It's commonly accepted in today's world that computer skills are an important key to academic and job success, both now and in the future. But not all children and adults have the opportunity to develop those skills. In fact, according to Project RED, Rhode Island is ranked 49th in the nation in providing technology access to students in public schools. How can we prepare our children for a productive future if they lack the skills they'll need?
Technology for Tomorrow was created to help put the pieces together for the growing number of Rhode Island early childhood students and their families on the wrong side of the ever-widening Digital Divide. We think this is also a way to address what Princeton economist Paul Krugman calls the Great Divergence - the 31-year long trend showing that incomes in the US have been growing more unequal for three decades. Without sound technology skills, the families on the wrong side of that Digital Divide will continue to be on the wrong side of the Great Divergence.
Our objective is to help make technology education available to early childhood students in RI preschools, kindergartens, and after-school programs. We also want to make re-birthed working computers available to families whose children are on the free lunch program in our public schools, along with training for parents, to help them cross over the Digital Divide. One child, and one family at a time.
