Chantel Rodriguez

Staff Writer

Cvr5570@psu.edu

The Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore gave a generous donation to Baltimore students of 1,000 free Chromebooks for accessible education. This donation was made by Dell Technologies and the Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition partnership. 

Kindergarten through 12th-grade students who participated in Baltimore’s library program received free laptops. Each student also received a resource guide and tech support services accompanied. They did not mention how long these services would be available or if they were lifetime benefits. 

Organizers of the event note that this will significantly impact the children in the community. 

“A lot of their work is now digital, and they need a home device to do that. So, Dell has stepped up and made a real difference for those families and students who need these devices at home,” said Meghan McCorkell of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. 

I appreciate and feel so happy that 1,000 students now will have access to educational material at home when they didn’t have the opportunity before. In such a time where technology is becoming the primary tool of use for educational purposes, many individuals don’t have the funds to spare $300 to $900 for tablets or laptops, especially when families have multiple children in a school district. 

Programs like this can impact the children’s lives and help them thrive at home and school. With many not having the ability to buy tablets or computers for at-home use because of circumstances, I wonder what can make school districts nationally make this possible for all K-12 students everywhere with free access to the internet.

I understand that not everything can be kept “just on paper,” but if most students do not have access to the education tools through technology, there needs to be a change in what can be done for the student’s future learning and curriculum. 

Covid-19 showed us what online learning looks like when we lack the funds for technology because of life circumstances, and shaky internet services can affect our ability to thrive in a healthy learning environment. It’s more challenging for younger children to understand why they may not have access to certain things like their classmates. 

Many times, students aren’t able to focus or complete their homework because they have to share computers with other siblings or the possibility of having little to no internet in some regions of Baltimore and even in our community. So the opportunity for these Baltimore students, I’m sure, will significantly impact their learning abilities and progress the program’s goal of free access to learning. 

It allows all the students to be on the same level playing field, and no child has to feel left behind from a learning experience that they are entitled to. 

Programs like this would be beneficial to our community here. And the opportunity to free access to decent internet would significantly impact our community also. Most of the apps teachers use for K-12 students need WiFi capabilities to work correctly. 

Children are the future, so more access to materials as technology expands should be available to those children who genuinely need it.