In the collaboration I was part of with One Economy--200 Migrant families received refurbished computers and wireless internet for 2 years. Unfortunately, whereas Computers 2 SD Kids has been a great partner, and willing to follow-up with service, repair, training...Cricket, which was the company One Economy got the wireless from, has not been so cooperative. When we have had issues with modems, or needed modems transferred, they have been very difficult to work with. It seems like they don't understand the point of the project--I am not sure if they donated the service, or if One Economy paid them for it, but they seem to be angry about the whole thing.
So the take-home from my experience would be clarifying with partners ahead of time--especially with the for-profit side of things (it is hard for me to understand for-profit people, having never been one)...are they going to continue to provide support? Because getting people connected is just the first step.
"some people have more resources than other people--like kids with Legos...you get more Legos...and as you learn, you get even more Legos and you can teach"--Abraham
There was another C word that I heard over and over, especially by the students, and that was community.
ReplyDeleteYou know far better than I do the benefits programs such as these have on the population you serve. It takes a great amount of initiative and continued oversight to make sure that the resources that a group is able to acquire are working properly and used to their potential. You are in a wonderful position to make that happen.
I agree collaboration in this project was key. The question I have is why this scenario isn't piloted in more low income communities. I contacted my old boss at AT&T after this class and learned this program is also being done in an apartment complex on Imperial Avenue in Southeastern San Diego too with the same hardware company.
ReplyDeleteCollaboration is critical! :-) Perhaps you could explore using Computers 2 SD Kids for your student/client base? How awesome would it be to communicate with them in real time while simultaneously document sharing, etc.?
ReplyDeleteCollaboration is the key and getting connected is just the first step. You do not want to give families a fish you want to teach them how to fish. That is why getting all the pieces assembled ahead of time is necessary. Otherwise getting them connected is just a tease.
ReplyDeletei agree Bev. collaboration is critical. Especially nowadays where everyone's budgets are being cut. trying to everything yourself is not efficient and cost-prohibitive. The key, of course, is to partner with experts whose philosophies/mission are aligned with our own.
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