May 28, 2002 == FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Beginning May 30, Calvin College computer science students and their professors
will partner with Grand Rapids residents to bridge the digital divide, thanks to
grants from the Calvin Alumni Association and the Netherlands-based Noaber
Foundation (which has a local office).
For eight weeks in June and July, on Wednesday and Thursday nights, Calvin
students, and professors Joel Adams, Jeremy Frens, David Laverell and Jeff
Nyhoff, will work with area residents who are hoping to improve their computer
skills. The Thursday night class will meet at Calvin and bring in residents who
are part of the Oakdale Neighbors program. The Wednesday night class will take
place at the Calvin@Burton Heights project at Burton and South Division.
On Thursdays, at Calvin, there actually will be two classes (both held in
Science Building 372, the Windows Lab at Calvin). From 4-6 p.m. teens will be
taught and from 7-9 p.m. it will be the turn of the adults. In between there
will be pizza (part of the Calvin Alumni Association grant money pays for the
pizza!). The Wednesday night program will run from 7-8:30 at 1725 South
Division.
Both classes will teach participants lots about computers and both will have an
added bonus: the students will get a free computer. Calvin is partnering with
the Noaber Foundation (founded by Paul Baan, a successful IT entrepreneur from
the Netherlands), which works worldwide to ease the digital divide, incubate and
grow pioneering assistive technology companies and to bring IT skills to
employees in disadvantaged and marginalized communities.
Through that partnership a total of 25 computers will be given away at no
charge to participants in the two classes. Laverell says the computers are nice
machines.
"They're all at least Pentium II machines," he says. "They'll come with a
pretty nice monitor, a mouse and a keyboard. If I had one of these at home I'd
hold onto it for a while yet."
In addition, thanks to the Noaber Foundation all of the machines will come with
licensed copies of Windows and Office 2000, including word processing,
spreadsheet capability and more. Also, Calvin students have recently installed
modems in each computer for internet and e-mail access.
The class will teach participants everything from how to set up the computer to
how to use the internet and e-mail to word processing and speadsheet
capabilities. But Laverell says flexibility will be the key.
"We'll have to get a sense early on of where the class is," he says, "and be
ready and willing to meet their needs. I'm excited. It should be a fun eight
weeks."
Contact David Laverell at Calvin College at 957-6691
Also, Paul Timmer of Noaber at ptimmer@vanenburg.com or 554-5216
Or see www.noaber.com
-end-
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