New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications

NYC Connected Learning

The NYC Connected Learning project plans to provide computer training, desktop computers, educational software, and free broadband access for one year to more than 18,000 low-income sixth-graders and their families (approximately 40,000 residents total) in 100 high-need public middle schools in New York City. Of these households, the applicant anticipates that more than 12,000 will subscribe to broadband beyond the free year-long subscription period. The not-for-profit organization Computers for Youth plans to conduct computer training for parents and students in English, Spanish, and other languages as needed. Project outreach will target the larger middle-school community and their families using multilingual newsletters and flyers, phone calls, public informational meetings, and school websites. The awareness campaign is expected to reach all of the sixth to eighth-graders in the schools, totaling roughly 46,000 households or 100,000 residents.

Total Award:

$22162825

Project Fact Sheet

Recipient Project Website

BTOP In Action

A student learns about the digital footprint using curriculum developed by Commo

The New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) and the New York City Department of Education (DOE) launched the NYC Connected Learning Program in 56 low income middle schools across New York City. The program is a citywide initiative to boost sustainable broadband adoption and enhance educational outcomes among sixth grade students and their families. DoITT and DOE partner with a range of non- and for- profit organizations to promote broadband adoption by families and in schools, which includes providing free computers for academic purposes after attending a four-hour digital literacy training course, as well as offering discounted broadband service and technical support.

Computers for Youth (CFY), a national non-profit focused on improving the educational learning environments for low-income children, hosts Family Learning Workshops at these schools, teaching students and their parents about the educational uses of home technology and broadband. CFY also provides participants with a broadband-ready Home Learning Center, broadband enrollment guidance, and access to high-quality, online educational software focused on math, English, social studies, and science. The program’s professional development partners, Teaching Matters and the Australian United States Services in Education (AUSSIE), provide each school with an Instructional Technology Coach (ITC) responsible for training teachers to use computers to enhance classroom activities. The program also provides teachers with digital literacy curricula through its partnership with Common Sense Media. NYC Connected Learning partners with The City University of New York (CUNY) and MOUSE Squad to help schools set up a student-run help desk that provides technical support and general troubleshooting. NYC Connected Learning participants also receive discounted rates for high speed Internet from Cablevision and Time Warner Cable.

As of June 2013, approximately 76,400 students and family members have participated in the program. NYC Connected Learning participants also receive discounted rates for high-speed Internet from Cablevision and Time Warner Cable. The program has resulted in nearly 9,700 families subscribing to broadband and trained more than 1,300 teachers on the program’s resources and training curriculum. By the end of the project, the NYC Connected Learning program will be operational in 72 schools.

Reports and Documents