TECHNOLOGY for Disadvantaged Youth Lessons Learned from the ConnectEd Program
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Provide more than hardware, software, and computer skills.
Youth must learn to use these skills to solve problems - to find information and evaluate it, and to then create and communicate it well to others. This requires changing the way we educate.
The ConnectEd Approach In China, ConnectEd hosted an ICT competition among teachers to challenge them to use technology in the classroom.
The ConnectEd Approach In Indonesia, students have taken learn basic skills in photo editing while learning how to run a printing service. A number of students have gone on to secure work placements based on their new skills
Train in new ways of teaching.
Select technology based on program objectives
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The use of ICTs in a program must be thoughtfully and strategically approached. One must assess the needs of the audience and program objectives, and choose the strategies and technologies to best achieve those objectives.
The ConnectEd Approach In India, to reach homebound girls, tablets with special educational programs are downloaded to “bring the school” to these girls. In these conservative families, the program model must not be deviated from.
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Students and teachers must learn to use technology, but technology must also be used to learn. Staff development should include technology and its integration into education. Investments must be made in hardware and software, training and time for teachers to learn how to use the technology.
Use technology appropriately; use is as important as its selection. Youth and teachers should use technology appropriately and in ways that match with one’s mission, all the while keeping themselves safe.
The ConnectEd Approach To help prepare students in Australia for the world of work, students were taught how to use the internet to research jobs and expected salaries.
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TECHNOLOGY for Disadvantaged Youth Lessons Learned from the ConnectEd Program continued...
Technology makes it easier for volunteers to find their niche in helping programs and youth.
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The ConnectEd Approach Virtual mentoring calls set up between students and AlcatelLucent volunteers allows students to video chat with highly elevated employees in other countries, providing a new role model and a different perspective for students.
There are new opportunities for volunteers using technology, such as helping with tasks such as a website design, training teachers in ICT, or teaching youth digital photography. The ConnectEd Approach In Indonesia, ConnectEd offers ICT skills in programs not offered in public schools, making students more competetive in the tech job makret. One student in Indonesia has begun his own graphic design business.
Technology not only prepares youth for work, it can end up being their work. For some students, their tech skills can lead directly to finding employment in working with computers, whether in data entry or video editing.
Disadvantaged youth, especially girls, benefit from learning to use technology.
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Reports reveal improvements in confidence and a sense of belonging to a greater “advantaged� world. In making both teachers and students more comfortable and competent using ICTs, ConnectEd has brought its program youth closer to their goals for study and work as well as becoming more civically engaged The ConnectEd Approach In China, volunteers from local universities provide ICT training to t eachers in disadvantaged migrant schools.
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The ConnectEd Approach In India, some girls decide to disobey their husbands by taking computer classes offered by ConnectEd. Technology is a level of privilege that allows students to enter any job interview with confidence.
Value of professional development and teacher training.
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The key to the successful use of technology seems to be the investment of time and resources towards the training, ongoing support and development opportunities provided to teachers and staff.
Since 2011, World Education and the Alcatel-Lucent Foundation have worked in partnership to improve the lives of disadvantaged youth. ConnectEd uses a wide range of interventions to reach these goals, but a key driver in moving forward is the use of technology. The ConnectEd program has provided access to information and communication technology (ICT) to over 10,000 youth, trained over 300 teachers, and provided computers, tablets, and other ICTs in the five countries in which it functions: Australia, Brazil, China, India, and Indonesia.