Barbara, Paul, Rachael, and Colleen

Barbara and her children have accomplished some amazing things with the help of floaters, proving that talented and motivated indivduals can learn an astonishing amount in a short period of time. Barbara was first lent a very modest Apple IIgs, with a small amount of educational software, and was shown how to use the computer. She bought a book on programming with Basic and began experimenting, teaching her children as she learned. Floaters then upgraded her computer to a small, black-and-white mac, and she and the children began learning computer applications. The family invested in a modem, and AzTeC provided them with Internet access. The computer has been upgraded twice since then, and software applications have been provided as needed. Barbara is now beginning to learn the highly advanced skill of creating graphics for the web, and will assuredly be able to find employment without sacrifing the time she spends with her family. Paul, who is fifteen, has been given a "mentorship" at ASU; he spends five hours a week learning how to create web pages, and has a bright future. Rachael, who is thirteen, creates calendars and birthday cards, and is interested in desktop publishing. Colleen, the youngest at ten years old, is especially interested in the technical aspects of computers.

Barbara has kept a complete log of all computer activities. For her portfolio, she has provided a timeline/calendar of activities, screen captures and printouts of the computer desktop at the end of each day, records of what was learned from the text-based Internet access available to her, an illustrated book of sample work, as well as many smaller projects and images created by the children or by Barabara herself. Barbara is currently transforming this huge body of work into hypertext format. The children's Authorware projects will be shocked and put on the web as well.

If you'd like to see samples of the portfolio, follow the links.

Paul is creating his first web page and learning to use Unix in his ASU mentorship.

Colleen learned to use gradients in the ClarisWorks paint program to create complex images in only 16 colors. She is ten years old!

Rachael likes to create patterns, and has just recently learned to use Photoshop to make them into lovely images.

Barb is taking some of the artwork she did earlier and using Photoshop to display them in floating bubbles.

Barb is creating elegant backgrounds with which to display her children's artwork in the online book she is writing.

Barb corresponds easily via e-mail; this electronic letter from her gives some of the flavor of the work she is doing to complete her Floaters portfolio.

Send email to Floaters at sandra@floaters.org. We would love to hear from you.

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