The Best Screen Time

A program to help low-income parents learn alongside their children in the hope that they will encourage more productive screen time.

“The goal,” said Jamie Dunne-Duarte, the Haynes librarian, “is to help the parent get comfortable with the technology, so they can get involved and engage with their child’s use of the computer, to see it as a learning tool, instead of a pacifier or a babysitter." The initiative was launched in 2014 by Tech Goes Home, part of the nonprofit Open Air Boston, which works to expand Internet access in the city’s low-income neighborhoods. TGH trains teachers and administrators at local schools to lead the classes, in which parents are encouraged to ask their kids questions about what they’re doing and learning as they work on the computers. The goal is to bring technology to the pre-K crowd and help bridge the digital divide. In both efforts, parents are key.