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Bridging The Digital Divide

Hartford Classes Comcast teams with nonprofit to teach teenagers high-tech skills

Hartford Courant editorial

October 25, 2010

Broadband company Comcast deserves credit for teaming with the educational nonprofit One Economy to bridge the digital divide in communities like Hartford by teaching teenagers skills that go beyond texting and e-mail.

Their project, Digital Connectors, will help 40 lucky students here prepare for the 21st-century economy by training them in, for example, video editing and Powerpoint. Hopefully, the new skills will go viral.

Twenty-five teenagers from the Boys & Girls Club and 15 from the Puerto Rican Forum will get after-school classes in digital literacy, financial literacy and leadership development twice a week for a year. The students are expected to share their new knowledge in 56 hours of community service. Those who graduate get a netbook and six months of free Comcast service. One Economy has had an 80 percent graduation rate in its programs in other cities, such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

The great majority of Americans who don't use high-speed access at home are low-income and/or people of color. They could be left behind in the dizzying technology revolution. Bravo to Digital Connectors for doing what it can.