Altice USA hosted an event with U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and company CEO Dexter Goei with students at Dolan Middle School in Stamford, Conn. to introduce its Altice Connect Smart digital literacy education program.
The program, developed in partnership with EVERFI, will provide digital citizenship education in select schools nationwide across Altice USA’s service areas -- beginning in Connecticut – and reinforcing the company’s commitment to education and digital accessibility in the local communities. The curriculum, donated by Altice USA, enables students to build digital skills and understand the risks and rewards of technology while tackling important issues including privacy, security, cyberbullying, digital relationships, and digital addiction.
The event featured remarks from Sen. Blumenthal, Goei, and Principal Charmaine Tourse. Dolan Middle School was selected as the host school for the launch event based on their initial success with the program and commitment to using the program across the entire eighth grade next year.
“It is important for our young people to learn the risks and opportunities of social media and the internet. I commend Altice USA for taking steps to help students navigate today’s increasingly complex digital world and to raise awareness of such important issues,” Sen. Blumenthal said in a statement
The Altice Connect Smart program is an interactive, new-media learning platform that combines instructional design, rich media, and gaming. The 3.5-hour curriculum is designed for students in the 6th – 9th grades and aligns with national standards established by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), as well as emerging state standards. The curriculum also focuses on building digital skills, such as creating a blog, maintaining a responsible social networking profile, and evaluating online research sources for legitimacy. The learning platform tracks both knowledge gain as well as students’ attitudes and behaviors on these important issues.
“As a technology company, we are committed to supporting education and delivering connectivity as we look to advance digital literacy in the local communities where we live and work, and we are honored to partner with Senator Blumenthal and EVERFI to launch the Altice Connect Smart education program to help accomplish this goal,” Goei said in a statement. “The program will prepare today’s students – our future innovators – by ensuring they have the skills they need to engage with technology safely and responsibly.”
