Learning Task #5: What Do Our Clients/Constituents Think? by Todd Mehrkens

Because my interest is in providing computer training, I decided to do two surveys of Extension clients to determine the need for the University of Minnesota Extension Service in Goodhue County to provide computer training.

The first survey (appendix A), was sent out to Community Education offices in Goodhue County to get their feedback regarding Extension's Master Internet Volunteer (MIV) program. I chose to send this survey to the Community Ed offices for two reasons. First of all, if we choose to implement the MIV program, we will need the cooperation of Community Ed for access to computer classrooms. Secondly, I made the assumption that Community Ed offices would be able to give me accurate feedback on community needs and demands for computer training.

There are five Community Ed offices and four of these responded, each with similar responses. The strongest need to emerge from the survey was a need for people to teach computer classes for Community Ed. Because the MIV program depends upon volunteers to make it work, I was also interested in whether or not they thought the program would be appealing enough to make it happen. Essentially, the volunteers receive their computer training and updates for free in exchange for their volunteering time back to the community. Here the responses from each Community Ed office were similar, but less strong. They felt that there would be interested volunteers, but that it would take significant effort to identify enough volunteers to make the program successful. In terms of being willing to cooperate and support the program, each Community Ed office showed strong interest and support of the program.

My analysis of the results would indicate that while there is a demand for computer training opportunities, the over-riding factor is time. While many people are interested in computers, they tend to have fairly high demands on their time and existing computer skills. It seems that large numbers of people are interested in taking computer classes, even if they have to pay for them. The offer of free training is not necessarily enticing enough for large numbers of people to give up their time for volunteering.

As a side note, our office has decided to go ahead with the MIV program. This will of course be the true test of demand for computer training and availability of willing volunteers.

For the second survey (appendix B), I decided to contact all Goodhue County 4-H members enrolled in the 4-H Computer project. I sent out 23 surveys and received 6 back. Proportionately, the younger kids responded more than the older kids.

All the kids responding indicated a sincere interest in computers and desire to learn more. All but one of the kids seem to be better than average computer users, indicating that they are already participating in significant learning opportunities. This learning appears to be happening at school and on their own time. Based on this, I find it quite encouraging that these kids indicated that they are seeking additional learning.

In the survey, I listed several options for learning about computers. They all checked several of the options. Again this indicated to me a sincere interest in learning more about computers. The option that was chosen the most was "Learn about building web pages, and then work on the Goodhue County 4-H web page". This was great to find out, as one of my goals has been to establish a county 4-H web page, with lots of input from 4-H members. Not only will this be an excellent and relevant learning opportunity, the result will be an asset for the entire 4-H program. The next two most popular options were to receive information and learning opportunities via e-mail, the web and the old-fashioned postal service.

One thing that kind of surprised me was that when I asked why they felt it was important to learn about computers, many kids answered with career considerations. As I mentioned earlier, these were younger kids (fourth - ninth grades), and it was encouraging to see that they were concerned about their futures, and not just playing computer games.

In conclusion, I am convinced that there is a need for the Extension Office to offer some sort of 4-H computer learning opportunities and that there are good ways to do so. The challenge, once again, is having the time and resources to do something new. My hope is that we will be able to somehow connect 4-H members with the MIV program. In addition, I am part of an E-Summit team that will be specifically looking at ways to encourage computer and technology use in 4-H. A relatively new emphasis of the Center for 4-H Youth Development has been to incorporate the use of computers into all 4-H projects, which I think will be a good model to follow.

These two surveys of Goodhue County people have indicated to me a real need for computer training. As we capitalize on these opportunities, and work to meet these needs, my goal through this M.Ed. program is to learn how to become effective and efficient as we offer computer training opportunities.

Appendix A: Interest Survey: Community Education Office: Contact Person: Phone:

The Master Internet Volunteer (MIV) program is an educational program designed to train volunteers to help other people in their communities with the Internet. Do you believe that there is a need in your community for volunteers who can help others with the Internet?

___ Very little or no need - most people in this community who have an interest or need to utilize the internet have the knowledge they need, or currently have no problem acquiring that knowledge through existing sources. ___ Some need - there are likely some people in this community who would have an interest and would benefit from this program, but it will take some effort to identify these people and motivate them to follow through and utilize the MIV program. ___ Much need - there would be a significant demand for the services and educational opportunities provided by the MIV program. ___ Additional comments:

In return for specialized training, Master Internet Volunteers are asked to volunteer time in their community. Examples of volunteer activities are listed below. Please rank each item as to the level of need in your community. (1= great need, 5= little need; you can leave the item blank if unsure.)

