|
Shift to distance learning amid COVID-19 poses challenges for Bay Area families
Maureen Naylor reports
In the Oakland Unified School District, there are roughly 17,000 students - out of a total of 50,000 including charter school students - who don’t have computers or WiFi, said Seth Hubbert, executive director of Tech Exchange, a nonprofit dedicated to "digital equity" that provides free and low-cost computers to schools.
Hubbert said there are another 8,000 students who might have one computer at home, but several siblings and parents who all have to share it. Altogether, that's half of the students in Oakland public schools whose technology needs aren't currently being met at home, he said. As of Friday, nearly six weeks after the shelter-in-place order, district data shows that 1,450 students still don't have computers and 3,340 students don't have internet access. Some individuals, and companies including Hewlett-Packard and Salesforce, have donated monitors and money toward this effort, Hubbert said. But he said it's not enough. That's why, Tech Exchange is actively fundraising to raise $2 million to buy about 4,000 more Chromebooks to fill this immediate gap, and trying to raise another $12.5 million more for long-term computer needs. Visit donate.techexchange.org to make a contribution today.
Click HERE to read the full original story on KTVU.com
As the world comes together in isolation, we know closing the digital divide is as important as ever.
Please consider donating to Tech Exchange today so that we can continue to lead the critical work in ensuring all communities are connected. 
8 Comments
The State Superintendent of Schools has advised that schools not reconvene in California this academic year. While school districts, teachers and parents are doing amazing work making it possible for children to continue learning from home, many families don’t have access to the digital tools they need for their kids to stay connected to their classrooms. On Wednesday, April 8th, TechEquity Collaborative held a panel discussion about how we can help bridge the digital divide. Tech Exchange Executive Director Seth Hubbert was joined by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and representatives from Oakland and SF school districts about how they’re adapting to the new learning environments. The panel was moderated by Catherine Bracy, Executive Director and Co-Founder of TechEquity. 
Since the Shelter-in-Place order was announced here in the Bay Area, Tech Exchange staff and volunteers have mobilized to establish texting and phone banks. They are responding to calls to inform families of internet options, and preparing hotspots and laptops to be distributed to students.
To continue this critical work, we are announcing our TECH FOR ALL Campaign to raise $650,000.
Your donation today helps to ensure that all students and families can stay connected and access online learning opportunities during this time of isolation and beyond. Click HERE to donate today. Thank you!
ABC7 News | By Silvio Carrillo
An Oakland student and singer overcomes digital divide while wrapping up school from home due to COVID-19 with help from an Oakland-based non-profit.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Brianna Houston's voice is soft but penetrating. She looks away from the camera on the computer as she sings a gospel song. Behind her, her mother, Rachel Butler, and her uncle Dwayne Butler close their eyes as the Oakland high school senior's voice lifts them up into a gospel heaven.
Brianna is a finishing her last semester of high school at Merritt College's Conservatory of Vocal/Instrumental Arts music charter school. "School was going pretty, pretty good for me because I'm done with all of my high school classes like they require high school classes, so I only take the college classes, so I was barely at the high school anyways." She says. "And then, once I had to stop going to school, it was pretty hard because everything switched to online." As COVID-19 shut down school districts across the country, schools have had to adapt to online learning in a matter of days and weeks. In California, this has highlighted the digital divide that many cities in the Bay Area face. According to Tech Exchange, an Oakland-based nonprofit that is working to bridge that digital divide gap, 1.5 million residents across the Bay Area, like Brianna, do not have access to a computer at home. But, a week before the 17-year-old Fruitvale resident was confined to her home due to statewide shelter in place orders, she was able to get a tablet to do school work on and get trained on troubleshooting in case any problems arose -- all for free thanks to Tech Exchange. Her uncle, Dwayne, works with youth sports and lives near the nonprofit's headquarters in Fruitvale. "I want to learn how to edit video. Because the kids that I'm in contact with, I want to be able to provide them with film (for high school sports recruiters)." He had little idea where to begin, he told ABC 7. "I don't have any gadgets at all. I was researching online. How, you know, how I'm gonna do this?" He walked out of the store with a tablet and a laptop for editing. "He handed it to me. And, I asked him how much for it? And he told me, he said it's free. He said, 'you don't have to pay anything for it.'" Since the late 90s, Tech Exchange has provided more than 50,000 refurbished computers and 10,000 hours of digital literacy training to low-income families across the Bay Area. "We think about digital access as a three legged stool. So in order for someone to be online and be productive online, they need Internet access, says the company CEO Seth Hubbert via a Zoom video chat from his home in Oakland. "They need a reliable device. And then they need the digital skills to be able to navigate and do what they want," he adds. The timing for the device could not have been better for Brianna. "I found out yesterday that I got accepted into Xavier University of Louisiana." Her mother, Rachel, says despite the coronavirus lock down, they are going to celebrate Brianna's accomplishment. "Her graduation may be postponed and...there will be no prom but we're gonna make sure that our family and close friends celebrate the biggest way possible because we're so proud of her." 
As the world comes together in isolation, we know closing the digital divide is as important as ever.
Please consider donating to Tech Exchange today so that we can continue to lead the critical work in ensuring all communities are connected. |
