Computer Geeks

By Peter West

Books, pencils, and paper litter the desks in Margo Toering's 6th-grade class here at Timothy Ball Elementary School. But when her students finished their class projects on whales at the end of the semester, they didn't hand her a folder full of loose-leaf sheets.

Instead, they turned over computer diskettes that held "multimedia presentations" combining graphics, sound, and text--reports they prepared on home computers or on the machines that line the periphery of the classroom.

Toering's students handle a keyboard as easily as most students wield a pencil. That's because for the past two years each of them has worked at home on a personal computer provided by the Buddy System Project, a cooperative venture between state government and businesses that has equipped thousands of elementary students across the...