Not Just Closing a Divide, but Leaping It

In any case, some educators, technology experts and community organizers say the challenge is more complex than providing equipment, Internet connections and basic training. What young people need, they say, is help in developing fluency with advanced computer hardware and software.
"Access is not enough," said Mitchel Resnick, associate professor of learning research at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology's Media Laboratory. "Access is just a starting point."
In 1993, with money from the Intel Corporation, Professor Resnick helped establish the first site of what is today an international network of 50 Computer Clubhouses, including the New Mexico center that Dennis visits at least three times a week. The clubhouses are places where boys and girls, 8 to 18, can "really feel in charge of the technology," Professor Resnick said.