WHAT IS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE?

The term "digital divide" is used to describe the gap between those who have adequate broadband internet access and those who do not. This divide is manifested through three distinct barriers—digital access, digital design, and digital use:

• The digital access divide refers to the “inequitable access to connectivity, devices, and digital content.”
• The digital design divide refers to the inequitable access to professional learning for educators to build their “capacity to design learning experiences” that use technology in meaningful ways.
• The digital use divide refers to the inequitable implementation of assignments and learning experiences that utilize technology in meaningful ways.

Why We Are Here

This hackathon exists to close the digital divide by moving beyond the idea that the problem is only about internet access or devices. The digital divide also includes whether people have access to well-designed learning experiences and whether technology is being used in ways that create real opportunity. We are here to build practical, creative, and community-centered solutions that make technology more accessible, more meaningful, and more empowering for students, educators, workers, families, and communities in Los Angeles.

The challenge is rooted in three parts of the digital divide:

• Digital Access Divide — unequal access to reliable internet, devices, and digital content

• Digital Design Divide — unequal access to training and support that helps educators and leaders design meaningful technology-enabled experiences

• Digital Use Divide — unequal access to high-quality opportunities to use technology in ways that build skills, solve problems, and create mobility

This hackathon is a call to action. We are here because too many communities in Los Angeles are still excluded from the full benefits of the digital age. We believe innovators, students, technologists, creatives, and community leaders can work together to design solutions that do more than increase access—they can expand opportunity.

What We Should Build

Participants should build solutions that directly address one or more parts of the digital divide. Projects should be realistic, useful, and designed with the needs of real people in mind. Strong ideas may include:

• tools that improve access to devices, connectivity, or digital resources

• platforms that help educators design better tech-enabled learning experiences

• applications that help students or community members use technology for learning, workforce development, civic engagement, health, creativity, or entrepreneurship

• systems that make digital experiences more inclusive, accessible, and culturally relevant

• solutions that help communities in Los Angeles turn technology into real-world outcomes such as employment, education, income growth, or community participation

Projects should not just use technology for the sake of technology. They should solve a real problem, serve a clear audience, and demonstrate how they can reduce barriers to access, design, or use.

Guiding Question for Teams

How might we create technology-driven solutions that close the digital divide by improving access, strengthening design, and expanding meaningful use for communities in Los Angeles?

• Impact Potential - 25%
  How meaningful is the problem being addressed, and how strong is the project’s potential to create real benefit in Los Angeles? Judges will look for solutions that clearly identify a digital divide challenge.
• Design Thesis - 25%
  How clear and compelling is the team’s core idea and reasoning behind the solution? Judges want to see that the project is built on a thoughtful point of view.
• Process Plan - 15%
  How well has the team thought through implementation, execution, and next steps? Judges will consider whether the team has a realistic plan for how the project could be tested, improved, launched, or expanded beyond the hackathon.
• Technical Implementation - 15%
  How effectively did the team build and demonstrate the prototype? Judges are not only evaluating technical complexity, but also whether the prototype works, communicates the concept clearly, and supports the intended user experience.
• Passion Pitch - 20%
  How well does the team communicate their vision, energy, and commitment during the presentation? Judges will look for a clear, confident, and persuasive pitch that explains the problem, the solution, why it matters, and why this team cares.