The university’s Center for Digital Inclusion is leveraging digital literacy to develop future digital navigators.
The University of Kansas Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI) recently showcased its successes in 2024 through their Technology Program for Women at the annual Community Gathering in Lawrence. During the event, the CDI team presented outcomes from the past year, and a few of their Digital Navigators provided inspiring testimony documenting their transformation from participants in the program to staff on the CDI team.
Designed by professors, researchers, and students at The University of Kansas, the purpose of this program is to support women with criminal justice involvement who want to improve their job skills and personal knowledge in digital media and computing, especially since gaining employment is one of the many barriers that returning citizens face.
“These days, if you are not able to use digital technology, you are not able to utilize many services in society, whether cultural, social, civic or others. Women transitioning from incarceration face significant challenges in this area,” said Hyunjin Seo, Oscar Stauffer Professor of Journalism & Mass Communications and principal investigator for the project.
The program uses an online-learning management site called Canvas, where participants watch instructional videos, complete activities, and interact with their instructors in the completely online program. After successfully completing each phase of the program, participants receive a certificate of completion as well as a $50 stipend.
The program is free to participate for eligible individuals. To qualify, participants must (1) identify as female, (2) be 18 years of age or older, (3) have served time in jail or prison (or criminal justice involvement), and (4) currently reside in Kansas or Missouri or have been incarcerated in a Kansas or Missouri jail or prison.
One unique aspect of the program is that all of their current digital navigators on staff were previous participants, proving the effectiveness and sustainability of the program. Jodi Whitt, a digital navigator in the Center for Digital Inclusion, said her experience learning new skills when leaving incarceration inspired her to help women in a similar situation.
“Helping other women in the program has given me a purpose in life that I never dreamed would be possible. I want to be an example to other women that it is possible to learn new skills. I know how important it is to have someone who understands and believes in me. Having that connection and building those relationships is crucial to help empower and build confidence,” Whitt said.
CDI staff credited the partnerships and collaboration between the private, public, and academic sectors as key to their success. On January 5, 2024, CDI began their Technology Education Program in the Shawnee County Jail, where it is still thriving today. The Shawnee County Public Library is another important collaborator, hosting digital navigators who provide training and office hours for library patrons. They also have partnerships with nonprofit organizations like NCircle, which serves the workforce in Johnson County for training and certification.
For more information on the Technology Education program, check out their website here.
What is the KU Center for Digital Inclusion?
The Center for Digital Inclusion facilitates scholarship, education and collaborative partnership aimed at enhancing citizens’ digital access and information literacy, especially among underserved populations, and supporting them to engage in social, economic, political and cultural activities. They facilitate the Technology Education Program, research on the effects of the digital divide and inclusion practices, and function as an information hub for digital inclusion initiatives at local, national and international levels.