Digital Skills

Digital skills for all is one of the three main areas of our work at Smart Chicago. Our vision is that there is a cohesive trainer network in Chicago that delivers the right training at the right time to the right person. We have a number of programs that support digital skills, including Connect Chicago, the Chicago School of Data, CUTGroup, #CivicSummer, and all of our work under the Hive Learning Network.

Resources and Reading Toward a Digital City

Smart Chicago

One of our programs is Connect Chicago, a loose network of more than 250 places where you can use a computer for free. It is a central part of our work around both access to the Internet and digital skills.

I also serve as the chair the of the Eliminate the Digital Divide Advisory Committee of the State of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development Eliminate the Digital Divide Grant Program.

In measuring the impact of the work of Connect Chicago members, we spend a lot of time gathering research. Here’s a look at some of the publications we look to for guidance.

Digital Citizenship: The-Internet society and Participation

Digital Citizenship: The-Internet society and Participation

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Digital Divide Elimination Advisory Committee Meeting

Smart Chicago

Join us this morning at the Digital Divide Elimination Advisory Committee.

Digital Divide Elimination Advisory Committee
James R. Thompson Center 100 W. Randolph St.
Ste. 3-400 (Director’s Conference Room)
Chicago, IL 60601
Monday, May 12, 2014 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Meeting Agenda
I. Call to Order
II. Approval of Committee Meeting Minutes from February 10, 2014 meeting
III. Program Update
IV. Other Business/Public Comment
V. Adjournment

If you can’t make it today, the next two meetings are as follows:

  • Monday, August 11, 2014 @ 10:00 a.m.
  • Monday, November 10, 2014 @ 10:00 a.m.

Benchmark: Chicago Public Library Cyber Navigator Program

Smart Chicago 1 Comment

“Establish a smart community benchmark and toolkit for broadband access and use” is Initiative Four of the City of Chicago Tech Plan. The Connect Chicago program is an essential component of that initiative. As part of this, we’re highlighting programs that are quintessential programs that we consider crucial to having a connected city for all.

One of the first comprehensive technology training programs in the city, the CyberNavigators program at Chicago Public Libraries has led the way in bridging the digital divide in Chicago.

Bessie Coleman

About the CyberNavigator Program

CyberNavigators are computer tutors that work in 44 libraries across Chicago, where they served almost 90,000 library patrons in 2011. Through technology training and mentoring, one-on-one assistance and public classes, CyberNavigators work with library patrons to teach computer basics, resume writing, word processing, internet searching and more.

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Connect Chicago Toolkit: USA Learns

Smart Chicago

“Establish a smart community benchmark and toolkit for broadband access and use” is initiative four of the City of Chicago Tech Plan. The Connect Chicago program is an essential component of that initiative.

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Stephen Alderson, Director of Adult Education at Instituto del Progreso Latino spoke at the last WeConnectChicago meetup to talk about their CYBER-ESL program, a blended online English as a second language  program for adult ESL learners.  One component of this program is the use of the USALearns website.

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Connect Chicago: Seniors and Technology

Christopher Whitaker

At the Connect Chicago meetup on February 21st, we covered issues around seniors and technology.

Brad Winick of Planning/Aging, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and AgeOptions  talked about how we got to this point and the social impacts an aging population will have on technology. Here’s Brad Winick introducing his talk below the fold:

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