Digital Literacy + Digital ACCESS
I started my career running digital literacy programming for seniors, job-seekers, and newcomers out of a community library with a long history of adult education. My work on emerging technologies, government digital service design, and inclusive innovation is grounded in understanding (and helping address) the barriers people face when they are just beginning to learn the basics, or trying to maintain their skills under variable and difficult access situations.
Levelling Up: The Quest for Digital Literacy is a landscape map of digital literacy education and training in Canada that breaks down the barriers learners face as they navigate the system; and gaps in programming and supports, particularly for marginalized and underserved groups. It has been used as a resource by municipal and provincial governments, non-profit service providers, libraries, technology advocates, and educators to inform digital skill development policies and programs and is taught in several Ontario universities.
Plugging In: Empowering communities to ensure digital literacy access to youth is the final report for the Brookfield Institute’s Digital Literacy + Coding Pilot. The pilot tested a flexible, scalable model for delivering effective and accessible digital literacy and coding education in after-school settings, in partnership with youth-serving community organizations across Ontario. This report shares what we learned about designing, implementing, and testing informal community-based digital literacy programming for youth who are underserved by or barriered in accessing more formal, for-fee, and/or BYOT programs.
Mapping Toronto’s Digital Divide: The digital divide in Canada is often described as an urban-rural divide. However, overall rates can mask critical dimensions of the divide in cities — who is not connected and why, and whether access is sufficient and affordable. This report analyzes home internet and device access in the City of Toronto, as well as quality, affordability, and usage, during pandemic closures of businesses, schools, and community organizations.