1,500 Georgia Families To Get Ed Tablets with Low-Cost Internet Service

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 09/22/15

A low-cost Internet service delivered by Cox may also now come with a tablet loaded with educational software for low-income families in Georgia. The program is being funded through the philanthropic arm of Cox Enterprises, the national media behemoth.

The James M. Cox Foundation is working with EveryoneOn, a national non-profit focused on making affordable high-speed Internet service, computers and digital literacy courses available to "unconnected Americans." The foundation has given a $288,500 grant to the organization to fund distribution of 1,500 tablets to families who sign on for the first time to Cox's Connect2Compete discount Internet service program. That will include families with students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch as well as those with children enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

The devices will be pre-loaded with educational content from Read Right from the Start, Discovery Education and ABCMouse.com. They'll be made available to recipients for $30.

"There are three key barriers to broadband adoption: affordability, access to hardware and understanding the relevancy to one's education and economic prospects," said Zach Leverenz, head of EveryoneOn. "Cox continues to be a strong leader of these three pillars through innovative Internet adoption programs, and is helping us make great strides toward narrowing the digital divide."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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