A pioneer in electrical engineering would probably appreciate the fact that efforts to bridge the digital divide faced by families who cannot afford home computers or Internet access occur in a school bearing his name.
A second-floor classroom in the former Steinmetz School, on Oakwood Avenue, has become a technology learning center for county teens enrolled in the Schenectady Inner City Mini-stry’s Computers for Kids program.
It is a technology literacy program with a twist. Like most, students learn about operating systems and common appli-cations such Microsoft(r) Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Although they learn about computers using state-of-the-art technology, the students learn how to repair and add hardware while rebuilding older Pentium(r) III machines donated by the GE Elfun society.
The twist is that the teens get to keep the computers they fix, a tangible source of pride to outwardly manifest their sense of achievement from completing the course.
With the rebuilt computers, students are able to practice their newfound tech skills at home, which program members hope will improve academic performance and employment prospects.
The program gives these kids some basic computer skills, Program Coordinator Charlie Lent said. `Almost every job requires basic computer skills, and we want to give these kids the kind of skills they can use in the work force.`
Lent, a SUNY Oneonta education major interning with SICM, said she and instructor Elroy Tatem began teaching the 14- and 15-year-olds in the class how computers work and how to take one apart earlier this month. Tatem recently graduated from Union College with a degree in computer science.
SICM Executive Director Rev. Phillip Grigsby credits the Troy Area United Ministries for creating the concept about four years ago.
`More and more stuff is technological, and people are being left out,` Grigsby said, explaining the need for programs such as Computers for Kids. `We teach software and hardware skills.`
In addition to their partnership with the city of Schenectady school district and the Elfun society, SICM gets a considerable amount of help from Schenectady County’s Job Training Agency, which provides the teens who participate in the program.
Students are selected by the JTA from kids who choose the computer program as an activity of the Youth Employment Program.
The county pays the kids a stipend that is at or above minimum wage, so the course is sort of like a job, Lent said, adding that the kids spend one of their days at SCCC learning about rEsumE, job-hunting and interview skills.
A donation from the Troy Savings Bank Foundation helps the ministry fund the $15,000 program, which is in its second year.
Charles Steinmetz was a brilliant mathematician hired by the newly formed General Electric Company in 1893.
Two years later, Steinmetz made a breakthrough in the theory of alternating current, which powers most electrical circuits, including microcomputers. His patent for AC power was one of more than 200 that he was granted before his death.
An anecdotal story shows that Steinmetz knew the value of a good education.
He was reportedly asked to troubleshoot a complex system of his design that confounded the best efforts of GE engineers.
When Steinmetz determined what the problem was, he marked the faulty component with a piece of chalk. When asked to justify the $10,000 invoice he submitted for his services, Steinmetz reportedly responded that he only charged $1 for marking the part with chalk; the other $9,999 was for knowing where to put the mark.
Programs such as Computers for Kids give kids a metaphorical piece of chalk which, hopefully, will help them leave their own mark someday.
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