Other presentations of the material included:
- May 2001 - The New Mexico Basic Economic Development Institute, Class of 2001
- June 2001 - New Mexico Small Business Development Center Directors.
Teleliteracy is not a high priority for many rural New Mexicans. This observation is based on turnout for
the pilot presentations, subsequent overviews of the program with various audiences, and personal
interactions with people throughout the state. While many professionals and local leaders see the importance
to long-term economic survival, implementation of available information technology is lagging. Supply has
outrun demand. For this reason, inspiring and empowering local Internet Activists acquires added importance.
Because of the experiences described above, Module 2, Creating Internet Activists, was incorporated into
modules three and four as an introductory segment in the final products. In the original pilot workshops,
the "Activist" module was not included in the business and government modules. Module 2 also remains as a
separate module.
During the pilot stage this module was determined to be of greatest immediate importance, because of the
importance of many rural residents to realize the importance of teleliteracy. This module is an advocacy
program and sends out a call for "Rural Internet Activists" among rural leaders at the community level.
Telecommunications infrastructure, high-speed Internet access, and related expertise are limited in rural
areas. Local advocates are needed to convince local businesses and community leaders of the importance of
working together to overcome these limitations. Active leadership at the local level is crucial to bringing
about change in a timely manner.
An Activist asks three questions (8-pp. 188-206). What is changing in our world? What are the associated
opportunities? How can we take advantage of the opportunities? The Activist works to convince others of the
importance of the answers.
The importance of teleliteracy and Information Economy tools must somehow be conveyed as a need that deserves
attention in the daily grind of a rural person's life. As one rural county Extension agent said, people are
spending all of their time making ends meet in rural areas. Many think they do not have the time to learn how
to use the Internet, for example.
Another lesson drawn from the pilot workshops may offer a partial solution to the problem outlined in the
previous paragraph. Hands-on learning should be a part of basic teleliteracy training. The New Mexico
materials were initially designed without requiring a computer lab or live one-on-one Internet tours.
However, audiences quickly moved to the point of wanting hands-on experience. Some exercises are needed to
illustrate the relevance of the Internet to current interests and concerns of the student. |
