Access to Technology

In today’s digital world, new technologies and social sharing platforms are abound. Studies show that more than 90% of youth, especially teens, engage in some sort of social media activity daily. Now, Boys & Girls Clubs join this virtual space with a dynamic digital experience that’s more powerful than that of any other youth-based organization in the country.

With a goal of meeting youth where they are engaging in the digital world, this month Boys & Girls Clubs of America, in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal, will unveil the latest evolution of My.Future in Clubs across America. My.Future is a safe, fun, and interactive digital platform that enables kids to create online accounts they can use to learn, play and socialize.

The IBM Corporate Service Corps is IBM's philanthropic program similar to the Peace Corps and allows employees to travel to different countries across the globe, using their expertise to help social entrepreneurs, governments, nonprofits and NGOs increase their impact.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Discovery Education have announced the continuation of their Ignite My Future in School program in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Teachers will receive professional development, educational resources and year-round support to integrate computational thinking into core subjects such as math, sciences, arts, and social studies. In turn, students will be exposed to foundational skills for 21st century careers – across industries – through this transdisciplinary approach.

Josh Delano is the father of two school age daughters, a Navy veteran, and a full-time student in the Electrical Engineering Department at Fresno State. He is also a part of the more than 4 million low-income Americans that have benefitted from the Internet Essentials program since 2011. Josh qualifies for Internet Essentials because his girls participate in the National School Lunch Program. Being a present father to his two daughters, and working on the challenge of clean and renewable energy are Josh’s two passions in life. Having Internet Essentials means he no longer needs to sacrifice time with his girls in order to achieve his goals.

This week on the news, I saw Congress grill social media executives. I heard about the spread of fake news and the negative things that social media has wrought. There was lots of focus on young people and how they use these forums – I even heard one report when an expert being interviewed mentioned that he was an undergraduate.

I won’t disagree that there are negatives about social media, but I do want to point out a different perspective that comes from my work.

My industry and the population we serve are often considered out of the loop on technology. But, the truth is social media has become a huge benefit in the lives of many people old enough to be that undergraduate’s grandparents.

Imagine a classroom of students in Tulsa, Oklahoma working together to write a persuasive essay to change their bedtime, raise their allowance, or increase their candy quota. A new, pay-what-you-wish, online platform, 826 Digital (826digital.com), will make this type of engaged and creative learning possible anywhere in the world when it launches on November 1.

Circles, a global concierge service provider and part of the Sodexo Group, a world leader in Quality of Life Services, today announces a partnership with Connected Living, the nation’s leading connector of Seniors with family, friends and communities. This partnership comes together in Connected Living’s mobile platform and enables family members to have a private secure communication channel using location-based features to connect with and to take care of their loved ones, while also providing users with a highly personalized “white glove” concierge service.

Tata Consultancy Services, (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital education content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, continued their Ign

Caloua Lowe bounds up the rickety, worn staircase of a three-story, red brick building in Camden, New Jersey on a sunny September morning, the wooden steps creaking under the pressure of her red-sandaled feet. The walls display framed, Photoshopped images: a mockup of Vogue, album covers featuring young men standing shoulder to shoulder with rap legends like Jay-Z. They were designed by the roughly 1,200 youths who, like Lowe, have come here over the years to learn Photoshop, HTML, Javascript, and other skills that could land them jobs in the tech industry some day.

Black & Veatch and Aeryon Labs announced today that they have launched an end-to-end asset management inspection solution leveraging drone technology for global energy clients. Aeryon’s commercial unmanned aerial system (UAS) hardware, software and services enable the capture of critical infrastructure condition data that is integrated by Black & Veatch into utility’s existing enterprise asset management (EAM) systems. This streamlined solution speeds inspection times, reduces inspection costs and accelerates the integration of data into EAM systems.