Helping Families Become Computer Literate

Mark Carlson, Head Start Director, sees technology and the Internet as a perfect way to close gaps within the 6,500 square miles his program covers. About six years ago, Northwest Head Start decided to equip each of its home visitors with a personal notebook computer to take into homes and work with children and parents. These computers allow teachers to provide children with developmentally appropriate activities while also sparking their interest in computers and how they work. And while this time is not used as one-on-one training for parents, they too can become familiar with the way that computers work, how they feel, and basic ways to manipulate common operating systems as they work with their children. With this exposure in a non-threatening environment, parents and children can feel comfortable with technology and learn to appreciate its uses and benefits.

Families' access to the world of technology was expanded three years ago when Northwest Head Start developed its Web site and home visitors began plugging into the Internet in parents' homes. This is possible through a unique agreement developed between Northwest and its local telephone company that allows home visitors to dial into the Internet from any location in their area under one Head Start account. Both staff and parents can sometimes feel very isolated in their communities, and this connection to the Internet gives them the chance to feel connected to the broader community while learning invaluable Internet skills.

This is, in fact, one of the primary goals of the site. In thinking about its purpose, Northwest decided to focus its content on ways to improve working with children and families in their local community. Carlson wants to help eliminate the view that there is an insurmountable gap between low-income families and the world of technology.

"Our families may not have a $2,000 computer in their home," states Carlson, "but if they did, they would feel comfortable with it." Northwest Head Start's families do not feel that the world of technology is a foreign land outside of their reach – they do not have that sense of being "left out." It is this basic feeling of competence that Carlson wants to foster.

In addition to its Web site and its work during home visits, Northwest offers technology training and referrals to parents. Through a cooperative agreement with community education agencies in the area, computer classes are available to Head Start parents. Northwest also works with volunteers to provide basic computer training. Carlson has found that parents are very interested in this type of training – he can tell by all the calls that he receives asking for help loading a program or using an older computer!

Many of these calls come from parents of special-needs children. Northwest has given about 15 families with special-needs children older computers to use in their homes. Northwest sends out a computer technician, usually Carlson, who sets up the computer and shows parents how to use it and how to solve common computer problems. He also gets them on-line so they can research their child's disability and resources available in their community. There are also many Internet "chat" groups formed around specific conditions, so that families can "talk" with other families facing the same issues. In the future, Carlson hopes to have every family hooked up to the Internet with e-mail capabilities. "Today phone lines are a almost a given," he said," and one day so will Internet connections." It is this type of forward thinking that is moving his community into the technological era smoothly.

Technology is the buzzword of this decade – and for good reason. It is a tool that allows people to work and make connections in ways that were never possible before. Northwest Head Start uses this tool to improve its services to children and families to improve children's education, to help staff and parents connect with the broader community, and to help families move into the 21st century. But as Carlson is quick to point out, it is not and will never be a replacement for the important hands-on work of Head Start programs.