Digital Divide

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Digital Divide
Brian Bell Parkland College DCEO Digital Divide
Grant Coordinator

• Bridging the Digital Divide
• one person at a time!!!

Maria Mobasseri Parkland College CSIT Department
Chair DCEO, NSF, WIA Grant Writer PI
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Types of Digital Divides

• Access to Education and training
• Access to physical equipment
• Access to the global network (internet)
• Access to broadband network speeds (UC2B HELP!)
• Sub categories
• Race
• Region
• Income
• Level of Education
• The digital divide is what happened to you while
  you were at work

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My class participants
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??? Why so slow???31
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Illinois not even close!
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Because of U of I
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My office at Parkland
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Mission Building Communities
NSF GRANT

• Six central Illinois colleges have joined forces
  to address a common problem the small number of
  women and minority students completing college
  programs in Computer Science and Information
  Technology.

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2008 Statistics for Women

• 56 of Advance Placement (AP) test-takers were
  female
• 51 of AP Calculus test-takers were female
• 17 of AP Computer Science test-takers were
  female
• 65 of Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)
  finalists in Biochemistry were female
• 35 of ISEF finalists in Mathematics were female
• 19 of ISEF finalists in Computer Science were
  female
• (source National Center for Women Information
  Technology, www.ncwit.org)

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2008 Statistics for Women

• 27 of Computer Scientists were female.
• 3 of Computer Scientists were female and
  African-American.
• 3 of Computer Scientists were female and Asian.
• 1 of Computer Scientists were female and
  Hispanic.
• 57 of professional occupations in the US
  workforce were held by women.
• 24 of professional IT-related occupations in the
  US workforce were held by women.
• 16 of corporate office positions at Fortune 500
  technology companies were held by women.
• (source National Center for Women Information
  Technology, www.ncwit.org)

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Challenges

• Lack of numbers
• Lack of student interest about computers
• Lack of student knowledge about computers
• Minority and female students must be recruited in
  different ways
• Lack of female and minority role models

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Systemic Issues

• K12
• Little Exposure
• Curriculum is weak
• Recruitment issues (female students must be
  recruited differently)
• Higher Education
• Curriculum needs revision application areas
• Lack of confidence different definitions of
  failure
• Law of low numbers lack of role models
• Careers
• Advancement on the technical ladder
• Work / Home balance job re-entry
• Lack of women technical luminaries
• Few IT start up business success stories

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What have we done? Recruiting

• Contests
• Open House
• College Class Visits
• Informational Kickoffs
• Women in Computer Science Clubs
• Workshops (Middle School, High School)

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What have we done? Retention

• Mentoring
• Study Groups
• Industry Tours
• Educational Trips
• Celebration and Retreat
• Fundraising for Scholarship

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Retention
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Minimizing the Digital Divide
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Internships(Summer 2005 to Summer 2009)

• Total of 130 internships in the following fields
• Networking Administration
• Microcomputer Support Specialist
• Digital Media/Web
• Average of 33 graduates per year!

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Industry Employers(Where CSIT Grads Work)
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Mission
DCEO / Digital Divide Grant

• (Parkland College) is to target 300 individuals
  from the lowest income neighborhoods within
  Champaign-Urbana area. Each participant will
  receive at least 28 hours of project based,
  hands-on and practical technology training.
  Participants will basic computer skills, typing
  instructions, internet connectivity and access to
  certification training. Following our current
  format for Computer Literacy at Parkland
  College's Mattis facility, participants will have
  access to GED training, job placement information
  and printing services.

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Who are our clients

• Currently at 1307 N Mattis Illinois Worknet
  Center
• Class dynamics, basic overview
• Over 40
• Unemployed
• 50/50 Male Female
• 50/50 Minority Non Minority (white
  non-hispanic)
• 70 no computer or internet access at home
• Some areas have no access at all (Comcast ,etc.)
  dial up only!

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Our Partners They help with donations, resources
and funds!!
Baltimore Air Coil
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Our Class
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What we give
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Who we help
Donated Computer Recipients
Ester and Charles (volunteer)
Raulene and Richard
Raulene Maria
Judy
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How we help

• Classroom style and one on one instruction.
• Move clients into the future with knowledge of
  hardware, operating systems and applications.
• From the last computer they may have used to the
  computer thats coming out next month!
• Teach valuable skills to assist current
  needs.(JOBS)
• Bridge the gap, by bringing them up to speed,
  and give the tools to keep that speed.

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Curriculum What they learn

• Hardware
• The 2 Types of computers
• PC or MAC
• Operating systems
• XP, VISTA, SEVEN LINUX
• Applications
• Types
• Embedded, Portable, Online, Virtual, Thinned
• And the NEW Cloud!!

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Hardware evolution!!
Net-top PCs arrived 10/20/09
4 pounds!
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Human evolution Success
Kimberly Flora Applications Certifications of
Completion. Microsofts Elevate America