The university-based GCU CityServe is bridging the “digital equity” gap by equipping thousands of students with refurbished laptop computers.
By mobilizing technically minded young college students to repair and upgrade donated laptops that are a few years past their prime, GCU CityServe‘s laptop refurbishment program allows college students gain technical skills while providing over 3,000 laptop computers to families in need nationwide.
Ever since the pandemic, online education has become a mainstay in classrooms nationwide. Yet, GCU CityServe discovered that all too often, families cannot afford the digital tools needed to excel in today’s computer-savvy classrooms.
Online teaching and assessment systems like iReady, Kahoot, Atomic Assessments, and RemoteLearning are now used in school systems nationwide. That’s why having a laptop is essential to any student’s ultimate success.
That’s where the unique partnership between Grand Canyon University and CityServe comes in.
Empowering university students – many of them from the engineering school – to refurbish aging laptops is making this partnership a success. Technically minded students gain hardware and software skills, experiences that will be valuable in the workplace. And K-12 students then receive the digital tools free-of-charge that they need to succeed in the classroom.