19th June, 2020.
Foreword.
Just so you know?
This is the first of a few pieces I’m planning on digital poverty*.
How many I’ll eventually write?
I don’t know.
That all depends on what I hear from the various companies involved.
I’m also not planning to turn this into something for my YouTube channel: at least right now.
It seems inappropriate.
At any rate, let’s move on.
~≈†≈~
Introduction.
Just in case you’re new to this blog … ?
I’m Paul: and I’ve been writing this blog since 2008.
You’re possibly aware that I’m out of work, at the moment: and grateful that I’ve got an internet connection I can just about afford.
Others aren’t so lucky.
At least one neighbour honestly couldn’t afford a computer — or a basic internet connection — unless help were offered.
Many families are in the same shoes: unable to afford the computers, a tablet or connection, that would help with home schooling.
Connections that are much needed: even under the slowly easing lockdown.
My nephew’s end of the family?
Are equally as lucky as I.
Seeing all this?
I felt should find out more.
~≈†≈~
Schools.
On 4th June, this year?
My first job was to email Essex County Council’s Press desk: to see if they could answer a series of questions on how Essex Schools were handling digital poverty: both before and during lockdown.
I’ve embedded images of the questions I asked, here.
The Press Desk?
Told me to get in touch with Essex County Council’s Freedom of Information section.
Who immediately re-directed me back to the Press Desk!
The press desk’s representative, Katie, told me this:
“Education and social care are jointly implementing the DfE scheme to provide devices and internet connections to disadvantaged year 10s and children known to social care.
We have also supported schools with additional loan devices for children who are struggling to access remote education, as well as support for children not on roll of a school.
Schools themselves are doing all they can to support families to access remote learning, and where this is not possible they are providing paper based exercises.Over 2000 devices (takes into account the loan ones and the DfE ones) have been provided.”
Essex County Council has also told me to contact the Department for Education for further details of the scheme.
Something I plan to do soon.
(Since I began writing this? The BBC had published this article.
The Department for Education is to provide vouchers to get access to BT’s wi-fi hotspots, for a six month period.
The scheme is funded by BT, and organised by the DfE.
In addition, and again, going by another BBC report?
A one billion pound tutoring fund is being set up, to help disadvantage school children.)
~≈†≈~
The above … ?
Was something I started writing at the beginning of the month: around 1st June, 2020.
And something I’ve been revising over time.
It’s only now I’ve felt it’s been ready for publication.
It’s something I’m intending to forward to the Department for Education, at some point.
However?
There’s more to come: about digital poverty for those of us who are jobhunting.
I’m going to try and summarise what I’ve found about phone companies charges, and what some are doing to help job hunters find work.
Feel free to leave me a comment.
2 comments:
Thanks, Paul. Good work, although I cannot see the images of the documents you've included (not sure if it's my browser or what. It happens sometimes. It appears as some kind of little square with letters inside). The links work, though.
Personally, I think that considering the taxes we all pay, one way or another, there should be free access to the internet (as good as it is technically possible), at least to the general services (education, health, job, wellbeing, information), and extras could be subject to contract and paid if people wanted them. After all, if access to health, education, etc., is supposed to be a right and free (at least in the UK), everybody should be able to gain access, and here, in Spain, I've noticed that a lot of offers, deals, and even basic help an aid requires people to send forms or requests online (more so during the COVID-19 crisis) and therefore, those who need it the most, are the least likely to be able to access it.
I look forward to the next part of the article.
Cheers for saying so, Olga.
And I think you may have a point about free access: although I don’t know who viable it would be.
Thus far?
The next section of the series addresses that free — or, at least cheap — internet access.
I’m just hoping it’s readable!
(As a final thought … ? I wasn’t best impressed by Tony Blair’s government, taking us into the Iraq War. The one good thing his government did? Was introduce internet access at libraries, in the first place.)
Granted, Lockdown’s interfered with that … but …
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