THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 13, 1995 TAG: 9504110132
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
SOME ADULTS may not even know what desktop publishing is, but two 7-year-old girls from Larchmont Elementary School not only know what it is, they received a superior rating for primary publishing during the 1995 Great Computer Challenge.
The girls, who wrote, added a graphic, and edited a story about animals as part of their challenge, competed against teams from Portsmouth, Newport News, Gloucester, Isle of Wight and Chesapeake on March 25 at Huntington Middle School in Newport News. They were among three teams from Larchmont Elementary entered in the junior division of the challenge, which was open to kindergartners through fifth-graders. Fairlawn Elementary was the only other Norfolk school represented in the competition.
Cory Casheill and Ryan Simpson, both second-graders, were the only team from Norfolk to place in the junior competition.
``I think it was hard, but we still won,'' Ryan said.
Dana Woodard, the media specialist at Larchmont, was the team leader along with Nina Garrish, who is the girls' second-grade teacher.
``The parents and teachers were breathless,'' Woodard said, ``but the girls were calm. They've had a lot of experience, so they really felt confident.''
Said Cory: ``It was thrilling to win first place, I thought I might win something, but I knew I would win with help from Ryan.''
This is the 10th year of the Great Computer Challenge, which gives students an opportunity to use their skills in various computer application and programming in competition with other students from 17 school divisions in the Hampton Roads area.
The challenge is sponsored by The Consortium for Interactive???? Instruction, WHRO and Old Dominion University. Due to the large turnout in past years, this year they decided hold it over two different days. The junior competition was March 25, and the competition for grades 6 through 12 will be held on April 29 at Old Dominion University.
Students are invited to enter the contest in teams of up to four, each with a sponsoring teacher. Each school may enter one team in each category, which includes Graphic Arts, Primary Publishing, Desktop Publishing, LOGO Programming and Telecomputing.
Larchmont Elementary School has at least one computer and printer in each classroom. And as media specialist, Woodard is not only in charge of the school library, but also all non-print technology, such as the computers, CD-rolms, laser players and software.
A classroom teacher for 10 years and media specialist for 10, she spent most of her 20 years of service in Norfolk Public Schools.
Computers in the classroom, Woodard said, seem to inspire both the brightest children in the class, plus those who struggle through school.
``I've seen children with learning disabilities who will sit at a computer and finish a story right on task.''
She said that the children at Larchmont are so excited about their computers, that ``we could have easily pulled two kids from every classroom'' to form a team.
This is the first time Larchmont has participated in the challenge, and they had to bring their own computers, power strip and software. She said it was a fact-finding mission.
Pleased with what she found, Woodard said she will definitely be entering teams again next year. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by LAWRENCE JACKSON
Ryan Simpson, left, and Cory Casheill were the only team from
Norfolk to place in the junior competition of the Great Computer
Challenge.
by CNB