THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 29, 1995 TAG: 9512290748
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAVID ALLUISI, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Everybody has seen the teen computer whizzes - the people with the IBM baseball caps and the thick, thick glasses who wow adults with passing references to ``databases'' and ``the net.''
But how much does the average teen know about computers? And more important, what should the average teenager know? Despite the enormous public interest in computers evidenced by movies such as ``The Net'' and ``Strange Days,'' many teens are still in the dark when it comes to computers.
Richard Beck, a student assistant at the computer lab in Princess Anne High School, deals firsthand with students and their knowledge of computers every school day. An average of 70 students pass through his computer lab daily. He says that about one-third lack the knowledge needed to perform basic computer functions such as how to bring up files with the mouse, move the cursor on the screen and turn the monitor on and off.
``Everybody needs help sometimes,'' said Beck, ``but some kids just don't get it at all. They come in and need to ask for help every five minutes because they haven't had much experience with computers.''
Beck estimates that it takes an average of 10 to 15 minutes to instruct these students on how to bring up a program, insert a disk and save files.
The trend seems to be shifting. ``I find that the freshmen who come in know more than the seniors do, just because they've been taking the new computer classes in middle school,'' said Beck.
What classes are available to students? Several. QBasic Programming, ``Q'' standing for ``Quick,'' taught by Samuel M. Reynolds Sr. of Princess Anne High School, is one example. The course teaches how to control and program a computer to perform a task. Reynolds also heads the Computer Club, which helps students learn different computer languages.
Despite growing interest in computer technology, however, enrollment in QBasic Programming has declined from about 100 students in 1980 to about 40 today.
``More and more students have been getting computers at home,'' explained Reynolds. ``It used to be that (school) was the only place where students could use and learn about computers. Now, most students know about computers before they walk in the door.''
Curiosity is not the only reason for students to learn more about computers. Virginia Merritt, a guidance counselor at Princess Anne High, recommends taking computer training classes to develop job skills and ensure employment.
``There's so much being done now that wasn't being done five to 10 years ago,'' said Merritt. ``Since the guidance department has switched to computer-based records, I've had to educate myself, which makes it kind of tough to get things accomplished.''
Robert A. Lucking, professor and chairman of the educational curriculum and instruction at Old Dominion University with 15 years of experience, agrees with Merritt. ``While the students are definitely more comfortable with the computers'' than they used to be, ``their experience is still limited.''
Of the computer-based classes offered at public schools, the most common one is word processing.
``We used to recommend keyboarding, but now it's information word processing,'' said Merritt. ``That and the computer labs offer a great advantage when under college pressure. Of course, even students who aren't college-bound can (benefit) in the job market from knowledge of computers.'' by CNB