Project finds gains in digital literacy among support staff

11.05.2009
Give a man a computer and he may surprise you, .

As an experiment, the researchers set up a spare computer terminal with Internet access in their Bangalore office and allowed low-wage workers, such as cleaning staff, to access it freely during their off-hours.

Many of the workers previously had little or no computer training began surfing the Internet, setting up e-mail accounts and joining social networking sites. And along the way, they tried to help each other.

The researchers reported that "broad gains were seen in confidence, self-esteem, and basic digital literacy, while a few individuals experienced improvements in second-language (English) proficiency and career opportunities."

"We conducted the study in a city office," Aishwarya Ratan, one of the researchers working on the project, . "The support staff that work there -- housekeepers, security guards, drivers -- have incomes as low as US$100 a month, and despite the fact that they work next to computers all day, never have a chance to interact with them."

Individuals taught one another what they had figured out about e-mail and accessing videos on the Web. After several months, individuals were doing more complex tasks, such as setting up personal accounts on Orkut.