some financial assistance for tuition from
other community-based grants. Students
were relieved to receive a high quality laptop
such as a MacBook Pro. Most interviewees
indicated that they were relying exclusively
on their mobile phones or outdated and
slow laptops that made completing school
work extremely strenuous. These conditions
made it too difficult to be able to complete
assignments or conduct research that met
the students' potential and high achievement
standards. Students highlighted that after
having received the laptop
Social Connection and Community
Involvement
Recipients of the grant reported feeling
more connected to others after receiving the
grant. When asked how connected they felt
to others before the grant, only 13% said a
lot which jumped to a majority at 67% after
receiving the grant — a difference of 55
percentage points. Moreover, 6% of survey
respondents said they did not feel connected
to others at all before receiving the grant,
which decreased to just 1% after receiving
the grant. Before receiving the grant, almost
40% of survey respondents said they felt
connected to others a little or not at all, and
this decreased to only 5% after receiving the
grant.
Thinking back to BEFORE you received this grant, how
connected did you feel to others?
Impact of Connected North's Digital Inclusion Grant on IndigenousStudents' Learning, Social Connection and Community Involvement 22
