Your spare device can bridge the digital divide
Many of you will know from your own experience of children being educated at home since the start of the pandemic. This is a challenge for pupils, their parents and teachers alike.
With the need to access lessons and resources online, it is disturbing to find out that an estimated 17% of schoolchildren do not have access to a digital device. Many more do not have their own mobile phones, tablets and laptops as they are sharing with their parents and siblings.
Pixl8’s Alex Skinner saw a simple solution that could help families in his local area. He put some posts on Facebook offering to convert donated laptops into Chrome books:
"I could see with a few spare minutes, how I can make a difference to children in my area who are struggling to keep up with their schoolwork. It is heartening to see so many people donating. It’s great to know how something that is quite simple to do, can really make a big difference."
If you have a spare laptop, PC or tablet it could be the very thing that gives a child their education back. There are a number of grassroots initiatives across the country linking parents, teachers and volunteers with the aim of reaching as many children as possible.
As a guide for Laptops if they are Sub 10 years old running Windows 7 or above, have no bits hanging off, aren’t broken and have a charger, this might be all that's needed.
We found this BBC blog helpful and may inspire you to seek out your own local group.
We will look to see how we can provide other ways to equip schoolchildren swiftly and at low cost. We’ll be sharing our ideas with you as we develop them.
