LAGUNA NIGUEL : Computer Project Unites Students

They live in neighborhoods with decidedly different images, but the 150 fidgeting, giggling elementary school children gathered from South-Central Los Angeles and Laguna Hills found no problem communicating Thursday as members of the computer generation.

After uniting their efforts in campus recycling drives, the students of Lenicia B. Weemes Elementary in Los Angeles visited some of their counterparts from San Joaquin Elementary in Laguna Hills to view the fruits of their labors--new computers and software for their school libraries.

“I want to see what these computers are like,” said Ana Bonilla, 10, craning her neck to see the just-unveiled keyboard and monitor. The fifth-grader at Weemes said she has already worked on Macintosh computers. “I like those. We use them to make pictures and sometimes reports. I want to know more about them so I can be a scientist.”

Future scientists, pilots and doctors seemed to dominate the youthful crowd that kept its spirits high despite the midday heat. Sitting on a tarp in front of Vons Pavilions supermarket in Laguna Niguel, one of the sponsors, the children cheered as their classmates gave speeches, performed musical numbers and munched on cupcakes.

Two Advantage 386 computers were donated to each school by Irvine-based AST Research, and the Envipco recycling service presented each school with $2,500 for their efforts during a six-day drive that recycled 21,000 bottles and cans. The computers will be used to access electronic encyclopedias, university libraries and other networked information sources.

“Computers, any computers, we can get into our schools and used by these children is extremely important and beneficial,” said Kathy Wright, principal at San Joaquin.

There is a computer in each of the school’s 24 classrooms, but Wright said much of the equipment is outdated. “It’s important to learn on a variety of computers because they will encounter all sorts as they grow older,” she said.

Besides preparing the youngsters for the workplace of the future, computers are vital as a high-tech learning tool that keeps the attention of a generation weaned on quick-cut music videos and sophisticated video games, Weemes teacher Lisa Beebe said.

“I don’t know if it’s because of MTV that we have a short attention span, or if our short attention span is the reason MTV is so popular, but it’s really hard to make a 10- or 11-year-old sit still long enough to learn if there isn’t something moving in front of them,” Beebe said. “Computers are an interesting, exciting way to teach, so that makes them very valuable to us.”

Paul Choi, the 11-year-old leader of San Joaquin’s student council, said the means of gaining the computers--recycling and encouraging the students’ families to recycle--was just as important as the computers themselves.

“Recycling is the only hope we have,” he said.