City of Oakland And OUSD Have Plan To Close Digital Divide – Press Conference
ONN – City of Oakland And OUSD Have Plan To Close Digital Divide – Press Conference
Leading the virtual press conference were:
Libby Schaaf, Mayor of Oakland
Kyla Johnson-Trammell, Superintendent of OUSD
Jessica Ramos, 11th Grade Student, Skyline High School
Ali Medina, Executive Director at the Oakland Public Education Fund
Seth Hubbert, Executive Director at Tech Exchange
John Sakaki of the Oakland Unified School District was the moderator.
Here are the questions that were asked at the ZOOM-powered press conference:
From Galaxy J3 Prime to Everyone: (12:09 PM)
Thank You All!
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:11 PM)
how, exactly are the disconnected students and their families going to get connected now that you have 2 mill in hand?
From Galaxy J3 Prime to Everyone: (12:12 PM)
Great Move Great LeadershipThank You Tech Exchange
From Theresa Harrington to Everyone: (12:17 PM)
What is your strategy for reaching the $10 mil goal?
From Me to Everyone: (12:19 PM)
Question from Zennie Abraham of Oakland News Now: is there a set of program goals and objectives so that we know when milestones are met, aside from just fund-raising? Thanks.
From Timothy Douglas to Everyone: (12:20 PM)
Thank you all for your hard work, to double down on Julia’s question: How is the money going to be spent? How will it be dispersed to schools? Who will be purchasing devices/providing internet?
From Bob Redell to Everyone: (12:20 PM)
When will the students receive the computers / internet access with the phase one money? Will the $12.5M guarantee computers / internet access for all students or only those who need it? Bob Redell / NBC Bay Area
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:20 PM)
Los Angeles Unified buys and activates the hotspots, then gives them to the schools to distribute to students who need Internet access. Why hasn’t OUSD been able to do this yet? -KQEDWhat kind of leverage do you have, Mayor Schaaf, to pressure ISPs doing biz in Oakland to open up wifi portals to all of the city for free in this time of crisis?
From Ashley McBride to Everyone: (12:22 PM)
Is there an effort to address teachers’ technology needs? Ashley McBride/Berkeleyside
From Mark Hurty to Everyone: (12:24 PM)
What are the specific technical solutions that are on the table? Specifically, how will the initial investment support a long term solution to this problem? The Superintendent spoke of broadband access as a public utility, but that is not our current reality. Will Oakland consider creating a publicly owned network that provides access to students and families that need it, bypassing the challenging application requirements for lifeline services imposed by the commercial ISPs?
From jumoke hinton to Everyone: (12:25 PM)
NAACP Education 2nd Vice President Ms Adams
From Bob Redell to Everyone: (12:25 PM)
How many students in the district don’t have internet / devices? (I know its roughly 50 percent but what’s the headcount?)
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:26 PM)
@Kyla: exactly how many students are not participating right now, have not been counted, in the district’s distance learning continuing education efforts. How many students are still “missing” or have not ‘checked in’ at all at this point.-KQED
From jumoke hinton to Everyone: (12:26 PM)
Has anyone Tech Exchange OUSD Mayor’s office Desegregated the data on Diverse Languages and Race???
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:27 PM)
@Kyla: Los Angeles Unified buys and activates the hotspots, then gives them to the schools to distribute to students who need Internet access. Why hasn’t OUSD been able to do this yet? -KQED@Curtis Sarikey: why don’t ALL OUSD students have access to hotspots by now, given what LAUSD was able to get done weeks ago?
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:29 PM)
+1 Bob Redell question. We heard 3400 don’t have internet. Now you’re saying half the district.
From Galaxy J3 Prime to Everyone: (12:29 PM)
From jumoke hinton to Everyone: (12:25 PM)
NAACP Education 2nd Vice President Ms Adams
From Bob Redell to Everyone: (12:25 PM)
How many students in the district don’t have internet / devices? (I know its roughly 50 percent but what’s the headcount?)
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:26 PM)
@Kyla: exactly how many students are not participating right now, have not been counted, in the district’s distance learning continuing education efforts. How many students are still “missing” or have not ‘checked in’ at all at this point.-KQED
From jumoke hinton to Everyone: (12:26 PM)
Has anyone Tech Exchange OUSD Mayor’s office Desegregated the data on Diverse Languages and Race???
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:27 PM)
@Kyla: Los Angeles Unified buys and activates the hotspots, then gives them to the schools to distribute to students who need Internet access. Why hasn’t OUSD been able to do this yet? -KQED @Curtis Sarikey: why don’t ALL OUSD students have access to hotspots by now, given what LAUSD was able to get done weeks ago?
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:29 PM)
+1 Bob Redell question. We heard 3400 don’t have internet. Now you’re saying half the district.
From Galaxy J3 Prime to Everyone: (12:29 PM)
I Had No Idea ateful my son received a Chrome Book & Tablet. He Is Special Needs.
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:30 PM)
@Sasaki…cool news about schools wifi strength being turned up for drive up access. How has that been communicated to families? @Sasaki where are the hot spots on order coming from? Who is the provider?
From Bob Redell to Everyone: (12:32 PM)
Are you asking for donations from individuals or just from corporate / groups?
