My Thesis:Technology and Low-Income Communities: An Interior Design Model that Fosters an Integrated Environment for Education, Community, and Technology

Technology and Low-Income Communities:

An Interior Design Model that Fosters an Integrated Environment for

Education, Community, and Technology

Technology is a quintessential part of the 21st century and it is a vital component of the

education of today’s youth. However, the digital divide (which is defined as unequal access to

technology) unfairly places teenagers from low-income families at a great disadvantage,

preventing proper education of technology. Barriers to digital participation deprive these teens

from accessing digital forms of learning. In this digital world, an individual cannot rely simply

on mastering the traditional literacy accomplishments of reading and writing. Digital literacy is

paramount for western society’s youth and must be mastered to successfully achieve full

integration into higher learning, the workforce, and to guide youths’ participation in public life.

If we are to agree that all social classes are to have equitable access to technology and

education beyond the public school classroom, then a place outside the home or school should be

an option for those seeking opportunities for preparation for the labor force or higher education.

A physical place that provides the technology, tools, and people to acquire the knowledge and

skills in preparation for this digital 21st century is a concentrated solution to the digital divide.

Enticing and engaging these adolescents through an environment that speaks to their

interpretation of inclusion, connectivity and socializing is critical to the favorable outcome of

digital and technical literacy. The theories of “third place” - a place beyond home, school or the

workplace - will become a critical foundation to the development of this project’s solution.

Given the importance of information, communication and technology for successful

development of a career, steps will be taken to develop a new model facility that will provide a

sense of place where holistic, collaborative learning can occur for these under-served teens. This

new model facility will function as a technology center that will present spaces that engage,

entertain and educate teenagers, ages 13-18, from low-income families. A synergistic approach to

the design and curriculum of the technology center will focus on physical face to face

interaction, virtual interaction, collaboration and nontraditional teaching methods. The center

will bring together these varying components to build a vibrant core to a once under-served

community.