Community College reaches out to farm workers through distance education
Filed in archive Articles of note... by mstandaert on November 07, 2005
From the Fresno Bee:
The West Hills Community College District in California is using a $447,752 distance learning grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use technology to try to bridge the digital divide in the Fresno area. The area is home to a large population of farm workers and packing house laborers, many of whom speak little or no English. The Huron Technology Center offers a variety of distance classes to laborers for no charge. Many laborers whose first language is Spanish never learned to read and write that language. At the center, they can take classes in Spanish or English and can complete high school
equivalency programs. Students have the option of pursuing their education beyond high school and can earn bachelor's degrees through the program. Alternatively, they can take selected classes to improve particular skills or classes that simply interest them for the sake of learning. Students can take advantage of the program at a number of locations in the area, and facilities are being upgraded to allow for video and audio conferencing with local universities, expanding the options available to students in the program.
The West Hills Community College District in California is using a $447,752 distance learning grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to use technology to try to bridge the digital divide in the Fresno area. The area is home to a large population of farm workers and packing house laborers, many of whom speak little or no English. The Huron Technology Center offers a variety of distance classes to laborers for no charge. Many laborers whose first language is Spanish never learned to read and write that language. At the center, they can take classes in Spanish or English and can complete high school
equivalency programs. Students have the option of pursuing their education beyond high school and can earn bachelor's degrees through the program. Alternatively, they can take selected classes to improve particular skills or classes that simply interest them for the sake of learning. Students can take advantage of the program at a number of locations in the area, and facilities are being upgraded to allow for video and audio conferencing with local universities, expanding the options available to students in the program.
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education programs distance technology college distance+education farm+workers community+college
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