Computer class brings seniors into new millenium

Patrick Lippy is a self-proclaimed computer nerd.

He spends his leisure time playing solitaire and surfing the Internet.

Lippy likes computers so much he decided his skills could be put to better use by offering computer classes as part of his job at the Bonita Springs Recreational Center.

Because of emerging technology and the dependency on computers, Lippy knew the class would be a hit in Bonita Springs.

And, it has been for the last four years.

Only a couple of six-week courses are offered at the center and they fill up fast.

“By the time you leave here, you will be computer pros,” said Lippy, of Cape Coral, during the first session of the beginner’s class. “Don’t be afraid of the computers, they won’t break.”

Lippy’s ability to reassure his students, especially the older ones, has been his success.

“I talk in layman’s terms, the main key is to relax,” Lippy said.

Lippy begins his classes with how to turn on the computers and what the different pieces of the computer are because many of his students’ computer experience is sending e-mails to their grand kids.

“A lot of (students) buy computers because they feel they have to. Everything now is computers and after they buy them, they don’t know what to do with them,” said Lippy, who generally keeps the classes to seven students.

Janice Wilhelma is taking the beginner’s class because her grandson taught her how to send e-mails but she can barely turn on the computer.

“I’m such a nerd, I have the foggiest idea. … I don’t even know what questions to ask,” Wilhelma, of Naples. “I just bought a laptop and my children have welcomed me to the millennium.”

During the beginner’s course, students also learn the basics of computer software but it’s the intermediate level course that allows students to fully surf the web, save files and work a computer with ease. Lippy distributes handouts for each lesson and students are given folders that work as guides after the course is completed.

“I should be in the intermediate but I wanted to start from scratch, there are things in the beginning that I want to learn about,” said Carl Rapisarda, 65, of Bonita Springs.

Lippy helps his students outside of the class as well by offering to help them if they have problems with their computers at home.

“All I know how to do is e-mail and I want to know how to do other things as well,” said Betsy Lane, 75, of Naples. “I get very frustrated when I don’t know what is going on. I know this will help.”

Practical uses of Spanish language taught

It’s dark and you are on your way home from a party.

Your car battery dies and you’re stranded on the highway with no cell phone service.

Cars drive by but only one stops — a Spanish speaking woman who recently learned English but is still working on the basics of the language.

You notice she is struggling to help you so you switch on the Spanish language skills you learned during a course at the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs.

“Necesito ayuda, la bateria de mi coche esta muerta,” in other words, “I need help, the battery in my car is dead.” The woman smiles and takes you to the nearest pay phone without hesitation.

Although the situation could have been much worse because of the language barrier, Almicar Santos, the Spanish teacher at the council, knows enough conversational phrases in Spanish to get you out of sticky situations.

Although most of Santos’ students in his intermediate Spanish class are still learning the meaning of words, he strives to teach them practical uses for the language.

“Because we have so many Spanish speakers in the area, it helps the communications. I think that Spanish speakers are always pleased when people learn spanish,” said Katie Verna, program director of the Literacy Council of Bonita Springs.

In a recent class, students learned basic terminology for an automobile and its different parts.
“It has helped out a lot, I have spanish speaking friends and it’s all been very rewarding,” said Bob Sorenso, of Bonita Springs. He is a student of Santos’ class but also teaches English for Spanish speakers at the Literacy Council.

Because Spanish can be a complicated language, Santos makes sure to explain the difference in the conjugation of words and meanings in other Spanish cultures.

In a discussion of how to conjugate the word “capot,” or car hood, students unknowingly used “capar,” which is a derivative of the word “castrar,” or “to castrate.”

Some students got embarrassed and laughed but learned a valuable lesson about spanish.

“It’s a beautiful language and I always need a refresher,” said Joleen Chrestensen, 70, of Bonita Springs. She has been studying Spanish for more than five decades but she is sometimes fuzzy on the Spanish grammar.

She knows a poorly conjugated word could spell trouble.

“You learn more about english grammar in spanish class than in English class,” she said.
The six-week course is offered on Thursday afternoons and the Literacy Council, which also offers evening classes for anyone willing to learn English.

“I’ve taken Spanish on and off for three years and I’m here because it’s important to know,” said Becky Lipsie, of Bonita Springs. She uses the language often on her church missions in Central America. “It has really helped me out.”

Being able to help students is what Verna wants the Literacy Council to achieve. And because it takes a village to raise a child, English speakers willing to learn Spanish have plenty of support.
In 2005, 250 students were taught by 430 volunteer tutors from around the area. Training is offered for individuals interested in teaching the language. No prior experience or knowledge of the language is needed.

“The big process is that currently national interest in immigration issues is encouraging people to look closely that they need to learn English,” Verna said. “We have seen a surge in students who want to learn Spanish as well.”

More to learn after the TV shuts off

Three earth kids get pulled into a computer program that transports them into cyberspace.

They find themselves on countless adventures in their pursuit to protect Motherboard from an evil hacker.

With the help of a robot bird named Digit, the kids save the day by using their critical thinking and math skills on Cyberchase, an animated children’s show on PBS.

“It’s geared for upper elementary school students and it shows kids using math and thinking skills to beat challenges,” said Paula Sklodowski, the outreach coordinator.

She is in charge of taking the show from the television screen and into the Bonita Springs Public Library for an afternoon of activities about the show and its characters.

“These sessions are a chance for kids to learn that there is more to the show than just what they see on the screen,” Sklodowski, who works at Florida Gulf Coast University’s broadcast station that airs the show every weekday. “They will see clips of the show and in this case, talk about financial education, and we will have prizes.”

The last five minutes of Cyberchase take the concepts from the show and apply them to a real life situation using live comedians.

“The segment is called ‘For Real’ and it makes it really visible for the kids to see what the concepts are in the show and what the skill is,” Sklodowski said.

Much like the short segment, Sklodowski will keep kids entertained on June 7 by teaching them how to apply the concepts into their daily lives.

“Kids watch TV, we all kno, but we want them to know that the things they learn on television are things they can use in real life,” Sklodowski said.

The show has been in living rooms in Southwest Florida since 2002 and is presented by a station out of New York.

Sklodowski encourages everyone to attend the session including parents.

“It’s really nice that the parents can sit in on one of these sessions because they see it and are able to see that there are lessons being taught on the program,” Sklodowski said. “This show is just the beginning, there are a lot of things kids can do once they turn off the TV.”