Posts Tagged ‘web2.0’

ReImagining the CCC: Could it train rural residents?

December 8th, 2009

David Becker at the Friend of the Farmer blog recently issued a call for a “reimagined” Civilian Conservation Corp that focuses on helping farmers learn how to use technology.  His idea essentially calls for unemployed college grads to assist farmers in acquiring the technology skills necessary for the 21st Century.  He explains:

The Rural Electrification Act of the 1930s brought power to rural areas. Today’s farmers, especially small farmers, need similar help not only tapping into the fire hose of information and opportunities available to them, but getting connected to guidance on maximizing its usefulness. Imagine the options: real-time access to weather and crop reports, databases of local and national agricultural extension programs, ordering parts and supplies, acquiring new skills through distance learning, even building an online marketing presence using low bandwidth social media tools.”

I think the idea makes a lot of sense. Just two weeks ago over the Thanksgiving weekend, I heard my father-in-law (a 73-year-old farmer) lament his lack of computer skills.  Becker’s idea would address just that need. I would, however, recommend that Becker’s concept be expanded to include training for all rural businesses and people– not just farmers. 

At the Rural Learning Center, we’ve been noodling around the idea of how we can develop some training activities for rural residents that helps individuals understand the marketing opportunities presented by Web 2.0 tools (like Facebook, blogging, and Flickr).  We firmly believe all rural communities and businesses could benefit from a basic understanding of social media marketing.  

There is, however, one question that training programs like the above must overcome to be successful:  How far do people with virtually no computer skills have to go before they are able to see real benefit from the training?

Take my father-in-law as an example.  He’s a successful farmer in production agriculture, but I’m pretty sure he’s never used e-mail, and I doubt he could effectively navigate the Internet to find information, including the local weather he is always interested in.   Are we biting off more than we can handle in trying to bring these skills to computer novices?

I doubt we will ever see the rebirth of a CCC program that focuses on technology training, at least not at the level it operated in the 1930s.  But that shouldn’t stop those of us with a passion for rural from developing programs that accomplish the goal of training rural residents to use technology.  After all, what’s the use of investing in broadband internet connections if we don’t also teach individuals how to use it in their businesses and daily lives? 

Photo Note: This statue, named “Work Call” is dedicated to the men of the Civilian Conservation Corps. I is located outside the Visitors Center in Hill City, SD, which also houses a CCC exhibit.

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