Reboot is an interactive platform with a step-by-step guide to help community organisations and schools provide digital access to vulnerable groups
A new project is hoping to support disadvantaged people to get online.
Nominet has launched Reboot, an interactive platform with a step-by-step guide to help community organisations and schools provide digital access to vulnerable groups and disconnected students by helping them access and repurpose unused devices in an efficient and cost-effective way.
Reboot is a follow-up to DevicesDotNow, an emergency appeal in response to Covid-19. To date over 2,500 devices have been distributed to those in need with a further 7,500 secured. DevicesDotNow brought together Nominet, Accenture, Good Things Foundation and others as part of a coalition led by FutureDotNow.
Digital access schemes have emerged throughout the UK since March and Reboot brings this knowledge and insight together, helping local organisations and schools understand how to best develop a scheme in their local area. The scheme provides expert guidance to groups so they can easily collect unused and unwanted devices, restore them and distribute them safely to the people who need them most. The platform also allows groups to connect and share their expertise as well as access key resources. With local lockdowns taking place and school re-openings still a concern, Reboot is an essential guide to staying connected in challenging and changing circumstances.
The biggest barrier for digital access can be the cost of new devices, coupled with data costs, which can run into hundreds of pounds. However, rebooting and repurposing unused devices is a simple and cost-effective way of helping to solve this problem and enable online access for learning, employment, information seeking, or even connecting and communicating with friends and family.
Nominet’s Eleanor Bradley said: “There are an estimated 11 million unused devices in our communities which could be repurposed for use in schools, charity groups, local services and libraries, and Reboot is designed to encourage and support this effort with tried and tested success stories from vital grassroots community projects.
“With many community groups suspended and charities unable to provide their face-to-face services in recent months, people who didn’t have access to a device and connectivity were left isolated. We hope Reboot will help reconnect unused devices and people in an efficient and cost-effective way, providing opportunities online for those who could benefit from it most – particularly with the threat of a second wave lockdown and questions around the long term feasibility of schools re-opening.”
More information about Reboot can be found online.