___ Staffing public access Internet computers at University of Minnesota Extension Service offices, libraries and other locations ___ Developing web pages for community organizations ___ Giving demonstrations or presentations for the public (resource speaker for groups or clubs) ___ Writing articles for local newspapers ___ Teaching community education classes ___ Working with youth, seniors, or special interest groups to help them use the Internet. ___ Other

The University of Minnesota Extension Service provides training to interested volunteers, which then become the foundation of the program. Qualifications to volunteer for the MIV program include: a strong interest in learning about the Internet and sharing the knowledge with people in your community being able to attend about 10 weekly classroom training sessions and devote a minimum of 30 hours of volunteer time within one year access to the Internet, either at home, work, or at a public access site a working knowledge of Windows ability to pay a one time course fee of $60 for materials and resources

What is the availability of interested and qualified volunteers in your community? ___ High availability - it should be no problem to find five to ten volunteers that would be interested in the MIV program ___ Some availability - there could be up to five interested volunteers that would respond to general publicity ___ Low availability - it would probably take some personal phone calling to locate one or two people that might be interested ___ Additional comments:

The University of Minnesota Extension Service would be responsible for providing 10 weekly training session for the volunteers. Along with classroom training, MIV volunteers have access to online curriculum and resources that are kept up to date as the Internet changes. The curriculum and resources can be used as reference materials during classroom training and as support for volunteer activities. Topics covered include: Introduction to the Internet E-mail World Wide Web Searching the Internet Advanced Applications of the Web Developing Web Pages Helping Others Learn

In order to best facilitate learning, the MIV course is designed as a hands-on experience. This would mean that we would need access to computer labs around the county. (Although no plans are made at this time, if the program is started, the first training classes for the volunteers would likely be scheduled for this fall/winter.) Would your Community Education office be willing and able to help us arrange for computer classrooms? Would there be any cost? Any other considerations? Any additional comments?

Appendix B: 4-H Computer Interest Survey Name Phone Grade Years in the 4-H Computer project Place a check mark next to each item below that applies to you. You can check more that one, or even put more then one check mark by an item you really feel strongly about:

___ I like working with computers ___ I like the software part of working with computers ___ I like the hardware part of working with computers ___ I would like to learn more about computers ___ I learn best about computers through books ___ I learn best about computers from teachers at school ___ I learn best about computers by experimenting on my own ___ I learn best from a "computer expert" that I know ___ I have access to a computer at home ___ I have access to the internet at home ___ I have access to a computer someplace besides home and school ___ I have access to the internet someplace besides home and school ___ I would like to have more access to a computer than I currently have ___ I would like to have more time available to spend on a computer ___ I consider myself to be a beginner on a computer ___ I consider myself to be an average computer user ___ I consider myself to be an very good computer user

The biggest computer challenge I face is:

Is there a need for 4-H computer project learning opportunities? ___ Very little or no need - I am satisfied with the computer knowledge I currently have and have little or no problem acquiring additional knowledge through other existing sources. ___ Some need - I would be interested in and/or benefit from computer educational opportunities offered through 4-H, but due to an already busy schedule or other factors, I would probably have a hard time being involved. ___ Much need - I am very interested in learning more about computers through 4-H and would probably be an active participant in activities offered. ___ Additional comments:

Listed below are various computer learning opportunities. Please indicate the level of interest you have in each one.

1= A LOT of interest, 5= little or no interest.

___ Becoming a better user of a specific piece of software - suggestions: ___ Working on a project for the county fair ___ How to use the internet to efficiently find what you I am looking for ___ Exploring fun and interesting places on the web for kids ___ Web page building skills ___ Design and/or work with computer graphics ___ Computer hardware - taking a computer apart and working on the inside ___ Learning how to teach computers to others ___ Advanced computer concepts like networking, programming, etc. ___ Other

The following is a list of possible ways to learn more about computers through 4-H. Place a checkmark next to all the ways that would be interested you: ___ Tour a computer business or the computer department of a big company that uses a lot of computers ___ Have 4-H computer meetings or classes (held once a month or so) ___ Have a summer day-camp just for computer stuff ___ Learn about building web pages, and then work on the Goodhue County 4-H web page ___ Receive regular mailings about computer learning opportunities, web resources, fun stuff, etc. ___ Receive e-mailings about computer learning opportunities, web resources, fun stuff, etc. ___ Take part in a web-based computer learning opportunity ___ Other

As I look to my future, I think knowing about computers will be important to me because:

As I look to my future, I think I will need these computer skills:

As I look to my future, I think I will learn more about computers by:

-- Anonymous, September 27, 1999