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To foster digital literacy among underserved communities, Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s College of Education and Human Development hosted the fall series of Bridging the Digital Divide (BDD) program, holding a series of workshops at schools across Southeast Texas.   

The initiative, funded by the AT&T Foundation, aimed to provide invaluable knowledge and skills related to digital literacy, safety, and social media education to fourth and fifth grade students and their parents. 

“We live in 21st century digital world and work with 21st century digital natives,” Dr. Mamta Singh, associate professor of science education, said. “We as educators must ensure that our students are knowledgeable of digital security, data privacy and protection so that they can protect themselves and their identity online.”   

The workshops, hosted at Martin Elementary and Pietzsch-MacArthur Elementary campuses, reached nearly 400 students and parents from Beaumont and surrounding school districts. 

“With the BDD Program, we wanted to educate elementary and middle school students and parents to be able to create a safe environment to discuss the implications of social media presence and usage of social media platforms, with an emphasis on safety, cyberbullying, and implications for future opportunities,” Dr. Singh said.  

Participants were also exposed to the use of essential tools such as Word and Excel, with the goal of empowering parents to assist their children with homework and school projects. 

“It is incredibly important that students and parents have practical digital learning experiences such as using Word and Excel and outcomes in helping their children with homework and school projects,” Dr. Singh said. “Our interdisciplinary team of faculty and students did a wonderful job in motivating and inspiring these young minds to foresee themselves as prospective Â鶹ÊÓƵ students.” 

To learn more about the Bridging the Digital Divide Program, visit .