As we continue to make progress on our commitment to address the digital divide, we’ve learned how important it is to understand each community’s unique and varying needs. It’s why we work so closely with local community organizations who know their communities best and can help identify the most important resources for those who need it most. In many places across the country, this includes providing resources in Spanish language to reach more community members with the information they need.
When it comes to helping equip Spanish speakers with the resources they need to succeed online, we’re here to help. Not only by working with and investing in local organizations that support the Latino community, but also by providing all our digital literacy materials and workshops in Spanish.
In addition, through The Achievery, a free online learning platform designed to entertain and engage students K-12, we also offer over 100 learning units in Spanish. Now in its second year, more than 158,000 students have participated in learning with The Achievery. And every day that number continues to grow with our expanded library of learning units and collaborators.
Check out the various ways we’re meeting Spanish speakers where they are with the resources they need to succeed.
Digital Literacy Workshops
Since last year, together with the Public Library Association (PLA), we have launched 20 bilingual virtual courses and helped bring more than 1,600 in-person digital literacy workshops to more than 220 public libraries across the country. In collaboration with digital equity nonprofit organizations, Digitunity and Connected Nation, we are also working to bring over 200 workshops to community centers across the country.
Created in collaboration with the PLA, the workshops utilize online digital literacy courses available through AT&T ScreenReady® and PLA Digital Learn to teach skills ranging from technology basics to avoiding scams.
In total, we’ve supported over 1,900 workshops training more than 10,000 leaners nationwide!
Over the summer at our AT&T Connected Learning Center® within the Salvadoran American Leadership and Educational Fund (SALEF) in Los Angeles, we hosted a series of four digital literacy workshops for seniors and older adults in the community who either have limited or no access to technology at home. Each session, held in Spanish, hosted 15-20 community members and culminated in participants receiving a diploma for completing the course.
In Houston, we facilitated free Spanish-language digital literacy workshops by working with Community Family Centers, an organization providing social and educational services to low-income families. The workshops started with skills-based training, but participants soon voiced their interest in learning how they can keep their families safe while navigating the internet. Our volunteers quickly pivoted the training to include information about cybersecurity and online safety. Thanks to the content available through AT&T ScreenReady® and PLA Digital Learn, participants and volunteers were able to make the most of the event and ensure families left with the information they needed most.
As we transition into the fall season, we’re planning more workshops in more communities. For instance, our teams are hard at work organizing a course for early October in Colorado. The class will be offered in Spanish to train interested community members on howto navigate and use Apple iOS systems.
As our colleague Guillermo Lambarri, Director of External Affairs for AT&T Colorado, recently wrote in an opinion piece for the Colorado Gazette, “Each of us can play an essential role in helping bridge the digital divide in the Latino community. Every single action, big or small, can positively impact someone’s life.”
Investing in our Communities
While we deeply value our ability to volunteer and connect with communities during our digital literacy workshop series, we know we don’t have the capability to reach every single community on our own. That’s why we also invest in community organizations across the country to ensure they have the resources they need to support residents on the path to digital literacy.
Earlier this spring in Louisville, the non-profit Adelante had two teams participating in Teens Teach Tech, powered by AT&T through Connected Nation, which hosted two workshops to teach their families basic tech skills to help bridge the digital divide. The workshops used both the English and Spanish versions of the curriculum because while many of the students are bilingual and can speak English, their Spanish-speaking family members needed additional resources in Spanish to help aide in basic navigation of technology. AT&T is pleased to be a national sponsor of the Teens Teach Tech program.
And in Nashville, a contribution earlier this summer to Conexión Américas, is helping underwrite a series of digital literacy classes for Spanish-speaking immigrant adults in the Nashville region. The planned series of 15 classes will offer basic digital literacy skills training, along with training in the areas of financial capability and digital job skills. It will also include a basic tutorial for parents who will learn how to access and navigate online school platforms.
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, let us remember the power of community. To us here at AT&T, it’s critically important we continue investing in the power of community and the power of possibility. Together, we can help more students, families and communities connect to success.
