User groups asked to aid schools, education



Author: from Quick Connect

Date: November, 1989

Keywords: computer club

Text:
(Note: This article appeared in the September/October 1989 issue of
Quick Connect, the Newsletter for Apple User Groups.)
Is your user group interested in sponsoring an Apple Computer Club? Or
is your user group already working with an Apple Computer Club in your
area? 
We'd like to know about your interests and experiences. To find the
name of an Apple Computer Club near you, call The Connection's
toll-free number, 800/538-9696. Or contact Dee Anne Dougherty, Apple
Computer Clubs/Education Specialist in Cupertino (AppleLink address
DOUGHERTY2).
Have you ever spent time with an 8-year-old, experiencing how computers
change the way they learn and explore? Interested in working with
15-year-olds on a project to help the homeless? Ever imagine that,
armed with a Macintosh, a group of fifth graders could successfully
lobby their state legislature to pass a bill for environmental
protection? 
The Apple Computer Clubs help make this happen. 
Started in 1983, the Apple Computer Clubs (ACC) support and promote the
use of computers as an educational tool for children. The emphasis of
ACC materials, projects, promotions and contests is on one of Apple's
oldest values -- positive social contribution. 
It's a chance for teachers, students and their parents to learn about
computing technology while contributing to their community.
''Apple Computer Clubs are user groups for students,'' explains Merle
Marsh, ACC adviser and teacher at Worcester Country School in Berlin,
Md. ''Just like user groups serve the community, Apple Computer Clubs
serve the schools.''
Because of club involvement, students and advisers learn more about
computer use, and children have the opportunity to use their computing
skills to benefit their schools, themselves and needy groups in their
communities.
User groups and Apple Computer Clubs are a natural match. Many user
groups have special interest groups for children, or have members that
teach professionally or volunteer time in their local school to work
with kids and computers. Corporations also recognize the important role
they can play in education. 
Since the Apple Computer Clubs program is part of the Apple User Group
Connection, starting or working with the clubs is easy. The Apple
Computer Clubs Handbook describes how to start and run a successful
club. 
The Activity Plan Book highlights specific projects for children and
adults to work on. Prizewinning ACC activities have included clubs
creating multi-lingual computer how-to handbooks, using computers to
promote fund raising in support of the injured, and producing
information about seatbelt safety for elementary students. 
Apple Computer Clubs are regularly honored by national magazines, and
members have been named citizens of the year and computer educators of
the year. This year, the 1989 National Merit Competition in which both
children and clubs are able to win equipment and national recognition
had winners flown to Washington, D.C., to compete for grand prize
honors. 
A highlight of the event was a breakfast on Capitol Hill, where winners
met with their senators and congressional representatives.
Dyslexics' Macintosh User Group
     The Forman School, a boarding school for college-bound learning
disabled students, is home to the Dyslexics' Macintosh User Group. 
     Over the past three years, the school's 220 students have used
Macintosh computers to improve their ''Three R's'' -- Reading, 'Riting
and 'Rithmathtic. Even with no regular meetings or a newsletter, about
40 students and a dozen faculty form an enthusiastic group that invites
third-party software developers for demos, and shares news of activity
in the Macintosh community.
     ''Our group may be low-key, but it is enthusiastic about the
Mac,'' explains faculty member Tim Shaw. ''The ease-of-use factor is
important for our students, who have short memory retention. And the
physical size of the Macintosh makes it a non-threatening element in
their learning environment.'' 
     About 50 students take Mac classes, with another 150 brought to
the school's Macintosh Lab by their teachers for one-on-one learning.
The ease of electronic editing aids students in their writing tasks,
and often improves their handwriting skills as well, observes Shaw. 
     The clarity of the Macintosh screen fonts, he explains, ''gives
students continual visual reinforcement about what a letter should look
like. Over time, it improves their ability to write characters more
clearly.''
Tim Shaw
Dyslexics' Macintosh User Group
The Forman School
Litchfield, Conn. 06759
(203)567-9048
Sierra Apple Orchard
     If you scheduled your user group meetings at 8 a.m. on a Saturday,
how many members would attend? 
     For the Sierra Apple Orchard, the answer is more than 100 at each
meeting!
     This lively User Group was founded in 1982 with an Apple II focus
and recently expanded to include a Macintosh division as well.      
     ''We have a unique mix of business and education in our group,''
explains Carton Taylor, the 79-year-old Apple User Group ambassador.
''We have members who are business people, doctors and lawyers, as well
as a number of teachers and students.'' 
     This business/education focus is reflected in the group's meeting
space, the new Valley Business Center. The center is a $12 million
business complex with computer facilities attached to the Business
Education Building on the California State University, Fresno campus. 
     Located in the San Joaquin Valley between San Francisco and Los
Angeles, Fresno also has a growing agricultural community. 
     ''We have several members who are using their Mac for computerized
farming,'' explains Taylor. ''Our strength is in bringing all these
diverse interests together to share their approach to using Apple
computers.''
Carton Taylor
Sierra Apple Orchard
P.O. Box 16275
Fresno 93755
(209)439-2446

USMAc: The West Point Macintosh 
User Group
     The West Point Macintosh User Group considers itself to be ''a
small bastion in the wilderness of MS-DOS,'' and rightly so. 
     The group is based at the U. S. Military Academy, where the 4,000
students are required to own MS-DOS computers. But this does not dampen
the enthusiasm of the group's 50 members, the majority of whom are
academy instructors.
     ''We may be outnumbered,'' says User Group President Capt. Joe
DiGangi, ''but we have an active group that is very committed to the
Macintosh.'' 
     Members' interests range from word processing and presentation
graphics used in their teaching, to telecommunications abilities to tie
them into networks from home and at the academy. An active BBS with
participants from around the world is run by Fred ''Fritz'' Kass, a
USMAc member and captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. 
     This keeps USMAc members tied into the Macintosh community, as
well as providing material for a monthly PD disk.
     DiGangi hopes that the new Macintosh models, with their ability to
exchange MS-DOS files, will give Apple a better chance of securing a
place at the academy. 
     ''The academy currently owns only five Macintoshes, and most of
our 50 members each have their own,'' says DiGangi. ''We're always
looking for ways to improve those numbers.'' 
Capt. Joe DiGangi, USMAc
Department of Mathematics
U.S. Military Academy
West Point, N.Y. 10996
(914)938-4811; AppleLink, UG0165
* 1989 Apple Computer, Inc. 
Apple, AppleLink, Mac and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple
Computer, Inc. Quick Connect and The User Group Connection are
trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.

Copyright © november, 1989 by from Quick Connect