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Children benefit from technology training By Deborah Brandt Johnson
In the lower photo, one of the more than 80 children who participated in the 10-week computer literacy program held at Penn State Worthington Scranton picks up his certificate for completing the program and a baseball cap during the party and awards celebration, while another participant (upper photo) shows his pleasure at receiving his certificate. Program staff participating in the ceremony are, from left, student assistant instructors Nicole Williams and Richard Martzen; Matthew Mackie, representative of the Margaret Briggs Foundation; and Mary Ellen Jolley, Continuing Education program specialist.	Children in Lackawanna County were surfing, pasting and posting. Using their newly attained skills, children from the Boys & Girls Clubs in Scranton, Pa., designed and presented their Web page creations at a party and awards celebration at the Penn State Worthington Scranton campus. The party was the capstone event for a 10-week computer literacy pilot program funded by a grant from the Margaret Briggs Foundation. Classes were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Ash Street and Lafayette Street facilities.   “We had a wonderful 10 weeks with the children,” Nicole Williams, assistant instructor of the project and human development and family studies junior at Penn State Worthington Scranton, said. “I know we taught them a great deal about the computer, the Web and various software programs, but they often took our instruction a step further, and I found myself learning a few new things from them.”   Student assistant instructor Richard Martzen, an information sciences and technology major, was able to offer back-up technical assistance to program instructor Tom Czachor.   “The children asked many insightful questions and picked up the computer skills very quickly,” Martzen said. “I would someday like to teach on the junior high level, and this program offered me an excellent opportunity to work with children one-on-one in my field of interest.”   More than 80 children, ages 7 to 16, participated in the program.   “Our goal was to teach the children a variety of basic computer skills and lay the groundwork for them to safely and effectively explore the Web and continue to expand their computer knowledge,” Michele Davis, continuing education director, said.   “It was evident at the awards program that the children were extremely proud of the work they had accomplished, and they were very excited about using their new skills,” Bob Fitch, Boys & Girls Clubs executive director, said. “Not only did our young members gain much-needed computer literacy, but they also acquired confidence that will help them in their career and professional development.”   “This program has excellent potential for future Boys & Girls Clubs programming, peer-to-peer, contracted or advanced self-instruction,” Matthew Mackie, representing the Margaret Briggs Foundation, said. “This cooperative effort is an example of how education and community partnerships can make an important contribution toward improving the quality of life for youth in our area.”
580 children attend Nittany Cub camps Kevin Ross, education coordinator for the Ross Park Zoo in Binghamton, N.Y., shows children a Barr owl during Zoo Camp, one of 19 Nittany Cub Camps for area youth organized by Penn State Worthington Scranton’s Continuing Education Office. A participant in the Delta Medix Beyond the Egg Nittany Cub Camp at Penn State Worthington Scranton checks an incubator to see if any chicks are hatching. Children attending the Penn State Worthington Scranton Alumni Society’s Lego Mindstorms Robotic Camp use Legos, motors, sensors and computer software to build robots that can move, react to light, avoid obstacles and perform other programmed tasks.
© 2002 Outreach Communications,   Outreach & Cooperative Extension,   The Pennsylvania State University phone: (814) 865-8108,   fax: (814) 863-2765,   e-mail: outreachnews@outreach.psu.edu