‘You Can't Participate Fully in Society’ Without Digital Literacy

Brown: Digital equity not only requires access to devices and internet service, but access to the education and skills needed to make use of these tools. Hello. I'm Dara Brown, on location at the Net Inclusion 2024 conference in Philadelphia. Joining me to share efforts to improve digital literacy is Zaire Martin. He's a Digital Navigation Specialist with Beyond Literacy. Zaire, thank you for being here.

Martin: Thank you for having me.

Brown: Zaire, tell me, how important is digital literacy in today's world?

Martin: Digital literacy is very important. I think, without some level of digital literacy, you can't participate fully in society. Whether that is trying to make a doctor's appointment or trying to provide for services, I think you have to have some level of digital literacy in order to really fully participate in society, and not -- you know, and really take advantage of some of the resources that may be available to you.

Brown: Zaire, tell me about your organization, Beyond Literacy.

Martin: Beyond Literacy, we're Philadelphia's leading adult and family education nonprofit, and we serve over 2,000 adults yearly. And we believe in just the power of literacy and let that be a way of being able to transform lives. And how we do that is making sure that we offer free classes -- GED services, workforce development programs, English as a second language classes, to citizenship classes. Just really just try to get Philadelphians into a more sustainable place in life, and we think the way to do that is through literacy.

Brown: And how does BeLit work with tech support?

Martin: We are a digital navigator program, so what that means is that we have a helpline that's published on the city's website where people can call not only Beyond Literacy, but a slew of other digital navigator organizations, but to really get just that direct, one-on-one service for any tech needs, whether that's -- It could be something as small as, like, "Why my modem isn't working," or, you know, "You know, where can I get my laptop refurbished, or where can I get another laptop?" Like, I think having that helpline to really support -- just really help support the needs of the community from a digital perspective has been really important.

Brown: And BeLit is not just a specific area. You've taken it mobile.

Martin: Yes. Yeah, so we have a Mobile Learning Lab, where we retrofitted, like, a old school bus. It's a school bus with six laptops, and we have a printer, we have a bunch of digital resources. And, basically, with the idea of just bringing these digital resources into the most-need communities, and with the idea of accessibility. I think driving up to your local rec center or even your home with some of these resources, I think, really meets -- it really meets people where they are, which make things, you know, really accessible.

Brown: And as technology continues to evolve and the gap gets a little wider, how is your organization looking into the future?

Martin: Just continue to do what we're doing now. Like, I think we can't really process the future because the need is so great. We really just want to make sure every Philadelphian has a functional laptop, has internet, and then has the digital literacy support and skills to match those things. So, like, we are sort of starting conversations about, what's that next layer? But I think the need is so large and the work still -- so much of the work has to be done that we really need to focus on that front before we get to anywhere like -- you know, what people can do with these tech skills. But I really think we can't even get there if, you know, a certain amount of Philadelphian households don't have internet or a device. So I really think the need starts there. And then, once we achieve that goal, then we can start to process what those more sustainable options are, you know, for our community.

Brown: Zaire Martin, thank you so much for your time.

Martin: Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

Brown: And thank you for watching. For more conversations about digital equity and broadband expansion, visit GettingConnected.com. I'm Dara Brown. ♪♪