Tag: access

How we can make access to personal computer science schooling in California a lot more equitable

Laurent
Courtesy: Kapor Heart

Learners in the Kapor Center’s SMASH method, which provides schooling in STEM fields to high faculty and university pupils from marginalized backgrounds.

Courtesy: Kapor Heart

College students in the Kapor Center’s SMASH software, which presents coaching in STEM fields to higher faculty and school college students from marginalized backgrounds.

Paula Nazario
August 23, 2023

Far way too generally, ZIP-code and socioeconomic position figure out whether or not California students have access to a computer system science schooling — and these who really don’t are living in the ideal university district typically overlook out on this critical chance to prosper in the digital potential.

In reality, only 39% of California high educational institutions offer at the very least a person computer science course, and the most current information from the California Office of Education and learning in 2018 suggests that only 5% of high schoolers are truly enrolled in a personal computer science study course. More assessment reveals that Black, Indigenous, Latino, and Pacific Islander learners, alongside with women from nearly every qualifications, are vastly underrepresented in these programs. In other text, our current system can help perpetuate a deep electronic divide by proscribing accessibility to students from only the most privileged backgrounds.

But let’s be apparent: Moms and dads from every track record want learners to study computer science. In point, new polling exhibits that the vast majority of moms and dads, including 78% of Black and 67% of Latinx parents, think it is crucial for their children to understand laptop or computer science in the classroom. This is most likely because dad and mom recognize that laptop or computer science is a foundational talent. It is progressively needed in today’s economic climate, a must have in unlocking social and cultural capital, and vital to navigating daily digital existence.

I see this knowledge echoed in my possess investigate on community and family engagement in computer science training. Mothers and fathers across the condition are making really serious sacrifices to deliver their little ones with these essential discovering chances. They normally have to rigorously plan

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City has made little progress expanding internet access

Laurent

In a hearing before City Council in June of last year, Baltimore’s then-chief broadband official outlined a vision to bring next-generation internet connection to one of the poorest parts of town, the public housing project Gilmor Homes, within a matter of weeks. He pitched the idea as step one in an aggressive campaign to establish 100 communal Wi-Fi hotspots across West Baltimore, all within a year.

“I used to say, ‘If the mayor said he wanted public Wi-Fi at Gilmor by next Friday, we could do it,’” said Jason Hardebeck, whom Mayor Brandon Scott hired in March of 2021 to be his director of broadband and digital equity, explaining in an interview last month that excess fiber-optic wiring at the housing complex would allow the city to string up outdoor internet service there almost immediately, at little cost.

But within two months of outlining his proposal for Gilmor Homes to the City Council, Hardebeck was fired from his post without reason given, he says. His plan to connect Gilmor Homes for public internet remains unfulfilled.

Two years since Scott established an office to close the digital divide, Baltimore leaders have yet to issue a plan showing how the city would meet that goal, which the mayor has pledged to accomplish by 2030 with millions of dollars in federal support. Proposals to establish hundreds of hotspot sites around town and to wire eight public housing complexes for top-of-the-line Wi-Fi remain in draft stages.

As of early March, a $35 million pledge Scott made as a “down payment” on his 2030 target had yet to connect a single resident to the internet.

At a moment of historic opportunity to correct entrenched disconnection in Baltimore, the dismissal of Hardebeck, an engineer and tech crusader whose resume includes suing Facebook over patent infringement, curbed the progress of Scott’s broadband office and its millions of dollars in federal funding. As the Scott administration continues to workshop its broadband plan behind closed doors, proponents have been left to wonder how the city intends to reach tens of thousands of households that still have no connection

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Why some big Texas universities are blocking TikTok access on world wide web networks

Laurent

A host of main Texas universities declared overnight that they have banned TikTok from governing administration-issued gadgets and restricted obtain to the social media app on their internet networks.

The University of Texas at Austin, a person of the nation’s largest university campuses, reported on Tuesday that it has banned TikTok from its networks and started to eliminate the China-owned app from authorities-issued devices around considerations about details privateness.

The go aims to deliver the campus into compliance with a directive from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott previous month that known as on condition organizations to get rid of the cybersecurity hazards posed by TikTok, Jeff Nyland, adviser to the president for technology system, stated in a message to pupils.

“The college is having these essential techniques to do away with pitfalls to details contained in the university’s community and to our critical infrastructure,” Nyland said.

The College of Texas at Dallas, a independent campus, explained in a concept to learners on Tuesday that it started eliminating TikTok from university-owned units final thirty day period and would acquire the extra phase of blocking entry to TikTok on its Wi-Fi community.

A further major Texas-based college, Texas A&M, explained to ABC Information on Wednesday that it has taken related techniques to limit entry to TikTok. The university has blocked entry to the social media application on state-owned equipment and is in the method of proscribing access to the application on its Wi-Fi community, a spokesperson said.

TikTok has confronted escalating scrutiny from point out and federal officials about fears that American info could fall into the possession of the Chinese government.

A lot more than fifty percent of U.S. states have taken ways towards a partial or entire ban of TikTok on governing administration products.

In this picture illustration, a TikTok Application Symbol is displayed on a cellular mobile phone.

SOPA Photographs/LightRocket by using Getty Images

The Biden administration and TikTok wrote up a preliminary settlement to tackle nationwide protection considerations posed by the app but obstacles continue being in the negotiations, The New York Periods described in September.

TikTok suggests

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Where to get free computer and internet access in Philadelphia

Laurent

Having computer access and reliable internet is a necessity for nearly all aspects of life — applying for jobs, filing taxes, even going to school or work — and it can be challenging if you live in a household without a computer and internet. In Philadelphia, this is a reality for many.

According to recent Census Bureau statistics, Philadelphia ranks as having the fourth-highest percentage of households without internet access out of the country’s largest cities — meaning more than 98,000 homes don’t have access.

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“Even prior to the pandemic, in order to apply for a housekeeping job at area hotels, you needed to apply online … What were people [without computer access] to do?” says Lori Morse, a library supervisor at the Parkway Central Library.

In Philly, there are programs designed to help, including at community centers and libraries, and programs where you can get a computer, or internet access, for free.

Here’s where you can use a computer for free in Philadelphia and some programs to get a free computer of your own.

You can use a computer with internet access at any Free Library of Philadelphia branch if you have a library card. Most libraries even offer printing and copying services at 25 cents per page. Anyone who lives, works, pays taxes, or goes to school in Philly can get a library card at no cost. Additionally, Pennsylvania residents can get a Philadelphia library card. You can sign up for a card online, or go to your nearest branch to have a librarian help you sign up. Check out our guide to all the things your library card gets you. The full list of Free Library locations is available here.

If you’re looking for a job, trying to start a business, or find a new career, the Business Resource and Innovation Center (BRIC) offers a variety of services and learning opportunities, such as career workshops, job

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