Sai Teja, a Std. VI student, had several opportunities to take a good look at the computer resting on a table in a special room of his school. Moving from the front, his glance would shift towards the back and he would count the number of buttons, sockets and slots in it.
The monitor that brought the world to the user's feet had always fascinated him and his urge to learn the fundamentals of operating a computer only grew strong.
The boy's wish is finally fulfilled with the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation organising a summer training camp in computer basics, exclusively for children of the Corporation-run schools. Sai Teja visits the CVR High School every day to gain a hands-on experience in operating the basics of a computer.
Hi-tech
Kids learn best by doing. Many summer camps in the city have gone hi-tech by including computer coaching in their curriculum. Kids from the Government-run schools are happy learning to operate the basic concepts like the terminology, keyboarding and mouse skills while their counterparts in corporate institutions are way ahead of them, using the technology for fun activities like gaming and internet browsing.
Computer training in summer camps is the best thing to have happened for many parents who feel that their wards would spend their holidays in a productive way. Learning things the fun way is what these classes are all about.
“I am glad that my son is learning computer basics. We live in an Internet era and one cannot afford to ignore technology. It is better to equip children with these skills at an early age and make them competent in the years to come,” says an elated Sudha, pointing to her son Revanth.
Children who always wanted to know more about how the computer does its job, all by itself and in a jiffy, are exhilarated to be facing the monitor finally.
Lakshman Chaitanya, a Std. VII student, cannot stop grinning after he got a pat on his back by his parents.
He sent his first e-mail to his grandfather who lives in the village, using his newly-acquired computer skills and the boy is on cloud nine.
Chaitanya can now open and close a programme, save and print a file, locate keys on the keyboard, use the mouse with ease and type, select and format the text.
“There is a remarkable increase in the number of kids enrolling for our camp after we introduced computer classes,” says Sesha Sai, organiser of a summer camp at Mogulrajpuram.