By Ann Marie Angebrandt
DISADVANTAGED students from the West will be given computers and Internet training in a program aimed at closing the digital divide between the haves and have-nots.
“Computers for Every Child,” a program sponsored by the State Government, Victoria University and several private companies, will install refurbished computers into the homes of 400 disadvantaged primary school students.
Minister for Victorian Communities Peter Batchelor said “the haves and have-nots of the 21st century are those who are computer literate and those who are not.”
“As technology continues to evolve, the Internet is becoming increasingly important as an essential household and business resource and a gateway to new opportunities.”
The project will run until the end of 2007, and a group from Victoria University’s School of Education will evaluate its progress.
Families pay a one-off fee of $50 and receive computer training to participate.
The project is already established in the homes of about 70 families in St Albans and Brimbank, and soon will be extended to Sunshine and Braybrook.
The project was first established in Israel in 1995, and the idea was brought back to Australia by Premier Steve Bracks and his wife Terry.
Mrs Bracks organised to introduce the program in Melbourne with a focus on children in Years 3 and 5 in Western suburbs schools.
VU Professor Nicola Yelland said the program allowed low-income students and their families to acquire computer and Internet skills to enhance their self-esteem and improve their potential.
The Victorian Government has committed up to $740,000 to the project.
Other contributions have come from the Gandel Charitable Trust, Victoria University, Microsoft, the Pratt Foundation, Smorgon Steel and the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust.
