Floaters.org has developed a unique and highly successful technology mentoring program for Digital Divide issues in which members are given the opportunity to upgrade their computers by volunteering to mentor new members. The program has been in existence since 1995. The following paper was written in 1999. You can cite it as follows: Andrews, S.S. (1999). Floaters technology mentoring program. [Online.] Available: http://www.floaters.org/edresearch/mentor/ Floaters Technology Mentoring Program Together with the Homeless Arts Project, Floaters sponsors a grassroots mentoring program in technology and the arts that serves homeless/formerly homeless people and those who would not otherwise have access to technology. The project is co-sponsored by the Arizona State Public Information Network, ASPIN, the outreach arm of ASU's Information Technology. Floaters members are lent older computers and, through self-directed learning and peer mentoring, learn computer skills. All Floaters members are co-researchers, with the aim of finding out how to bridge the "digital divide" in the most practical way. All Floaters members who wish to participate in way the program is run have an equal voice in any decisions. Finally, all members benefit financially and in the most equal manner possible from any donations to the group. Floaters began in 1995 as a web gallery for artists living on the streets, with the goal of giving homeless artists a place to display and sell their work. Floaters has evolved since then into a multi-faceted program that includes the following features: 1) a sliding scale gallery that offers free space to homeless/formerly homeless people 2) a web development company staffed by those who would not otherwise have had access to technology, 3) a one-on-one mentoring program that lends computers to people who are homeless, formerly homeless, or who otherwise would not have access to technology 4) participation for the homeless in online collaboration, through a mailing list and a web-based collaborative area and 5) the planned production of a CD that will provide participants with a second digital gallery in addition to the web-based gallery. As Floaters grew, the goals changed also. Today, the Floaters program seeks 1) to provide technology and individualized instruction in art-related areas and in other areas of computer expertise 2) to allow networking among people with similar life situations so that they can solve problems together 3) to facilitate the use of technology in art-related and other areas in gaining employment 4) to expand horizons and allow participants to find open doors to better lives, and 5) to empower people to use technology and art in taking control over their own virtual and physical environments. Through offering students a chance to direct their own learning and acquire skills in an accepting environment, creativity may be enhanced (Roland, 1991) and thus students may be able to develop skills that are valuable to others. At any rate, Floaters has had unprecedented success. In four years of providing computers, all computers are still accounted for. Central to the program are the tenets of action research. All members are co-researchers, bringing different abilities and ideas to Floaters. Four core researchers (for want of a better term) are drawn from the university and from the group of artists themselves. Other members, however, are co-researchers to the extent that they wish; goals of the program are determined by consensus, and major decisions are made in the same way. It may be said, in fact, that the primary goal of Floaters is not to give people technology, art, or connectivity, but rather to give them power. Technology, art, and connectivity are merely means of empowering people in the twenty-first century. Instruction takes place via the peer mentoring process rather than in traditional classrooms, and although occasional workshops are held to which all members are invited, these too are marked by facilitation rather than by direct instruction. Also central to the program is the idea of reciprocity. Members must "give back" to the program, and they often give back more than is required. Floaters members are asked to give back to the program by becoming co-researchers and teachers. Participation in the research is accomplished by giving feedback in the form of a set of open-ended assignments, and each Floaters member is responsible for mentoring others. Floaters members are lent an older computer and assigned mentors, typically the members who recommended them. Each member is given one-on-one instruction and help in learning the software provided, which includes at least one art program and a word processing program as well as games. Software is upgraded at the user's request: users who want to learn a particular program are provided with that program. Hardware is upgraded less often, but as newer computers are acquired by Floaters, members exchange their computers for newer ones. Each member then passes her or his computer on to a new member, and becomes that person's mentor. A mailing list has also been established so that homeless/formerly homeless can network. It has been our experience that not only do members enthusiastically teach one another, but many people buy hardware upgrades, such as a modem or a new mouse, that they then donate to the program. Others have paid off large long-distance bills in order to have Internet connectivity. Several families, introduced to computers by their children who have received Floaters computers, have then gone on to buy a new computer. Educators and government entities alike have been concerned with the increasing "digital divide" between those who have access to technology and those who do not have access. According to the Department of Commerce, 30 percent of white Americans now have access to the Internet, compared to only 11.2 percent of African Americans and 12.6 percent of Latinos. (Homeless Report, 1999.) ;Particularly affected by the "digital divide" are the homeless and those who live on the verge of homelessness. Providing technology as a "handout" may not be the answer. As all art has a pedagogical aspect, it is suggested that pedagogical intervention may provide real possibilities and achievements for children who might be viewed by some as "throwaways" (Giroux, 1996.) Most Floaters members are women and children, and it is the children and teenagers who most often take the lead In learning to use the technology. It may be that the use of arts and technology will lead to the empowerment of children within the virtual space, and that this empowerment can then be extended so that the children can affect their physical space, both aesthetically and in practical ways. In addition, the use of arts and technology with disadvantaged families may lead to new skill sets that can be used in art-related careers. Send email to floaters@asu.edu. The group would love to hear from you.