When I started as a teacher in Hartford CT at the Classical Magnet School , I noticed very early on that some of my students and their parents didn't have access to technology. I set about fixing that to the extent that I could - soliciting donations from friends, family, coworkers and other students' families, and putting open source software (Linux, usually Debian or Ubuntu) on older machines to give out to students. I asked that students who would receive a computer would first learn to use the operating system and help me install it.

Later, I involved the counselors, school social workers, administration and other teachers to find out what students could really benefit from a computer. I continued this work until I left in the spring of 2019, and am hopeful that there are folks there who would like to continue the work with laptops I will continue to refurbish for them.

I have always been interested in equity, and I believe that access to the computers and therefore the internet could be a great equalizer in society. Students who have it have access to most, if not all of the books ever written, can teach themselves on Youtube and Khan Academy, and many other things I haven't thought of I'm sure. According to an article in the Guardian, "Growing up in a house full of books is major boost to literacy and numeracy, study finds. Growing up in a home packed with books has a large effect on literacy in later life – but a home library needs to contain at least 80 books to be effective, according to new research" https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/10/growing-up-in-a-house-full-of-books-is-major-boost-to-literacy-and-numeracy-study-finds. In a way, giving students these devices could help narrow the achievement gap by giving them access to countless books and online resources.