COMPUTER WISDOM COMES EARLY TO SOME

Sara Sprigg played a computer game called Word Munchers at the Cape Girardeau Public Library. The game tests the user's skill at finding words with the same vowel sound as the displayed word.

Danny Tripp is a whiz kid. The Cape Central senior taught himself just about all there is to know about computers.

In fact, he caught on so quickly that he bypassed the first year of a two-year computer technology course. And now he works as part of the technology staff for the school district.

In this information age, youth are often the most knowledgeable about computers and how to use them.

Casey Brennan said her computer skills began at an early age -- in preschool -- and advanced over the years.

Last year, she learned how to load programs and the basics of operating a computer.

But Brennan, 12, has used her computer skills to create children's books with the help of a CD-ROM program "Storybook Weaver." She also likes to play card games and complete mazes on the computer.

Sara Sprigg, 12, helped her teacher solve computer problems throughout the year. Because she likes to play problem-solving games, fixing the computer sort of came naturally.

"I'd figure out the problems and how to fix it," she said between rounds of a "Word Munchers" game.

Tripp, 18, also does his fair share of troubleshooting for the school district's eight local area computer networks.

His job includes installing software, upgrading programs, and connecting the local area networks (LANS) to the school system's wide area network.

"I have to find out what's wrong and fix it," he said. Occasionally, fixing a problem can be as easy as logging onto a server and repairing things without ever seeing the actual computer.

And right now, this technology intern doesn't even have a computer on his desk. Tripp, 18, is currently waiting for the arrival of his computer so he can build it. He works primarily with IBM computers.

Even if he doesn't have a computer at his desk, Tripp does have plenty of them to repair and service.

He is currently designing a lab for the school and creating a page for the World Wide Web.

And in order to create the page, he has to surf the Net.

"I try to look at home pages and compare them to what I want to do," he said. When the page is completed, it will provide information about the schools, teachers and activities.

"You can't put security on the Internet," he said. "It's stuff you can get anywhere else."

Sprigg doesn't use the Internet much either. She does do some activities on the Prodigy system at her mother's office.

Right now she doesn't have a computer at home but her family is considering the purchase of an IBM computer with CD-ROM and a color printer.

Tripp may not have a computer at work but he does have one at home.

"I don't have a great computer at home," he said. What he does have is multimedia capabilities.

"It's hooked up to my stereo and I could blast the house." Tripp would like to be able to connect a video camera to his computer and create movies in the future.

But for now he's getting the computer networks ready for fall. One of his most recent projects for the school is to set up an electronic mail service for the teachers. Tripp has to create a program with menus that will be user-friendly for the staff.

And being user-friendly is the name of the game. For the first year, Cape Public Schools designed a summer program that allowed students to borrow computers.

Kimberly Gwyn, district technology coordinator, said the program encourages those students who have shown improvement over the year.

About 32 students participated. Students are loaned computers and hardware and the schools offer technical support.