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The Lego Foundation is looking to bridge the digital divide with a new grant

According to a recent survey done by First Book, 40% of kids in the U.S don’t have reliable internet, and with more and more school districts turning to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, having the proper technology tools are crucial. To address this issue, LEGO Education and the LEGO Foundation are partnering with Intel CDWG and First Book on the Creating Learning Connections Grant.

The new partnership pledges to provide the technology that’s needed to narrow the digital divide and bring more children into the digital learning landscape. Lego foundation CEO John Goodwin joined Yahoo Finance to speak about the initiative aimed at helping children.

“Forty-percent of students are not getting access to the internet or have ready access to a device. So what we’re looking to do through this grant and through this consortium is put the technology in the hands of the students, but importantly also giving them the training and the capabilities that they need in order to really fully utilize that and get the learning experiences that they really require.”

Girl (6yrs) using laptop
Girl (6yrs) using laptop

Goodwin tells Yahoo Finance that many applications have come in from schools across the U.S. The grant will be distributing products to 17 states and 45 districts, particularly those that have a high number of lower-income students. Goodwin says it’s unfortunate that it’s the students at the “raw end of the digital divide.”

The Lego Foundation CEO is optimistic that the Creating Learning Connections Grant can help find solutions to bridge the gap of the digital divide.

“We can really narrow that gap and help those people in Title I districts, those students that are really suffering, lift up their capabilities. Hopefully through that process, we’ll be able to illustrate both to the districts and the state and the federal levels, that there are solutions out there in order to bring more people to be more inclusive in the education system.”

Reggie Wade is a writer for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @ReggieWade.

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