ParaGraph International Links Moscow Children’s Computer Club Members to Electronic Learning Fair Team Members for Real-Time Communications
SAN JOSE, Calif. — December 2, 1994 — ParaGraph International today announced it has set up a live link from the Moscow Children's Computer Club (MCCC) to an Electronic Learning Fair (ELF) classroom during the trade show being held this weekend at the San Jose Convention Center. The link between MCCC and ELF members is via the Internet and the children can send and receive text messages to and from one another, in real time. George Pachikov, vice president of ParaGraph International's Education and Multimedia Division, has also arranged the use of ParaGraph International's Virtual Home Museum(TM) (VHM) software designed to mirror the physical attributes of the MCCC decorated with pictures of MCCC members. An ELF team member can click on a picture in the MCCC VHM display to be instantly transported to a telenet session with that MCCC member. To visit with members of the Moscow Children's Computer Club visit the Good Guys classroom at ELF (Classroom K), Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.-10 a.m.
"Today, ParaGraph is the principal sponsor of the Moscow Children's Computer Club. Our immediate goal is to recreate the successful computer science programs of the Moscow Childen's Computer Club on the Internet — with an attractive, 3D interface — provided by the Virtual Home Museum technology," said Stepan Pachikov, president and chief executive officer of ParaGraph International. "We call this project VCCC — the Virtual Children's Computer Club. To proceed, we are seeking other corporate sponsors."
The Moscow Children's Computer Club was founded in June 1986 by Stepan Pachikov, Garry Kasparov, world chess champion, and Abel Aganbegyan, president of the Academy of National Economy. Approximately 300 students between the ages of 6-14 are members of the Moscow Children's Computer Club. Each student must pass a qualifying exam each September and then the club meets for the entire academic year with the focus on learning, no commercial games are allowed. All teachers and staff of the club are volunteers and George Pachikov, from ParaGraph International, the president of the MCCC, currently volunteers his services to the club two evenings per week. Club curriculum is determined by the volunteer teachers and is dedicated to learning about a specific topic such as PenBased Computing or Programming in C.
The goal of the ParaGraph International, through this demonstration of the connection between MCCC and ELF, is to ultimately create a Virtual Children's Computer Club whereby students from all over the world can learn and communicate with volunteer teachers and staff located throughout the world. It is the intent of the MCCC and ParaGraph International to one day reproduce the successful learning programs currently taught within the confines of the MCCC over the Internet and to provide an alternative training and educational resource for students in technical fields through the Virtual Children's Computer Club.
Paragraph International's Education & Multimedia Division
Paragraph International's Education and Multimedia Division consists of 15 systems professionals with over 150 man-years of experience in software engineering, computer graphics and game design. The division is headed by George Pachikov, one of the top 100 in Dator Company's Who's Who in Russian Computer Business. The Education and Multimedia Division has created a number of thinking/action games for the IBM, Macintosh and Newton platforms. The games are characterized by crisp, high-speed, professional graphics and strict representation of physical laws. The Virtual Home Museum is the first in the AlterEgo(TM) line of products ParaGraph International will bring to market here in the United States.
For more information, contact Linda Baliman, ParaGraph International, 1309 South Mary Avenue, Suite 150, Sunnyvale, CA 94807. Telephone: 408-522-3000, Fax: 408-746-2813.
Virtual Home Museum and AlterEgo are trademarks of ParaGraph International. All product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, CA. The show opens at noon today.
Hours: 12/2 – noon to 7 p.m.; 12/3 – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; 12/4 – 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
CONTACT:
Linda Baliman of ParaGraph International, 408-522-3035