Washington
state University Breaking Down Digital Divide with Innovative
Programs
PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University is helping rural
and low-income state residents bridge the digital divide with
a number of innovative programs run by WSU extension offices,
Bill Gillis, director for the WSU Center to Bridge the Digital
Divide, said Wednesday.
Some of those innovations include developing infrastructure
for Internet access in rural areas, providing technology
education, creating high-tech high schools and bringing
telecommuting jobs to rural areas.
Gillis, along with extension program officers, appeared on
“Extension Engaged,” a monthly satellite broadcast series
produced by WSU and moderated by Scott Fedale, chair of the
College of Agriculture and Home Economics’ information
department.
Technology is more than “fiber optics, satellites and
computers on people’s desks,” explained Gillis. “Those are the
tools of technology but they are of no value if it doesn’t
improve people’s lives.” Bridging the digital divide is making
sure no one is left behind because of where they live or their
income, he said.
One program run by the WSU Cooperative Extension Energy
Program encourages employers to hire rural employees who can
telecommute full-time from struggling timber and agriculture
communities.
The program pumps up the local economy by creating living-wage
jobs. It also helps employers by providing an expanded
workforce and reduced operating costs, said Dee Christensen,
director of the Rural Telework Project, which is run by the
Extension Energy Program. For example, the Washington Dental
Service recently agreed to create 30 jobs in Colville.
A lack of infrastructure and education in rural areas can
limit business development and diversification, said Dan
Fagerlie, chair of the WSU Cooperative Extension in Ferry
County.
“We see the digital divide and its effects everyday,” Fagerlie
said. “A lot of people living in this area don’t have
telephone service, let alone a computer or access to the
Internet.”
In response, the extension office set up a technology center
with high-speed Internet connections and provided workshops
educating residents about technology.
Other projects include a 4-H literacy program that educates
children and then encourages them in turn to explain computers
to their families. It has been a particularly effective
approach, Gillis said.
“Grandma and grandpa are sometimes threatened by technology
but when the grandkids explain it, it’s okay,” he said.
A mobile computer training van, too, will take technology
education to places around the state where broadband Internet
may be difficult to access.
The WSU Center to Bridge the Digital Divide is funded by a
combination of grants and donations from private donors and
corporations, with initial support and funding from WSU
Cooperative Extension.
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