Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Classes Help New Surfers

By Lamar James

Extension Communications Specialist

People walk into Tim Pry's Internet classes with feelings ranging from enthusiasm to downright apprehension. Mostly, they are curious about this new communications tool.

"Within an hour, nearly everyone is a lot more comfortable," Pry said. "By the time a class is over, many people want to stay behind and ask questions."

Pry, who is with the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas, has been training local government officials and business leaders how to use the Internet, a powerful tool that Pry said can help them accomplish their goals. So far, he has trained about 2,500 persons in nearly half the state's 75 counties under a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture.

If classes aren't full, Pry adds members of the general public.

"I've had children as young as 5 and seniors as old as 80 coming in for training. You're never too old to learn. If I can get one or two kids in my workshop who've used the Internet before, I'm in great shape. They'll ask questions much sooner than adults. They get the adults to thinking and asking questions."

Surfing the Internet is really "a lot simpler than people imagine," Pry said. "It doesn't take hours and hours of trial and error to understand it. All people need to know is a few basic mouse clicks, and they're ready to go."

Why should government officials and business leaders learn how to use the Internet?

"Corporate scouts check the Internet before they send out people to select a potential site to locate a facility. Cities need to be thinking of creating an Internet web site with information about their cities, such as schools, motels, restaurants and general tourist information."

Pry estimated that about 100 cities and towns in Arkansas have web sites. Mountain View, Heber Springs and Eureka Springs have some of the better sites, according to Pry.

"Eureka Springs is one of the most Internet savy communties I've seen," Pry said. "Their local businesses aggressively advertise on the Internet."

State and federal governments are trying to put out as much information as possible on the Internet, because it's cheaper and faster than printing and mailing publications, Pry said. Their web sites contain information about grants and state and federal laws that local officials can use.

Advertising on the Internet is more cost efficient, according to Pry.

"Putting up and maintaining a web page is relatively cheap. It's really cost effective, because millions of people can conceivably see your web page. The only people who see your web site are people interested in your product, so it's self-targeting."

For the general public, Pry said the Internet is a great tool for finding information on myriad topics as health, investments, hobbies, recipes and genealogy.

"The Internet opens a whole world to the elderly and people confined to home," Pry said. "My parents now E-mail me instead of calling me. My father can check on his investments.

My mother will soon discover that she can shop on the Internet. When my dad buys a new truck, he'll be able to look up exactly what he wants, and he'll know how much the dealer paid for the car."

Pry said that if more than 15 government officials and business leaders in a county are interested in the training, they should contact their county agent with the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas to schedule training.

For the general public, Pry suggested that they obtain help from books and magazines or join or start a computer user group in their area.