Support Computer Literacy Education

Talk to your employer, local schools, libraries, and even churches to identify opportunities for you to support efforts to bridge the digital divide through promoting computer literacy. There might be opportunities for you to go work in classrooms or workshops, or you could suggest organizing such programs and take a lead in creating them. There are also nonprofit organizations dedicated specifically to promoting computer literacy, such as the Center for Media Literacy or CML (www.medialit.org). CML provides leadership, public education, professional development, and educational resources nationally. They are dedicated to helping citizens, especially the young, develop critical thinking and media production skills needed to live fully in the 21st century media culture. One critical component of computer literacy is general literacy: people need to know how to read and write to really interact with online media. Donating your time and money to literacy programs will help lay a foundation for closing the digital divide.