at times-there was so much going on in at The Digital Hub in The Liberties, I had to keep re-writing to make sure I presented each player and its role properly. Still I think my confusion due to the inter-relationships of the players proves the holistic community involvement.

I also contacted program directors and hope to get additional feedback from them. One felt that the program was so new not much could be said about it yet; funding for this program was made in 2004. The main thing that I had hoped to get from them was some verification or repudiation of whether cultural integrity, personal identify, and community values can be preserved through tech programs. From I could tell they were, but still would like to hear first-hand from directors.
My main sources were tech company websites and their beneficiary websites. When possible, I found third-party websites and included these.

My conclusions can be summarized as possible: everyone can participate, if invited and included, in the digital revolution; cultural and community values don't have to be compromised in this inclusion process; new ideas sparked from this inclusion can be good (profitable, desirable) for everyone.