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To Bridge the Digital Divide, Cities Tap Their Own Infrastructure

Linda Poon

February 08, 2021 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

The digital divide has exacerbated the challenge of virtual schooling and has spurred communities to provide affordable internet access. Local governments, nonprofits, and school districts are piloting initiatives to increase digital access for children from economically disadvantaged families. Advocates are pushing for permanent solutions that last after the pandemic in lieu of stopgap actions that have been put in place specifically for virtual schooling.

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With free print newspaper, Indian farmers record their protest

Rina Chandran

February 04, 2021 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, New Delhi

Because of internet shutdowns, six friends created a bilingual newspaper to document and record the farmer protests in India. Thousands of farmers have been protesting for weeks about the government’s new agricultural laws. Since there are many older farmers and the government has blocked the internet, they give out free print copies of their biweekly “Trolley Times” newspaper with information on speeches, medical aid, and community kitchens. While producing the newspaper has become harder, they are able to print about 5,000 copies for the farmers.

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Getting vaccinated is hard. It's even harder without the internet.

Eileen Guo

February 03, 2021 |

MIT Technology Review |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

A focus on infrastructure has been emphasized as the solution to bridging the digital divide, with “billions of dollars going into expanding broadband infrastructure.” Rural communities have historically struggled with broadband infrastructure but many people living in cities are also kept from accessing reliable internet service due to high costs. Affordability, not just infrastructure alone, must be addressed into order to remedy a lack of internet access.

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The scramble to archive Capitol insurrection footage before it disappears

Tanya Basu

January 08, 2021 |

MIT Technology Review |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Several groups are preserving digital content related to the capital insurrection to ensure it is archived in case it gets deleted. A subreddit thread collected thousands of Tweets, Snapchats, and other videos to upload to the cloud, while the Woke Collective ensured the survival of livestreams by publishing them on its own YouTube and Twitch accounts. Efforts to crowdsource the identification of members of the mob include the Instagram account, @homegrownterrorists, and the journalism site, Bellingcat, which invited contributions to a publicly editable Google spreadsheet of links.

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California schools build local wireless networks to bridge digital divide

Sydney Johnson Ali Tadayon

January 04, 2021 |

EdSource |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, California

School districts and cities in California are looking to create their own local Wifi networks as a long-term solution to the digital divide, and an alternative to hotspots. Some are even becoming internet service providers themselves (ISP) — efforts, they say, that will make it easier to provide internet access to those who can’t afford it.

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In India, Smartphones and Cheap Data Are Giving Women a Voice

Yasaswini Sampathkumar

January 04, 2021 |

Wired |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: India

Smartphones and cheap data are enabling Indian women, even those who never learned how to read and write, to access new networks and markets. Voice memos and images shared via apps like WhatsApp make accessing information easier. As a result, women are running businesses, finding new customers, and even saving remote forests by alerting journalists to illegal logging. As the accessibility of smartphones and affordable data increases, so does this demographic’s autonomy.

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What A Solar-Powered, Portable Library Looks Like

Christine Ro

December 30, 2020 |

Forbes |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Arizona State University’s SolarSPELL project developed a waterproof device with a solar panel and other equipment that allows users to connect to “offline WiFi” networks and browse preloaded webpages. SD cards store open access educational content and national education ministries have the ability to add national textbooks and other culturally relevant content. About 25 users can connect without slowing browsing speeds and the ASU team provides training on how to use the device. While the device is primarily charged using the solar panel, it can also be charged using electricity during cloudy weather.

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In the pandemic, field trips go virtual for Minnesota students

Erin Golden

December 23, 2020 |

Minnesota Star Tribune |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Oakdale, Minnesota

In classrooms or at home, elementary students in Oakdale have more options for virtual tours and visit thanks to virtual fieldtrips. Museums, theaters, and different organizations are bettering the virtual tour experience for students, while also providing opportunities for students to virtually visit places across spread across the country instead of being limited to close surroundings.

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Rentervention connects renters with legal services, virtually

Lauren Leazenby

December 18, 2020 |

The Columbia Chronicle |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

A chatbox is dispensing free legal advice and even writing and sending letters to landlords to help tenants facing eviction. Landlords typically hire lawyers in eviction cases, while the majority of tenants arrive in court without any legal assistance, leaving them at a distinct disadvantage. The chatbox, cleverly named Rentervention, has been especially busy helping tenants avoid eviction since the start of the pandemic.

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How a 1980s AIDS Support Group Changed The Internet Forever

Michael Waters

December 18, 2020 |

OneZero |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

In the 1980s, a virtual messaging network, then known as bulletin board systems (BBSs), acted as a support group for many who were in search of peer support and reliable information as the AIDS epidemic spread. Although the site was a grassroots effort with little to no financial stability, it grew to 500 daily users and 100 messages posted per day.

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