White House Launches ConnectHome For Better Digital Literacy, Google And Other Tech Companies Pitch In

Obama wants all K-12 students to have access to free internet. And thanks to the ConnectHome and ConnectED initiatives, this desire may soon become a reality.

President Barack Obama introduced the ConnectED program in 2013 in order to give students from lower income families access to computers and the Internet through public facilities. This year, ConnectHome aims to give these kids access to the Internet straight from their homes.

The rationale behind ConnectHome is that, while the K-12 students may be able to go online from their schools or from libraries, when they go home, they may not have the connectivity that they enjoy via ConnectED. And so, ConnectHome, or the Pilot Program by the White House, seeks to provide free or discounted broadband services to an initial 275,000 underprivileged households in 27 cities and to one tribal nation, namely the Choctaw Tribal Nation.

President Barack Obama and government authorities have identified that there is a vast disparity between children in middle-class households and children from underprivileged families, in terms of scholastic performance. They call this disparity the “homework gap,” a liability that may affect the children’s future career prospects. With ConnectED and ConnectHome, the US Government seeks to bridge the children to a brighter future.

With a majority of assignments accessible via the Internet, plus the fact that a vast source of information is available via the World Wide Web, there is reason to believe that these programs will, indeed, create a better climate for learning, not to mention ways for a brighter future for the students.

Tech companies are enthusiastically supporting the program, with Google at the forefront with its Google Fiber product. Other companies who have pitched in include Cox Communications via the James M. Cox Foundation, Sprint Corporation, CenturyLink, Inc., and more. For the Choctaw Tribal Nation, Vyve Broadband, Cherokee Communications, Suddenlink Communications, as well as Pine Telephone, has pledged to provide the broadband services. BestBuy has pledged to furnish technical support, as well as computer training to HUD residents, while GitHub pledged $250,000 as “digital literacy” aid. Cox Communications will also provide $30 tablets to 1,500 residents of Macon, Georgia.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will help administer the program.