Computer Whizzes
A 12-year-old who developed a frequency counter and a 13-year-old who built a sophisticated calculator later teamed up to develop the Apple personal computer. These young inventors--Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak--are just a few of the many computer whizzes who are creating an exciting future through their skills. Read about computer science achievements and opportunities and develop your own knowledge through the direct links on The Times Launch Point Web site: https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/
Here are the best sites for getting your schoolwork done or for just having fun.
Level 1
PBS Kids: Techknow: How will computers affect the future? Find out what some young computer camp winners think, and become a computer whiz too by getting your Web safety license and trying out your skills as a Web site judge.
https://www.pbs.org/kids/fungames/techknow/tech.htm
Junior ThinkQuest: Whether it’s finding out “The Real Truth About Fast Food and Nutrition” or “Roanoke: A Mystery in History,” view award-winning Web sites on a range of topics created by fourth- through sixth-graders.
https://www.advanced.org/tq-junior/
CyberKids: Computers can help you create art and stories as well as communicate with others around the world. Develop your computer savvy through a variety of online activities such as solving a weekly mystery, posting your creative projects and listening to music from young composers.
https://www.cyberkids.com
Level 2
Life on the Internet: Hear the stories of kids succeeding in cyberspace: a 17-year-old high-tech company executive; a 13-year-old Web designer; and a 12-year-old webmaster. From art museums to cuisine, to the stock market, find out how people use the Internet in their daily lives, access some helpful Web resources and try a Web trivia quiz.
https://web-cr02.pbs.org/internet/index.html
Women of the Valley: According to 27-year-old computer business owner Christina Jones, “In the tech industry people don’t care how old you are, what color you are or what sex you are.” Read about the achievements of 20 extremely successful women in the computer industry. https://www.forbes.com/forbes/123096/5815102a.htm
The Backyard Project: System analysts, software engineers and computer animators are just a few of the lucrative and creative careers available in computer science. Find out more about computer careers through interviews and helpful advice.
https://backyard.org/
Level 3
Welcome to the Triumph of the Nerds!: Find out about the beginnings of Microsoft, Apple and Xerox Parc as well as how people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs contributed to the history of personal computers.
https://www.pbs.org/nerds/
Past Notable Women of Computing: In 1952, Grace Hopper invented a computer “compiler” that revolutionized software programming by eliminating the need to write in binary code. From Ada Byron King to Joan Margaret Winters, learn about the contributions of 12 pioneering women of computing.
https://www.cs.yale.edu/homes/tap/past-women-cs.html
Think Quest: From the “LitCafe” to “Conceiving a Clone,” learn about a variety of topics through some outstanding Web sites created by students as part of an annual competition.
https://backyard.org/index.html
Launch Point is produced by the UC Irvine department of education, which reviews each site for appropriateness and quality. Even so, parents should supervise their children’s use of the Internet. This week’s column was designed by Anna Manring.
EXPLORER’S QUEST
How much math do you need to work as a computer scientist?
CLUE: See the Backyard Project.
Find What You Need to Know: Have a project on California history? Need help doing a math problem? Launch Point now covers more than 50 topics for getting your schoolwork done. Go to https://www.latimes.com/launchpoint/ for the full list of subjects and direct links to the best Internet sites.
Answer to last week’s Quest: A “new century” job is work created by starting one’s own business or by piecing together several positions.
For more information on how today’s topic affects Orange County, see the Beyond 2000 story on A1.
