Communicating information to remote locations takes training
1996
Kawasaki, J.L. (Montana State University Libraries, Bozeman (USA))
Information technologies have the ability to overcome the remoteness which, in the past, has excluded rural people from important societal decisions and activities, including production of goods and services. People residing in developing countries or isolated populations within developed countries need training to use information technologies. In many aspects, the remote populations of developed countries are similar to populations in developing countries. In the United States, many rural areas now have the telecommunications infrastructure because of the Rural Telecommunication Improvements Act 1990 (104 Stat. 4038). Studies done in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Montana show that Cooperative Extension professionals do not have the skills to use the information technologies, much less the knowledge to teach others how to use them. Indicated throughout these studies is the need for training of Extension professionals or other agriculture information professionals so the communication of information can occur in remote areas. These studies also imply that Extension professionals are not always retrieving the most current information available. The 1993-94 Montana study reveals information technology competencies identified as important and needed by the Extension professionals
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