Computer Students Program the Future

The future is now at the Math/Science Magnet at Van Nuys High School, where students in a computer class are designing innovative programs they hope will become commonplace in the next millennium.

The creative computer programs include one that would change ordinary text into Braille for visually impaired readers, another that would better match compatible teens looking for dates, and yet another that would enhance security of computer files, said computer science teacher Irwin Pascul. Students will unveil those projects, and 29 others, on May 31 at the 19th annual Los Angeles Unified School District Computer Science Competition at USC’s Davidson Continuing Education Conference Center, Pascul said.

Top executives from Pacific Bell, GTE and Lucent Technologies will judge students’ projects and how well they present them to the panel, Pascul said.

With Van Nuys students entering 32 of the 42 projects in the districtwide senior high school competition, Pascul said the toughest competition for cash prizes--ranging from $500 to $2,000--will come from their classmates.

“Van Nuys students have dominated this and other competitions, both local and national, for the past eight years,” Pascul said.

The computer whiz kids have won the National Computer Science Test, National Science Bowl and the National PASCAL Programming Language Test, among others, Pascul said. They were also among the top-ranked students on the Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science.

While winning competitions is important to students, especially those who plan to major in analytical sciences in college, Pascul said contests also boost students’ self-esteem.

“I try to get them to exercise their creativity and imagination and mix it in with their academic skills,” he said. “They learn what it takes mentally and physically to design, research and implement a project, and as a result they begin to see the value within themselves.”