Providing Technology Support for Baltimore County Students and Residents

Brown: Doing homework, reading online textbooks, filling out job applications, all critical parts of the college academic experience. But for some students, lack of broadband access at home can be an obstacle to success. Hello, and welcome to "Getting Connected", powered by Comcast Newsmakers. I'm Dara Brown. We're on location in Philadelphia at the Net Inclusion 2024 conference. And joining me is Ke'ra Thomas from the Community College of Baltimore County. Ke'ra is the Program Coordinator for CCBC Digital Navigators. Ke'ra, thanks for being here today.

Thomas: Thank you for having me.

Brown: Ke'ra, your focus has been on getting internet access to your community, to those who can't afford it. Can you tell us about that?

Thomas: Yes, so students at the community college, they often don't have access to do online coursework, apply to jobs, or use the internet at home. So my team and I, we get them access to affordable broadband through grants, giving them that access to use the internet and do online coursework and do those Zoom meetings that they need to complete for their coursework.

Brown: And in addition to this, you help area residents learn about technology using digital navigators. Can you tell me about that?

Thomas: Yes. So we are often out in the community. We work with a lot of different agencies throughout Baltimore County, whether it's Baltimore County Public Schools, speaking to students there, as well as the senior centers, where we go out and teach them how to navigate through the internet using Chromebooks, hooking up their email accounts, things of that nature.

Brown: Ke'ra Thomas, thank you so much for your time.

Thomas: Thank you for having me.

Brown: And thanks to you for watching. For more conversations about digital equity and broadband adoption, visit GettingConnected.com. I'm Dara Brown.