CompuServe Thread

Hi there everyone! My name is Kristi Allison and I have a computer club at a junior high in Santa Cruz, CA. The kids are 7th & 8th graders with interests in both the Mac and the PC. When we started the club, we had a mixture of kids with and without experience in computers. At the moment, all that is left are those "in the know". I am a Multimedia Designer at a company called RoundBook Publishing Group in Scotts Valley. I started this club because I feel that the school system is failing our kids. Being in the center of the future of the industry, I see that the world is going to change to a digital frontier. The kids just aren't being prepared for what faces them in the future. Our club is meant to help them feel more comfortable with what's going to happen, and get them excited about all the new technology. Appropriately enough, the name of our club is "Digital Frontier". Many of the kids are interested in programming, some just show up to play games, but all of them have one thing in common; they love computers. Presently we have two 486 PCs that are mostly loaded (we are still looking for another CD-ROM drive, we never have enough hard disc space, and software is pretty scarce), but we lack sorely in the Mac arena. We have a door stop of an LC III with little disc space and barely any RAM. The 12" monitor is a joke. Our plan is to get a Mac station equal to the PC stations so that the kids can choose their platform. Some things we've accomplished this year are: they've started a BBS (408/429-3398) where they exchange email, write messages, and play games; they built a PC from the ground up (one of the previously mentioned 486s); and we are currently having a contest among the club members to create a multimedia presentation. A few of the kids will use HyperCard to create a game, some of the others will use the PC for a similar adventure. Next year we plan on doing a group project of the multimedia persuasion. So, why does anyone care? Because we need you. We need volunteers to come and speak to the kids about computing. We also need volunteers to teach the kids: programming, different applications, etc. But, as I'm sure you can guess, most of all, we need donations: software, hardware, RAM, you name it! When all else fails, money is also good. The name of the school is Branciforte Forty. Myself and a teacher by the name of Ron Pohlert are the sponsors of the club. Please give me a call (408/438-4222 work) or send me email (RBOOK.KLA on AppleLink, or 75310, 3153 on Compuserve, or COOL MAC on the kids' BBS) or a letter c/o RoundBook Publishing Group, 5617 Scotts Valley Dr., Suite 100, Scotts Valley, CA 95066. Thank you, Kristi Allison Senior Multimedia Designer RoundBook Publishing Group