Recommendation 1

We should identify and capitalize on the ICT advances with proven value, spreading them in local communities across the country to achieve shared goals for children.

Health care applications show some of the greatest promise. They can achieve three important outcomes for children, parents, and young adults in new and more effective ways:

• Improve the quality of care and manage chronic conditions more effectively;
• Impart vital health information; and
• Help young people enroll in health programs and stay up-to-date on their immunizations.

These uses of ICT ought to be implemented in health and community centers, providers’ offices, and hospitals in low-income neighborhoods where disproportionate numbers of children are not getting the health information and care they need.

In education, we know that young people need at least a high school diploma and often a college degree to successfully pursue most careers in the 21^st century. The following ICT applications can help achieve these goals.

• Sophisticated software and ICT tools can be used to continually assess student learning and customize curriculum to meet the child’s unique learning style and needs;
• Effective models should be built and spread that enable students to prepare for the GED online and to perform their best on college entrance exams; and
• We should also build models for making Advanced Placement (AP) and other courses that students in low-income communities cannot access in their neighborhood schools available online. These new forms of learning must incorporate high-quality human supervision to assure students learn the material and earn course credit.

New forms of economic opportunity offer the chance to engage young people who have dropped out of school or have not seen a viable career path through higher education. Just as vocational courses—such as auto mechanics—are available for youth who want technical job skills, mid-level and advanced ICT skills training should be readily available to young people through high schools and community centers so they can move successfully from school to careers. Schools, libraries, and community centers are also key places to coach young people in using online tools to learn about and apply for jobs.

In community and civic participation, we know that young people view the Internet as an important forum to express their opinions and connect with peers. The Web is also proving to be a more inclusive forum than traditional means for discussion and providing input on governmental or civic issues. In addition, the Web holds potential for facilitating increased contact and neighborhood ties that can help young people engage in collective action around local issues. Some ideas include:

• Schools should incorporate the Internet and Web-based communications into their civics curriculum so that children and young people can make the connection between technology, community, government, and civic participation;
• Local government should establish programs that use the Internet to connect young people to their neighborhoods and municipalities. This could be done by producing local content that is relevant to young people’s lives and educates them on good citizenship and ways to participate in the community; and
• Community centers and organizations should include a “cyber-civics” component in their after-school and other programs that help facilitate community involvement.

Local school and library boards, children’s commissions, and other state and local groups with authority to allocate resources for children are well positioned to bring these important new tools to children in their community. They ought to have the needed information and help to do this job well. How-to manuals setting out a menu of ways in which technology can enhance the effectiveness of local programs for children need to be developed and used to brief these decision-makers. Technical assistance to bring about the necessary changes in policy and practice should also be made available to local leaders for children.