The digital divide in Buffalo is narrowing with the opening of a new public digital lab on Tuesday at Crucial’s Community Center in East Buffalo.
“Digital literacy and high-speed Internet access are no longer a luxury; they should be seen as a critical access point for any community,” said Thomas Beauford Jr., president and CEO of the Buffalo Urban League. “Now it is a question of social justice and, beyond that, it is a question of 21st century civil rights.”
The AT&T Digital Learning Lab includes 30 computers, new furniture, laptops, tablets, and a 3D printer for students and their families. After-school and mentoring programs will be available. AT&T offers a free digital learning program called The Achievery.
The laboratory, located at 230 Moselle St., was born thanks to the collaboration of AT&T with Buffalo Urban League and Dreamerscorp Inc.
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Taelyr Duncan, left, and Kamya Saddler, both 9, exchange tips as they try out new computers during the inauguration of the new state-of-the-art AT&T digital learning lab at Community Center @ CRUCIAL, Tuesday, August 16, 2022. (Derek Gee / Buffalo News)
Derek Gee / Buffalo News
“We needed an innovation hub where we can move forward and catapult diversity and inclusion into the tech space,” said Nigel Brown, CEO of Dreamerscorp.
In Buffalo, according to Digital Bridge K-12, more than 11,400 K-12 students do not have internet access from home. This was a particularly important problem during the early period of the Covid-19 pandemic, when the majority of students attended remote school.
AT&T created the New York Digital Literacy Lab Initiative to help provide access to computers in digital deserts. The company is launching five new labs across New York, with Crucial’s lab being the second to open.
Supply chain problems resulting from the pandemic caused some delays, according to Kevin Hanna, director of external affairs at AT&T, but the lab managed to be completed in less than a year.
Brown said the state-of-the-art lab is set up to allow students to take part in programs such as videography, podcasting, journaling, and game creation.
“You have to make sure there is a solid foundation to have a strong impact and result,” Brown said. “The only way to do this is to have the best tools.”
The lab is a welcome addition to the community center, which already has an Esports program, community space, and gym. The centre’s programs run six days a week, with after-school hours during the school year and programs that last all day during the summer.
Amira Williams, 11, left, and Taelyr Duncan, 9, react by discovering a new software feature on new computers during the inauguration of the state-of-the-art AT&T digital learning lab at Community Center @ CRUCIAL on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 .
Derek Gee / Buffalo News
Fierra Green, of Buffalo, said her 11-year-old daughter Amira has a hard time reading during school. She said the workshop will benefit her daughter, particularly during the summers, when children sometimes lose the skills they learned during the school year.
“It will be great to help her,” Green said. “Now that we have that facility here, he can get it on target for school.”
Amira said the lab will help her be better prepared during math class. She said she was excited about what the new technology has to offer.
“Okay,” said Amira. “I’m looking forward to new seats, new equipment and new things to learn.”