A COMPUTER FOR EVERY KID
CAP CITY
Computer Banc’s new logo says it all: A computer for every kid. It’s the goal executive director David Fowler has set for the Springfield community to achieve over a threeyear period.
Just by ramping up output by 1,000 computers each year, Computer Banc can provide every family whose children participate in the free and reduced lunch program with a refurbished computer, he says.
“It’s simple math,” he says, recalling the district’s 2009 statistics. He figures that of the about 14,000 Springfield students, about 63 percent would qualify (about 8,820 kids). Based on the population Computer Banc now serves, Fowler figures that the average qualifying household hosts about three students each. Divide 8,820 students by 3 and voila! Fewer than 3,000 computers could bridge the digital divide, Fowler says.
He hopes Computer Banc can start pushing more computers into those students’ hands starting in 2012, but to do so means gearing up recycling rates starting now. To meet that end, Computer Banc is looking to partner with area businesses not only to get corporate computers but also to get their employees’ old home computers through a holiday computer drive.
“From Black Friday on through the holidays people are going to be replacing their home computers,” Fowler says. His organization is asking businesses to allow their employees to bring their personal computers to the office and to call Computer Banc to come pick them up to refurbish them.
LEGO LEAGUE
CAP CITY
Ten students from Iles School are trying to change the world – one LEGO at a time.
The students, this Saturday, Dec. 4, in
Champaign are competing in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) LEGO League “Body Forward” Challenge, in which children work with adult mentors to design and build LEGO robots and to research real-world problems. The FIRST LEGO League is an international project aimed at encouraging children, ages 9 through 14, to become leaders in science and technology.
The Iles team, which has dubbed itself “RoboTech,” chose strokes as its research project and has been working to develop iPad applications to help stroke victims and their caregivers and family members cope with the challenges the ailment can present.
The team will be judged based on project presentation, robot performance, technical design and programming, and teamwork.
