While cold and snow kept many Chicagoans bundled up Saturday, LaKeisha Johnson and 40 of her friends went surfing.
Sunny sky, swimsuits and sand between their toes were left to their imaginations while surfing the Internet for the first time.
Johnson and her friends are part of A Byte of the Big City camp, which introduces and teaches teens and young adults basic computer skills.
Students in the program, which began Oct. 11, met each Saturday for about three hours at the LaSalle-Wacker Building, 221 N. LaSalle St. Aside from finding information on the Internet, participants learned how to use electronic mail and manipulate computer programs to create graphics, maps and drawings.
“This program gives us a chance not only to learn more about computers, but to improve ourselves overall,” said Johnson, 15, a high school sophomore. “The skills we are learning here are just the beginning of what we will need to make ourselves more marketable in the future for better jobs and better pay.”
The students, ages 13 to 19, were selected through the Chicago Housing Authority Youth Services Program.
“All the kids are not from public housing developments because we went to various schools such as Dunbar, Crane and DuSable to find students with and without computer experience, but who had a willingness to learn,” said Darlene Johnson, a manager with the CHA program. “One of our missions in the Youth Services Program is to expose our children to technology. I can see the difference when the kids first started and how much they know now.”
The computer camp was sponsored by several businesses, including Apple Computer Inc., that donated their time and resources.
“The space we are using and the computers were donated, and the instructors are giving their time,” said Shannon Malone, coordinator of the camp and market manager with MacTemps, another sponsor. “As businesses, we say we want smart, talented employees who understand technology. But we have to make sure we are doing something to help that process. This is a small start in that direction.”
