I love a good pilot program, so the Knoxville Chamber’s eKnox Digital Literacy program is right up my alley. To be fair, they reference #Chattanooga’s Digital Equity initiatives as inspiration, so it’s only appropriate to recognize Chattanooga as well.
The objective of both programs are to eliminate the digital divide. In Knoxville, the Chamber hopes to ultimately to provide a free set of tools that will expand the access beyond what the Chamber itself can do. One aspect of the first pilot program trained 39 individuals, many single mothers on a number of aspects of digital literacy and ultimately allowed them to purchase a laptop for $50.
The critical importance of these types of initiatives were highlight to an even greater degree during the school and work disruptions of the pandemic.
Chattanooga and Knoxville are not alone in working these issues, but if you need a some details, or a nudge, here are some details and resources than have been publicly shared. These program require a lot of coordination, a lot of partnerships, and a lot of faith that, as they say – mighty oaks from little acorns grow.
Chattanooga Digital Equity programs
Check out the eKnox details and results presentation here