Digital Literacy

The US Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration awarded $301,030 to the Colorado State University (CSU) System for a planning grant to promote and enhance economic development in rural Colorado.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced it has awarded Universidad del Sagrado Corazón a $2,978,187.00 grant from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC). This grant will help fund Universidad del Sagrado Corazón’s "Accessing Broadband Connectivity (ABC): A Pilot Project Catalyst in a Hispanic Institution and Communities Setting." The project aims to expand educational instruction and remote learning opportunities, spur economic development, and create opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship by buildi

EducationSuperHighway released LearnACP, a new training course and certification for states, cities, and community-based organizations working to increase awareness and adoption of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

Only a few blocks separate Amarillo’s lively, bustling downtown area from the city’s historic El Barrio district. While much of the city has spotty internet, residents in El Barrio are almost completely disconnected. The residents are determined to give current and future families more than the bare minimum.

One of the most striking developments of the last decade has been the rapid “digitalization” of work—and with it, an urgent demand for skill-building. Digitalization is the infusion of digital skills (though not necessarily higher-end software coding) into the texture of almost every job in the economy. And it has inordinate power to both empower workers or divide them. That’s because gaps in access to digital skills engender disparate access to the nation’s best-paying, most desirable jobs and industries.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic began, policymakers, businesses, and workforce advocates were already recognizing that workers were not being replaced by robots, but rather, being called upon to work hand-in-glove with rapidly evolving technology. Now — as leaders design labor market policies to drive a thriving and inclusive economy — it is imperative to understand this digital transformation. The analysis finds the following:

Nearly 172,000 Chicago households (over 15%) don’t have internet at home, and nearly 92,000 (roughly 8%) don’t have any device, including a computer, laptop, tablet, or smart mobile device.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development's Office of Broadband Development (OBD) is developing a digital equity plan to create improvements in internet affordability, access to internet-enabled devices, and ways to provide digital skills training. We want to hear from Minnesotans most impacted by the digital access and skills gap to ensure our digital equity plan reflects the goals and needs of all Minnesotans. This plan will help us determine how to spend federal funding coming in 2024 aimed at increasing digital access and skills.

National Skills Coalition (NSC) announced a partnership with Comcast to educate local, state, and national decision-makers about the benefits of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to promote digital equity and opportunity nationwide. The initiative aims to help close the digital skill divide that is currently limiting educational and employment opportunities for nearly 50 million Americans.

A digital equity framework with five broad elements: Infrastructure, Affordability, Digital Skills, Policy, and Content. A global research study of over 7,500 civil society organizations (CSO), highlights include: