By Cedric Chan
In today’s pandemic-stricken world, the economic disparities within communities are ever-more tangible. Particularly for the millions of students now forced to receive education over a virtual setting, the crisis has exposed a lack of technological resources within certain pockets of the region. Laptops — now imperative to receive any sort of instruction — were not immediately available to many families prior to the pandemic, rendering the transition to distance learning difficult and further causing anxiety for some.
Sonne Family attending Zoom classes using EqOpTech’s refurbished laptops
Rising to the occasion, EqOpTech has delivered on its mission to provide equal technology access to people across the community by providing free laptops to impoverished families. Since March, the EqOpTech team has distributed over 350 laptops, providing a critical resource at a time when it’s needed most.
Mary Sonne was one of the recipients. When remote learning began in the spring, the family of eight struggled to share a finite supply of devices. With five children in school and both parents needing to do work, the single laptop and two phones that the family had were simply not enough.
“It was very difficult; I was unable to conduct my business while they were doing their schooling,” she said. “I couldn’t set up doctor’s appointments, I couldn’t respond to calls, I couldn’t pay bills.”
At the time, Sonne said that her kids, too, struggled to get to their classes or meetings on time because their siblings were using the device. As a result, they were unable to complete all of their work during the school day, when their teachers were available to help them, and found themselves falling behind their classmates. Instead, they were forced to complete their work, half of which could only be accessed online, after school hours had ended, with little support.
Now, with a more streamlined distance learning program at her children’s school, Sonne said that it’s more important than ever to have enough devices, as everyone was required to be on Zoom at the same time — a change from the chaotic schedule that the students had in the spring. The students regularly use Google Suite products like Google Classroom, Google Slides and Google Docs to complete their coursework, and now with the donated laptops are able to “correspond way more readily with their teachers and classmates.”
Sonne said that the laptops have further helped to decrease stress levels within the family. Particularly in the hectic mornings the previously were filled with confusion about who got to use the devices first, her kids are able to go directly to their classes.
Canyon Heights Academy, the school the students attended, did have a support program for students in need, but Sonne said that she wasn’t sure if they had a ready supply of devices and didn’t want to add to the stress that administrators were already struggling from.
“I didn’t want to bother them; they were already stressed,” Sonne said. “We just figured we would make do. It was a first world problem.”
Sonne said that the process for getting the laptops from EqOpTech was “very streamlined”; all she had to do was go pick up the laptops.
“EqOpTech really stepped up at a time when the crunch of needing more personalized devices was at an all-time high, and I’m very grateful for them for their work,” she said. “They’ve made a huge difference in our home, and I’d definitely encourage families that are feeling stretched to reach out to EqOpTech.”
EqOpTech Inc., located in Los Altos, CA, is a 501(c)(3) IRS-designated tax exempt nonprofit organization that promotes and enables equal opportunity free access to technology for computer learning and STEM education in under-served communities. Visit EqOpTech at www.EqOpTech.org
The Equal Opportunity Technology program is made possible thanks to the Los Altos Community Foundation community grant award. Visit here for more