The FINANCIAL -- At one of its early childhood schools, the City of Newark today showed off two of the 75 Young Explorer computer learning centers it is receiving from IBM to help teach young children concepts in math, science, and language.

As part of an IBM grant awarded with the guidance of United Way of Essex and West Hudson, the learning centers will be installed in 30 area locations, serving 190 teachers and 3,000 children between the ages of four and seven this year. Volunteers from IBM are helping to install many of the Young Explorer computer learning centers, valued at $180,000. 

According to IBM, the grant is part of a $4.3 million nationwide initiative by IBM to provide more than 1,700 computer learning center and teaching curricula to schools and nonprofit organizations that provide services to disadvantaged students.  The computer learning centers are part of more than $600,000 in technology and services that IBM has provided to the City of Newark in the past year, including a Smarter Cities Challenge grant in which top IBM experts made recommendations for improving the city's efficiency.

IBM's KidSmart program includes the Young Explorer, a computer housed in brightly colored, child-friendly Little Tikes furniture and equipped with award-winning educational software to help children learn and explore concepts in math, science and language.  The computer centers can also help children learn important socialization skills such as cooperation and sharing, which are essential to classroom success.  In addition, teachers participating in the program become more confident about incorporating technology into their classrooms.

The KidSmart program also includes access to the KidSmart website www.kidsmartearlylearning.org. Available in eight languages, the site helps parents guide their children's use of technology and preschool teachers use technology more effectively in their classrooms.

IBM developed the KidSmart program in 1998 to help reduce the digital divide, especially in urban areas, where it was becoming apparent that children from less affluent backgrounds needed access to specialized technology tools and educational materials to better prepare them to enter school.

IBM is focused on increasing the number of children entering into math, science and engineering, and believes that success in early childhood learning is a critical step.  Since the inception of the KidSmart Early Learning Program in 1998, IBM has invested more than $133 million, donating more than 60,000 Young Explorers to schools and nonprofit organizations in 60 countries, reaching more than 105,000 teachers and serving more than 10 million students.

Related Stories

• HP Reports Second Quarter 2012 Results
• Growing Indian Real Estate Firm BPTP Turns to IBM to Improve Customer Buying Experience
• IBM Helps C&A Build Multi-Channel Customer Sales Platform for Smarter Commerce