{"id":6112,"date":"2013-02-15T09:28:21","date_gmt":"2013-02-15T14:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=6112"},"modified":"2013-02-15T16:48:38","modified_gmt":"2013-02-15T21:48:38","slug":"a-focus-on-digital-literacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=6112","title":{"rendered":"A focus on digital literacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

To date, most government broadband initiatives have focused on subsidizing infrastructure, intervention to stimulate the supply and lower costs for one or more service providers – ultimately in the hopes of local stimulation of demand through lower prices.<\/p>\n

Such programs have had mixed results and have generally looked solely at rural and remote areas, providing a supply-side subsidy regardless of the ability to pay.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, we typically ignore the broader issues associated with the demand-side. It is not just rural and remote households that need attention. Many households in urban centres still have not signed up for internet access. Many households still don’t have a computer. For these people, computers and tablets are simply not on their list of priorities.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, the FCC in the US announced<\/a> an expansion of the Connect2Compete<\/a> program aimed at addressing the digital literacy gap among low income households.<\/p>\n

Currently one-third of Americans don’t subscribe to broadband services at home and more than 60 million Americans lack digital literacy skills, which are the basic skills needed to use a computer and the Internet. Connect2Compete is a national nonprofit coalition dedicated to helping narrow the digital divide by making high-speed Internet access, computers, educational and job content, and digital literacy training more accessible for millions of Americans without home connectivity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yesterday’s announcement brought the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) authority into the coalition, to work with local public housing authorities and other HUD-funded organizations to encourage eligible families to access resources available through Connect2Compete, including\u00a0digital literacy training opportunities.\u00a0Connect2Compete and Best Buy are launching a national digital literacy training program at partner facilities, including\u00a0HUD Neighborhood Networks Centers, United Way, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.<\/p>\n

As FCC Chair Genachowski observed in his remarks<\/a> yesterday:<\/p>\n

The costs of digital exclusion are rising. Offline Americans are missing out on opportunities in education, health care, and employment. Over 80% of Fortune 500 companies post job openings exclusively online. Over half of today\u2019s jobs require technology skills, and nearly 80% of jobs in the next decade are projected to require digital skills. Closing the broadband adoption and digital literacy skills gap is critical to the future of our economy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The digital component of jobs has been identified here before in my post called “Menial no more<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

In Canada, the numbers are close 1 in 5 households<\/a> lacking computers and connections, compared to 1 in 3 households in the US, but that number is way too high. A little over a year ago, I wrote<\/a> that more than 600,000 households in Canada’s 3 largest cities don’t have a computer, let alone a broadband connection.<\/p>\n

It is time for Canadians to turn our attention to closing our own broadband adoption and digital literacy gaps.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday June 5, we will be looking at “Building an Innovation Economy<\/em>” at The Canadian Telecom Summit<\/a>, one of a number of sessions related to our overall theme of “Defining our place in a digital world<\/em>.” Early bird rates expire February 28. Have you registered yet?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To date, most government broadband initiatives have focused on subsidizing infrastructure, intervention to stimulate the supply and lower costs for one or more service providers – ultimately in the hopes of local stimulation of demand through lower prices. Such programs have had mixed results and have generally looked solely at rural and remote areas, providing …<\/p>\n

A focus on digital literacy<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","two_page_speed":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA focus on digital literacy • Telecom Trends<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To date, most government broadband initiatives have focused on subsidizing infrastructure, intervention to stimulate the supply and lower costs for one or • February 15, 2013\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mhgoldberg.com\/blog\/?p=6112\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" 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