From Timothy Douglas to Everyone: (12:33 PM)
Search Results Featured snippet from the web Chromebooks are designed to be used primarily ‘online only’. … Google’s Chromebooks have very little storage space. They don’t run ‘regular’ programs, the way a Windows laptop does – instead, you use Google web apps, which largely expect you to access them over the internet in the Chrome browser… So, they need constant internet “downloading an assignment in the parking lot” would not be adequate?
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:34 PM)
@Kyla @Seth will the students who have fallen behind be connected in time to do online credit recovery over the summer?-KQED
From Isaac Kos-Read to Me: (Privately) (12:35 PM)
Someone should ask: Charter schools educate about 1/3 of all public school students in Oakland, equally representing many of the most vulnerable families in Oakland. How are the District and charters working together to close the digital divide and better serve all students at this critical time?
From Kyra Mungia to Everyone: (12:35 PM)
@Bob – both!
From Kyra Mungia to Everyone: (12:36 PM)
To make a financial contribution, you can contact: David Silver, Office of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf [email protected] | 510.393.4888 Jonathan Osler, Oakland Public Education Fund [email protected] | 510.903.1454 Curtiss Sarikey, Oakland Unified School District [email protected]
From Kyra Mungia to Everyone: (12:36 PM)
Or visit: https://www.oaklandedfund.org/digitaldivide/
From Isaac Kos-Read to Me: (Privately) (12:36 PM)
It’s just crazy that there’s no rep from charters involved in this announcement. I guarantee you they’re moving faster and doing better in many ways, especially for our city’s most vulnerable Black and Brown low-income students from the flats.
From Kyra Mungia to Everyone: (12:36 PM)
To donate computers or hotspots, you can contact: Seth Hubbert, Tech Exchange [email protected] | 510.332.9389
From Loren Taylor to Everyone: (12:36 PM)
Thank you to all of our generous partners and OUSD/ City of Oakland leaders who are helping to make sure that this comes together effectively and efficiently for our young scholars. This is a critical first step in making sure that we look beyond the immediate need and close the digital divide for good.
From jumoke hinton to Everyone: (12:37 PM)
How are we supporting the One Oakland Concept Charter and Traditional schools??? Are Charter Families having access to Relief Duns through the Oak Ed Fund and Oakland Promise?
From Me to Isaac Kos-Read: (Privately) (12:38 PM)
I am overall very disappointed in the tone-deaf-ness of this effort. Many students have smartphones already. Need to make education systems for the smartphone. Also, the families need MONEY. Too many people homeless and not seen. Oakland is falling
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:38 PM)
CARES ACT will deliver $14 mill to OUSD July 1. Covid relief money. Wouldn’t this give OUSD the money it needs to serve the students’ digital needs?
From Ashley McBride to Everyone: (12:39 PM)
How much of federal or state relief money is going to technology needs?
From jumoke hinton to Everyone: (12:40 PM)
What is the plan for Wiring the City? I have heard about Lockwood Project Noel Gallo is on point!!
From Ashley McBride to Everyone: (12:40 PM)
How did the district decide which students to prioritize in distributing devices so far?
From Kyleigh Nevis to Everyone: (12:40 PM)
OUSD has been a part of the 1Million Project Foundation for the past three years, which is designed to provide hotspot-enabled devices to OUSD students to bridge the digital divide. We will be purhasing 4000 hotspots from the Foundation with donor funding in addition to the 800 hotspots we will receive part of our ongoing grant. These devices will be received and distributed during the summer, ahead of the 2020-2021 school year.
From jumoke hinton to Everyone: (12:40 PM)
Long Term City Plan There are test projects now
From Mia Bonta-Oakland Promise to Everyone: (12:41 PM)
Jumoke-Oakland Promise was able to provide some relief funds through our Dreamcatcher Fund, immediately providing relief support to scholars to minimize disruption of their post-secondary learning. We have also been partnering with OUSD staff to link essential resources and distribution through food distribution sites. We are very excited about supporting this Closing the Digital Divide Initiative as well.
From Dan Kalb to Everyone: (12:42 PM)
This digital divide is not new, but the COVID-19 crisis—including the shelter-in-place Order—has made correction of this problem much more urgent. I strongly support this program and whatever comes of it, it must stay in place as much as possible even after the covid crisis is over.
From Julia McEvoy to Everyone: (12:42 PM)
+1 Mark Hurty
From Greg Klein to Everyone: (12:43 PM)
Comcast’s hotspot network is currently the closet thing our city has to city-wide WiFi. Can Comcast leverage that infrastructure to create a secure student SSID?
Stay tuned.
Note from Zennie62Media and Oakland News Now: this video-blog post demonstrates the full and live operation of the latest updated version of an experimental Zennie62Media , Inc. mobile media video-blogging system network that was launched June 2018. This is a major part of Zennie62Media , Inc.’s new and innovative approach to the production of news media. What we call “The Third Wave of Media”. The uploaded video is from a vlogger with the Zennie62 on YouTube Partner Channel, then uploaded to and formatted automatically at the Oakland News Now site and Zennie62-created and owned social media pages. The overall objective is smartphone-enabled, real-time, on the scene reporting of news, interviews, observations, and happenings anywhere in the World and within seconds and not hours. Now, news is reported with a smartphone: no heavy and expensive cameras or even a laptop are necessary. The secondary objective is faster, and very inexpensive media content news production and distribution. We have found there is a disconnect between post length and time to product and revenue generated. With this, the problem is far less, though by no means solved. Zennie62Media is constantly working to improve the system network coding and seeks interested content and media technology partners.