It’s often been said that the purpose of technology is to make life easier
for humanity, but 10 Allston-Brighton families are learning that the long
journey to computer literacy begins with thesmallest step, and there’s plenty of
room for crisscrossed wires and computer mishaps along the way.
Nevertheless, if there are mistakes to be made, this is the right place to
make them, say instructors behind Technology Goes Home, a city-wide effort to
bring low-income families up to speed on how to use computers.
Sponsored by the city, the Community Development Corporation and several
private and nonprofit agencies, Technology Goes Home offers 10-12 weeks of free
computer classes for families with school-aged children — mostly single women
and their kids living in subsidized housing.
In Allston-Brighton, Technology Goes Home is coordinated by the
Allston-Brighton Community Computer Collaborative, a network of 15 neighborhood
nonprofits spearheaded by the CDC and working together to promote computer
literacy.
During twice weekly evening sessions at Brighton High School, parents and
kids help each other learn the basics of computer literacy, first by lifting the
face off a computer and exploring the mysteries of the hardware underneath, and
later by using Windows 98, Microsoft Word, Internet search functions and
e-mail.
Families who graduate from the program are rewarded with a free personal
computer and color printer, as well as the know-how to use them.
Which is just fine with Corinne Brun, a Brighton mom, and her 15-year-old
daughter Adrienne Andry, members of the third round of families to enroll in
Technology Goes Home in Allston-Brighton.
" I don’t really know anything about computers, " admits Brun. " My daughter,
she wants the computer. She’s helping me, because I feel very intimidated about
it. "
And that sense of intimidation can be the difference between landing a better
job or losing footing at work and beyond, according to Chelsea Thompson, an
Americorps Vista volunteer affiliated with the program.
" People come in and say, ‘I haven’t been able to get a promotion because I
don’t understand how to use a computer,’ " Thompson said. " We have an
after-school teacher who isn’t allowed to take the kids into a computer room [at
her job] because she doesn’t know how to turn the computers off. "
Bridging the gap between the computer literate and the computer-phobic is
essential to creating economic opportunities for working class families, said
Wendy McPherson, a program coordinator with Technology Goes Home and the
ABCDC.
" You can get left behind in all kinds of ways. You can get left behind
because you don’t have information or skills that help you get better jobs. The
message is, if you’re not on the Web, you’re not involved in this society, " she
said.
Lisa Talbot, a graduate of the program, said learning to use a personal
computer has been a boon to her and her five children. Since the program,
Talbot, a lunch monitor at the Jackson Mann school, has gone on to study medical
billing, and said she uses her computer on a daily basis to do homework and
research.
" In May, I’ll be able to get a new job and make twice what I’m making now, "
she said.
Last spring, the city chose Allston-Brighton as one of three neighborhoods to
test out Technology Goes Home as a pilot program. Since then, the program has
expanded to six neighborhoods across Boston, using a curriculum designed by
McPherson.
" I was very intimidated when I first started [Technology Goes Home]. But the
program Wendy McPherson started is very, very easy to follow. For lack of a
better term, she really dumbed it down, " said Talbot, who brought each of her
five kids along with her to classes. " Before this class, I had never even
turned on a computer before. "
McPherson hopes more working families take advantage of the knowledge
available to them. And computer technology is getting harder and harder to live
without, much less avoid, she said.
Eva Waiswa, Catherine’s mother, and Cole have seen an increase in computer
usage at their jobs, and say they need to feel comfortable with the machines
when it comes their turn to use them. Eva foresees herself logging on to do
checkout or inventory in the clothing store where she works, and Cole recognizes
that hospital files are increasingly being stored on computers.
Their children already use computers in school, and expect that they’ll be
using them more and more as they advance in their education.
" It’s something you’re constantly bombarded with — dot.com this, dot.com
that. If you don’t understand technology, it can make you feel like an outsider,
" McPherson said.
But Eva envisions a future where she’s on the inside. For her in-class
assignment, Waiswa wrote that she would like the computers of the future " to
talk to me or correct my mistakes. To wake me up in the morning when my coffee
is ready. "
For more information about Technology Goes Home, or about other inexpensive
computer classes offered by the Allston-Brighton Community Computer
Collaborative, call the Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation at
787-3874.
