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All about "Ask Amy"
This month we have a special guest columnist: Amy from www.4kids.org! Amy is a 14-year-old freshman from Kansas who was chosen to become the writer for "Ask Amy," the internationally read computer news column. By Amy of www.4kids.org SCR*TEC |
 verybody will get
a job someday, but not everyone is fortunate enough to get a job they really love. A
lot of people wonder how I got started working at www.4kids.org, so I thought I ought to let
them know how this all came about.
When I was in the sixth grade, I used to hang around almost every day after school and work in the computer lab with my friends and teachers, trying to figure out how to do different things. Before long, my classmates and even some teachers, were coming to me and asking for help when they had a computer problem. Meanwhile, Jerry, a professor at the University of Kansas, heard about how my classmates and I were learning more about computers. He thought it sounded like a really good thing to have going on in the classroom. |
 The real Amy of "Ask Amy" |
 bout
a year later, Jerry wanted to start a newspaper column. He remembered
me and chose to name it "Ask Amy."
He thought it would be nice to meet me so he asked one of his co-workers,
Karen, to check if I went to the school where she worked as the librarian.
Sure enough, I was there. She called me to her office one day and explained
everything that had happened. We set up a date and time, and I went
up to the University to meet the people that were involved with the
column. Jerry asked me more about what I did in elementary school and
then offered me a job after school to be part of the 4kids team. For those of you who don't know what "Ask Amy" is, it is an internationally syndicated newspaper column where people ask me questions about computers. They can also find sites about certain topics on the Web in "Ask Amy." Online, they can go to |
 ow,
just to let you know, answering questions is only part of the job. I
am currently working on making a Web page about myself which will be
linked to Amy's Place; plus, a lot of people like to use me as somebody
to bounce ideas off of, just to get an idea of a kid's perspective on
things. I also like to surf the Net and find new, cool sites that could
be featured in an issue, or that would be helpful to other people. When
I am answering questions, though, I have a lot of fun. People have asked me all sorts of things. Some ask what makes their computer freeze up; some ask how they can make their own Web page; others ask why their best friend is avoiding them. My favorite question though, would have to be, "Why is the sky red?" The first time I was asked this question, it seemed really cute. I was picturing a little five-year-old sitting there, wondering why the sky is red; but to tell you the truth, I didn't even know the answer to that question until a few years ago. I learned about it in one of my science classes. The hardest question I've had so far is probably, "How can I keep my parents from getting divorced?" I mean, how do you answer a question like that? I just do my best to sympathize with the person and hopefully be of some help to them. Based on all the questions I've read, I would say the one thing kids want to know is "Who is Amy?" That is mainly why I have taken time to explain this to everyone. |
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 've
learned so much by being "Ask Amy." Whenever I didn't know the answer
to someone's questions, I could just get on the Net and search until
I found the answer. Plus, it has been a good opportunity for me to start
working with other people in the "real world," not just the classroom.
I've found that being part of a team is a lot better than being stuck
doing something by yourself. You have people to help you out when you
aren't sure of something, and people to fall back on when you mess things
up. I think that's what I enjoy most about working for 4kids. There
is always somebody there to help you, and we have a lot of fun working
together. Besides, everyone is really nice and pleasant to be around.
When kids have questions, they usually go to our Web site and head for "Ask Amy." They can send me their questions there and I can e-mail answers back to them. People often want to know how many questions are asked a week and how many kids write in. To tell the truth, I don't really know how many kids have written in. Some write to me many times, others just a few. We do, however, get about 100 questions a week. Unfortunately though, some of the people don't have e-mail or don't tell me their address so I can't respond to them. I do try to answer as many questions as I can though, but some people ask inappropriate things which may or may not get a response. |
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think it's great though, that there are so many people out there that
aren't afraid to use computers and want to learn more about them. I'm
glad "Ask Amy" has become known throughout the country and the world,
and I hope it continues to thrive and grow in popularity as time goes
on. I can't predict the future about computer technology, but I do think we will see computers start being used for more than just typing, making presentations, searching the Web, studying, and sending e-mail. More and more people will probably start using their computers to turn their lights on before they get home from work, to set the VCR to record their favorite shows, to turn their security systems on or off, or even to activate their furnace or air conditioner. Some of these things are already happening, but as time goes on, I feel that these kinds of luxuries will become more available and less expensive. Maybe someone will even invent a program that does our homework for us! Whatever is to come, I'm sure it will be really cool. |
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