Seton Hall reaches low-income residents with digital divide effort - South Orange, N.J - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Jan 17, 2002 by Ronald Roach

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J

Inner-city students and their parents are getting exposure and training on computers and the Internet through Seton Hall University's Project SHUTTLE.

"Like the space shuttle, Project SHUTTLE takes people to places they have never been before," says Willie Francine Brown, associate director of technology and training and co-director for Project SHUTTLE.

"With the use of technology, people are entering cyberspace and exploring the World Wide Web with Project SHUTTLE navigating the way," Brown says.

Seton Hall University has developed and implemented Project SHUTTLE (Seton Hall University Technology Training for Lifelong Education) to provide technology education, resources and training to the economically disadvantaged. Established in 1999 as a program that can be replicated among colleges and universities nationwide, Project SHUTTLE has attempted to close the digital divide by bringing technology training and access to people without a personal computer or technological resources.

Project SHUTTLE collaborates with the University's Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and the Upward Bound Program to provide laptop computers to participating high school seniors. The students receive training in laptop use and are encouraged to take the computers home for schoolwork and home use. As part of SHUTTLE, graduating Upward Bound students receive laptops to take with them as they start college careers at institutions of their choice.

Parents are invited to attend training leading to Microsoft certification. Upon certification, family members are eligible to pursue an Information Technology Certificate from the university's College of Education and Human Services.