Families get tech-savvy after hours

Ingrid Griffin uses several fingers at once to hold down the shift key, and it takes her three tries to get a capital "I" into her Microsoft Word document. Griffin, who has two daughters in Blair, is helpless before the PC she is using. Perhaps that's because she has never touched a computer before in her life.

Griffin is one of the inaugural members of Blair After Hours, a family-oriented program designed to take the intimidation out of technology via literacy classes and access to library resources. The program began Mar 19 and will continue every Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m. through the rest of this school year.

Fewer than 10 people took advantage of the first-ever Blair After Hours session, but the group represents a diverse assortment of ages and accents. The individuals, however, have two things in common: They don't know anything about computers, and they're hungry to learn.

Zeninth Mohmmed, whose younger sister is a Blair junior, decided to participate in Blair After Hours on Mar 19 with her daughter Afnan in response to a hot pink flyer that caught her eye. "I want to be able to check my email, buy tickets online, all of that," she says.

For Mohmmed, who immigrated to the U.S. from Ethiopia four years ago, technological literacy is the key to not only her daughter's future success but also her own.

Mohmmed's goals reflect the problem of the "digital divide" that separates the 78.5 percent of Americans who have regular access to a computer from those who do not, according to the Department of Commerce.

Benita Myers, for instance, is worried about her seven-year-old son Keil Garnett falling behind his peers if he doesn't have technology skills. "I want him to have the benefit of typing skills and research skills on the World Wide Web," she says. "But we don't have a computer for him at home, so programs like this are really helpful."

Myers is right to be concerned. According to the 2002 Department of Commerce publication Falling Through the Net, the 11.5 percent of children ages five to 17 who do not enjoy regular computer access are 14 times more likely than their computer-literate counterparts to wind up earning in the lowest tax bracket.

But Keil doesn't seem anxious. He likes computers "a whole lot" and enjoys researching online, he explains in a solemn, rehearsed tone. "And games," he adds quickly, ducking behind his chair back to avoid his mother's quick glare.

To Griffin's left, Mohmmed and Florence Ogunsola, grandmother of a Blair junior, are somewhat hesitant as they practice copying and pasting text despite user-support specialist Ann Wisniewski's repeated admonitions that "you can't hurt the computers, and they're certainly not going to hurt you."

Wisniewski has had plenty of experience teaching computer skills, but she's never worked with a program quite like this one before. The program was conceived by Wisniewski and Media Specialist Lisa Hack in response to an MCPS grant application they received.

Their vision, now a reality: story time for the youngest children and academic support for the older ones, as well as technology literacy training, tie-ins to Blair's Computer Give-Away program and opportunities for ESOL students to earn community service hours.

As the women around them learn to eke out Word documents, the program's creators look on, satisfied. For Ogunsola, Blair After Hours is a blessing. Ignoring the keyboarding worksheet in front of her, she's typing her own message now. "I am learning to use the word processor with help of my great teacher and her assistant," she gradually types. "May God bless them as they are trying to help us."

Blair After Hours needs volunteers to organize activities for children and assist with computer literacy. Ask Susan Madden in the Media Center for more information.