BEAD Challenge Process Underway in Florida - What You Need to Know
The BEAD Challenge Process is a one-time opportunity to correctly label homes and businesses as served, unserved, or underserved by broadband throughout Florida. Is your home or business correctly labeled? Read on and get involved.
Lookout for Broadband Labels
Just as products on your grocer’s shelf display nutrition labels, the FCC has mandated that Internet Service Providers feature broadband labels to help consumers fully understand their internet subscription plans before purchasing and avoid hidden costs.
Digital Navigators Train in Cybersecurity
One of the important aspects of digital navigation training is learning about internet safety and security, and this month Digital Navigators had the opportunity to obtain next-level professional development in cybersecurity to keep themselves, their clients, and their organizations safer and more secure. As such, on May 3, 2024, 11 Digital Navigators from FUNducation and Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida gathered to earn their Introduction to Cybersecurity badges from Cisco in a supportive session designed to help reticent learners successfully complete the free, on-demand course.
Practical Tips to Avoid Phishing Scams
These days, most scams reach us on our phones and through our computers via email. Since most activities, from work to leisure, are performed online, it’s important to stay vigilant. The widespread use of digital technologies creates infinite possibilities for scammers to hone their nefarious craft, including Artificial Intelligence (AI). In fact, scammers are growing more and more sophisticated, and not surprisingly, they can easily leverage AI technologies, such as chatbots, to inflict harm on end users and organizations.
Will States Use One-Time Federal Funding to Get Digital Inclusion Right?
To kick off Digital Inclusion Week 2023, I share additional thoughts from my panel at #FloridaBroadbandSummit for decision makers across sectors and at all levels who are involved in making use of unprecedented government funding to close the #digitaldivide.
Technology is for Everybody, Especially Seniors
Is the expectation that older adults can adopt the internet and devices realistic? September is Senior Center Awareness Month and thanks to Sarasota County’s Health and Human Services’ Age Friendly Newsletter, we explore this question as well as give advice for caregivers and seniors themselves who are tech-curious on how to start learning about technology.
College Voices Share their Digital Divide Struggles with Florida DEO and the Office of Broadband in Miami
Miami-Dade County had the opportunity to meet with Katie Smith from the Florida Office of Broadband on July 11, 2023 at Miami-Dade College along with Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity. As expected, internet service providers attended, but the fight for Florida’s digitally equitable future belonged to the younger generation. Among the many stakeholders who were present to hear about plans for Florida’s BEAD and Digital Equity Act funding, local college students turned out to make their experienced voices on the digital divide heard.
Community Members Launch their Digital Transformation Journeys during #RemakeDays
Suncoast Remake Learning Days wasn’t just about kids. The Professional Development theme allowed adults to access various free content throughout the 10-day festival. For Maribel Martinez, a consultant with The Patterson Foundation, it was a chance to introduce adults to digital tools that could change how they work, learn, and walk through life daily. Read her reflection about #AppliedDigitalSkills and #BuildCodeGo, two distinct workshops launching participants on their digital transformation journeys.
Affordable Broadband Uptake in the Suncoast After ACP’s First Year
The numbers are in! After the first year of the Affordable Connectivity Program, we now know which counties experienced the most subscriber growth and which successfully enrolled eligible households. Continue reading to explore ACP enrollment data in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties, examine the effectiveness of various outreach strategies, and learn what you can do to help support a bright digital future for the Suncoast region.
The Benefits of Donating your Devices
Not everyone who needs a computer can afford to buy one, and the list of organizations that provide free or affordable computers has dwindled to only a few in the U.S. Conversely, electronic devices people no longer want or use find their way to massive dump sites, contributing to a growing pollution problem globally. In other places, people keep their out-of-use devices in garages and drawers without clear guidance on how to safely dispose of them. Learn more about e-waste and how doing better can create jobs and help a neighbor in need.For older adults on the wrong side of the digital divide, ageism limits their inclination to engage with technology, and rising inflation pins the necessity of broadband as a luxury. This further isolates older adults and creates mental and physical health challenges. Continue reading to learn more about what technology use looks like among seniors and gain access to resources that connect older adults to affordable broadband and computers and even free digital skills training.
The Impact of Digital Inclusion on Communities: Older Adults
For older adults on the wrong side of the digital divide, ageism limits their inclination to engage with technology, and rising inflation pins the necessity of broadband as a luxury. This further isolates older adults and creates mental and physical health challenges. Continue reading to learn more about what technology use looks like among seniors and gain access to resources that connect older adults to affordable broadband and computers and even free digital skills training.
Leveraging Technology to Innovate a Tested Digital Inclusion Strategy
Maribel Martinez participated virtually via Google Meet next to Neirda Thompson-Pemberton, Executive Director of FUNducation Inc (right), pictured with Bettye (left), a Sarasota resident who was connected to affordable internet for the first time in her life at the first hybrid internet enrollment event for The Patterson Foundation.
Computers Remain Out of Reach for Millions: Computer Recycling
Like today’s cars and appliances, computers are made with planned obsolescence, and refurbished devices are often the only economically viable option for many. But refurbishers depend on donors to meet the demand for devices. Learn more about why businesses don’t donate their computers and learn how you can participate in a circular economy.
Digital Navigator Program Cohorts 1 & 2 Come Together
Through generous support from The Patterson Foundation, Maribel Martinez Consulting continues to build connective tissue in Charlotte, DeSoto, Manatee, and Sarasota counties between six nonprofit organizations working on digital navigation as a strategy to close the digital divide.
The Starfish Analogy
Learn about how the starfish analogy applies to digital equity and how Maribel Martinez Consulting is narrowing the digital divide in one Central Florida community a little bit more on May 7, 2022.
Computers Remain Out of Reach for Millions: A Look at the Computer Marketplace
The effects of a wide market on computing device acquisition, how digital navigators are trained to support with selecting the right computing device at the best possible price for consumers, and what refurbished devices are and whether they can are reliable.
Computers Remain Out of Reach for Millions: Barriers to Computer Adoption
Reasons and circumstances for why people do not own a computer, why computer ownership and training is important for people of all ages, and an overview of recent federal commitments to digital inclusion that may help people acquire a computer for the first time.
What is a Digital Navigator?
Digital Navigator traits, skills, and training for digital equity in their communities and beyond.