The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Digital Clubhouse classes aim to grant kids access to the Internet.

Kids get Internet help at Digital Clubhouse

By Justin Berton

Some kids have access to a computer at home, and some just don't. Those who don't are getting left far behind, said Mary Ellen Locke, executive director of the Digital Clubhouse Network, a nonprofit computer resource center in the Sunnyvale Town Center.

"Here in the valley, we have people going in two directions: the haves and the have-nots," she said, "and the haves are getting further and further ahead of kids who don't have a computer at home."

This summer, Locke and other administrators are teaching free classes to Sunnvyale kids who don't have access to the Internet at home.

Students will learn the basics, such as how to use search engines and set up an email account.

Jo Lin, an 11-year-old seventh-grader at Sunnyvale Middle School said though she doesn't have a computer at home, she has learned how to create her own Web site from the clubhouse classes.

But the real fun for Lin, she said, comes with "helping others learn." Lin and other students who take the classes pay no fees, but they are encouraged to come back to the clubhouse to help teach newbies.

"Sometimes, I have more helpers than I need," Locke said.

Brian Tiangco, 14, who comes into the clubhouse just about everyday, brought in his 22-year-old sister Abigail to pass along some pointers on email.

"She wants to know how to write to her friends," Tiangco said. "I can help her do that."

Locke, who once taught in various schools at the Sunnyvale Elementary School District, said the idea for the program began last March when she put together a pilot class. She asked teachers from five Sunnyvale schools to identify children who did not have Internet access in their homes. Those who wanted to join the clubhouse classes after school were free to do so at no cost to the student.

Since the kids were still the responsibility of the school district, school buses dropped the kids off at the mall entrance where Locke met them. From there, she rushed them through the mall and into the clubhouse.

"I didn't even let them get a drink of water," Locke said, for fear the children would get lost in the mall.

After working out a few bugs in the pilot, Locke now schedules week-long courses through the summer. Each class can accommodate 25 children.

The clubhouse opened with much fanfare in October and is supported by several of Silicon Valley's high-tech industries.

But lately, it's been getting a little hot inside the clubhouse. The air-conditioning unit is on the blink, and few spare funds are available to get the unit fixed. For now, stand-alone fans line the walls to keep a nice breeze flowing through the clubhouse.

Regardless of the less-than-ideal temperature, Locke said as long as there is disparity on the information highway, she will help teach curious children how to use search engines to find information.

"They don't have to know everything, but there is a way they can find everything that they need to know," she said.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, August 12, 1998.
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