Underprivileged children in the United States face a huge gap in their knowledge of technology. Nonprofits are working to close that gap.
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Lack of access to computers, internet access, and technical training leaves many children at a lifelong disadvantage. Nonprofits are working to address this educational disparity with programs ranging from training in game development to basic computer use. One such program is a new pilot program in Georgia that will use game development software to teach computer science.
“So many students come from underprivileged backgrounds who don’t have the opportunity to learn something like this,” Mete Akcaoglu, a Georgia Southern University professor whose team received a grant for the program, said in a telephone interview. “I hope this will change lives.”
The gap between the tech haves and have-nots is growing, and it’s punctuated by poverty. One in four teens in households with annual incomes below $30,000 doesn’t have access to a computer at home, the study found, compared with just 4 percent of households earning more than $75,000.
