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IBM techs lead workshop at Smith center
(Connecticut Post (Bridgeport) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Feb. 28--BRIDGEPORT -- Discovering software and demystifying hardware were the goals of workshops offered at the Charles D. Smith Jr. Foundation community center Saturday, where local residents and IBM employees connected.
The IBM Black Family Technology Awareness Day sessions gave residents a chance to interact with IBM professionals while learning about computers, said Maria Valentin, center director.
"This is our third year doing it. It's to bring awareness to our community about what technology and computers can do. A lot of adults and children don't have computers at home."
According to figures based on a 2004 study and released by the U.S. Department of Commerce, computer use among blacks trails whites by 14 percent.
"Our goal is to level the playing field," said Bill Macnamara, IBM's manager of corporate community relations, who works out of the company's Southbury branch.
"We're trying to interest them in getting involved in math, science and engineering because that's where the opportunities are," said Macnamara, who generally visits the Smith center once a month.
Saturday's event followed National Black Family Technology Awareness Week, officially Feb. 12-18 this year. IBM is a national sponsor of the annual public awareness campaign, initiated eight years ago to stress the importance of technology and career preparation in the African-American community.
IBM has been in partnership with the Smith Foundation for about six years, donating equipment and technical support, Macnamara said. Fourteen flat-screen computers, as well as four of the company's computerized learning stations for small children, are featured in the center's computer room.
For the simultaneous workshops, IBM manager Pamela Hemingway assembled eight volunteer instructors, mostly IBM professionals based in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.
IBM technical experts Greg Williams and Dwight Harmon showed how to make sense of the computer's bewildering network of intersecting wires, steel plates and multiple cables. They stressed the pervasiveness of computers in modern work environments and offered advice for mastering them, such as honing typing skills and seeking mentors.
Bridgeport resident Willie Wilson dropped by to get a few tips and left with a valuable human resource.
Having just completed a course in computer technology, Wilson is now studying to launch a new career as a certified computer technician. Harmon offered to mentor Wilson during and after his test preparation, and the two exchanged e-mail addresses.
In the computer room, IBM colleagues Harold Dean and Joe Leake helped residents pinpoint information on the Internet.
Berryl Edwards, co-founder of Unique and Unified, an after-school program in Bridgeport for girls, learned to search more efficiently for black history sites.
"It's something I can take back to the kids," she said.
Sixto Cancel, 13, of Bridgeport, found education sites to augment his English and grammar studies. Thirteen-year-old Fred Brown, also of Bridgeport, said the workshops increased his general knowledge of computers.
"It's cool. You get to learn different things," Brown said.
Bridgeport resident Malcolm Blackwell, 14, also thought the workshops enhanced his knowledge base.
"I think it's nice for them to teach about computers and how to take them apart," he said. "It's interesting to know how to do everything."
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