The document discusses TRAIL, an online education company that helps 60 million Americans learn how to use the Internet. It provides digital literacy courses on its platform to help people gain job skills and take advantage of online opportunities. TRAIL collects user data through its COMPASS analytics system to better understand the needs of first-time Internet users and improve its courses. It has received recognition for its work in bridging the digital divide and aims to advocate for policies that promote digital inclusion.

1. 60 million people in the
United States do not know
how to use the Internet.
TRAIL helps people
discover the Internet.
!1

2. What would it be like to
not know how to use the Internet?
The ability to open a browser, conduct
a search, send an email or connect
with an old friend on a social network
are all too often taken for granted.
Engaging in some of these online
activities may not seem critical, but
they are fundamental to one’s
participation in the information
economy. Online skills are not only
necessary for seeking, applying for
and getting today’s jobs, but also to
take advantage of the growing
educational, civic and healthcare
advances spurred by broadband.
TRAIL is an online education company
dedicated to bringing people their first
experience with the Internet. We
partner with libraries, schools, social
services offices, workforce
development centers and other
trusted public institutions to offer our
courses and features online.
TRAIL’s education modules, including
JobScout and HealthScout, allow
thousands of learners to become
Internet savvy. With users in over 12
countries, TRAIL is on its way to
becoming the “first stop” on the
Internet.
Statistics show stark demographic
disparities in digital literacy. Senior
citizens, Spanish speakers, adults with
less than a high school education and
those living in low-income households
are the least likely adults to have
Internet access. Ten percent fewer
Hispanics and African-Americans use
the Internet than whites.
Fortunately, the digital divide is
beginning to receive more national
attention, through recent coverage in
the New York Times and through news
of Facebook’s collaborative effort to
spur connectivity called Internet.org. A
recent piece in PBS’s “Media Shift”
rightly asserts that the popular
concept of big data does not hold
water given the fact that it excludes
the 20 million Americans still offline.
Only 6 in 10 Americans go online
wirelessly with one of their own
devices, so public institutions are
serving a crucial need in providing
access to the American public.
Organizations are beginning to invest
in digital literacy programming, and
while best practices are emerging,
digital literacy is often taught in an
offline manner that does not allow for
the effective use of data or the
introduction of platforms from which
users can manage their own learning.
The relationship between the digital
divide and broadband often leads to a
conversation about how America
stacks up to the rest of the world. The
question posed is “Can we remain
competitive?” How can we talk about
remaining competitive when we fail to
give people the tools to help us
compete? Advances in broadband and
device penetration must be
accompanied by digital literacy
initiatives aimed at bringing millions of
Americans online.
The question still remains:
Do organizations have the resources
and the tools to provide Internet
literacy trainings to those who need it
most?
!!
TRAIL: DISCOVER YOUR INTERNET
!2

3. “We need a national focus to end the
remaining digital divide so that the
Internet can provide an economic boost
to all Americans. The return of American
ingenuity and the American spirit in the
21st Century will be directly connected to
whether people are able to effectively use
simple tools to send emails and submit
online jobs applications. Let’s not rest on
our laurels until all Americans have the
ability to utilize the essential tools that are
available on the Internet.” ! Christina Gagnier,
The Online Learning Gap:
Digital Literacy is Not Addressed
Online learning has become a revolution, but
one that has left many learners behind.
Amazing learning experiences, provided
through MOOC’s, allow Internet users to have
transformative educational experiences.
We asked ourselves: “Why is the same type
of experience not available for someone new
to the Web?”
Democratizing education also means
democratizing access to information for the
first time. Our goal was to build a platform that
was well-designed and easy-to-use.
Chief Executive Officer
Our lesson content is mapped to the State of
California Basic Digital Literacy Skills
Framework. TRAIL started as a project with
the LINK AMERICAS Foundation and the
California State Library, so we find our roots in
the community’s need for Internet skills
learning opportunities.
The lessons use an interactive model,
reinforcing lesson content with quizzes and
simple games, so that our users retain the
Internet skills they have learned. We further
help our learners apply these skills by so they
get some experience navigating an online
platform.
TRAIL: DISCOVER YOUR INTERNET!3

4. JobScout
Take lessons. Earn badges. Find work.
JobScout, an online platform
designed to get people back
to work, teaches necessary
Internet skills and job-hunting
techniques. JobScout uses
social game design to engage
users in self-paced, online
activities that focus on
Internet skills applied in a real
life context.
Users master these skills to
apply online for jobs and use
JobScout’s social network to
collaborate with each other on
and offline. Mapping our
lessons to the Basic Digital
Literacy Skills Framework
developed by the State of
California ensures that each
individual user is provided
with a comprehensive toolkit
to approach the job market.
JobScout boasts a custom
resume builder and built-in
job search function. Users
earn badges for completing
interactive lessons on
everything from using Internet
browsers to how to create
social network profiles and
use them to gain employment.
The platform provides
opportunities for users to
immediately apply the skills
they have learned.
JobScout features the “One-
Stop Job Shop,” a tool that
allows users to manage their
job application process right
through our website.
JobScout is currently
provided in two languages,
English and Spanish.
JobScout is being used by
libraries, school districts,
workforce development
centers and community
organizations across the
United States and is moving
internationally.
Users can access JobScout
24/7 online by visiting
myjobscout.co. For our users
who are on-the-go, the
JobScout mobile applications
for iOS and Android can be
found in the iTunes and
Google Play stores.
JobScout is one
of the platforms
recognized as a
pathway to tackle
digital literacy
and job training
by the California
Department of
Technology’s
Statewide
Strategic Plan.
TRAIL: DISCOVER YOUR INTERNET!4

5. The Importance of Data:
Learning from first-time users
Creating Data Where There Is None
Organizations are increasingly
becoming more data-driven to help
those that they serve. While many
online platforms provide tools and
resources, few provide analytics to
give meaningful data that can be
leveraged to shape future efforts and
meet reporting requirements. !
The larger issue in the digital literacy
learning space is the lack of
information about first-time Internet
users.
While organizations like the Pew
Research Center study those who have
yet to use the Internet, we know very
little about what people do once they
are on the Internet for the first time.
TRAIL wanted to move beyond the
observational and into hard data that
could help us refine our platform
offerings.
Our COMPASS data analytics platform
helps organizations measure site
engagement, assess knowledge
capture of crucial 21st century digital
literacy lessons and directly connect
this learning to real world applications.
TRAIL uses this data to help
organizations:
• Refine and support offline
program offerings; !
• Measure and communicate
impact internally, to their
broader community, and to
funders; and !
• Improve individualized case
management services regarding
digital literacy training and job
seeker services. !
For TRAIL’s JobScout platform, the
COMPASS data analytics system
allows customers to track the progress
and usage of JobScouters within their
organization, demonstrating the
correlation between digital literacy
education and meaningful real world
application; how digital literacy spurs
proactive engagement in the online
job search process.
TRAIL: DISCOVER YOUR INTERNET
Not Making
A!ssumptions
The team at
TRAIL quickly
learned through
its pilot phase in
early 2012 that
non-Internet
users are a
diverse group.
While there are
many Baby
Boomers
affected, you find
Millennials, even
college students,
unable to
perform basic
tasks online.
!5

6. National Recognition
for TRAIL’s Success
!
TRAIL has received state and
national accolades for its
revolutionary work with first-time
Internet users. !
TRAIL was a finalist in the
MacArthur Foundation’s
Digital Media and Learning
Competition in 2012, selected
as a competitor in TechCrunch
Disrupt SF’s 2013 Startup
Battlefield and was awarded
“Daily life is increasingly
moving online. Lack of
access to the Internet and
digital literacy skills is now
impacting access to
government services and
daily activities many of us
take for granted. Internet
access is no longer a
luxury. It is a gateway to
information, services and
participation in the
economy. If we do not put
emphasis on Internet
access and digital literacy,
we risk leaving 20% of our
population behind.”
Stephanie Margossian,
Chief Operating Officer
with CENIC’s Innovation in
Networking Award for 2014.
TRAIL’s CEO Christina Gagnier
is one of Broadband for
America’s Faces of Innovation. !
TRAIL’s partners include the
LINK AMERICAS Foundation,
California State Library,
Pennsylvania State Library,
EveryoneOn, SF Office of
Economic and Workforce
Development and the LA
County Office of Education.
A national strategy
to combat digital
i!lliteracy
TRAIL’s commitment to
widening Internet access and
use extends to advocating for
policy at the state and
national level to ensure that
digital literacy, and the 1 in 5
Americans it impacts, are a
national priority. !
Through TRAIL’s
It’sEasierThanYouThink
campaign, TRAIL has created
a series of materials and PSA’s
to increase awareness of
digital illiteracy. !
It’sEasierThanYouThink sets
out to raise awareness about
the issue of digital literacy,
addressing the education
factors that contribute to the
digital divide and leading the
call to action for the adoption
of a national digital literacy
policy. !
In the campaign’s PSAs, non-
Internet users mistakenly act
on the requests or
suggestions from friends and
family to interact with the
Internet and social media. !
Campaign goals include: !
• Raising awareness with
the public about the
issue of digital literacy; !
• Urging the Obama
Administration to adopt
a national digital
literacy policy; !
• Empowering non-
Internet users with the
tools they need to get
online; and
• Providing the online
community with
resources to take action
on this important issue. !
TRAIL has taken a role in the
net neutrality debate,
advocating on behalf of new
Internet users and those who
have yet to gain access to the
Internet. TRAIL submitted
public comment to the FCC
on the matter. !
“The Internet Personified”
Most people take the Internet for
granted. But what about people
who don’t know how to use it?
TRAIL: DISCOVER YOUR INTERNET!6

7. Partner.
Collaborate.
Support.
!
Help TRAIL reach the next five billion
Internet users.
gototrail.com
@discovertrail
!7