Head
December 1993
growth of a telematic meta-network known as "The Internet." Nevertheless, the actual magnitude of the indicators depends on
what are we referring to as "Growth."
Historically, the first telematic networks were set in place by selected groups of experts, basically coming from the computer sciences. At those times, the Computer Industry contributed heavily in financing the key element that made those networks to grow: the computers. It is not surprising that the criterion used then to measure the degree of growth of any particular network was the number and capacity of linked computers (or "nodes"). The community served was closely related to computer centers, we could therefore presume that it was not so difficult to count the number of users per node.
Later on, another sector became eagerly interested in promoting the expansion of the telematic services to be provided: the Communication Industry. It became fashionable to talk about "connectivity", even in a sense rather like an acquired Civil Right. Newer and more traffic-intensive services have been developed and more user communities have seen the potential of networking. The growth indicators became the number and capacity of links, and the degree of inter-networking as a result of the protocols adopted. The number and mix of actual users became progressively harder to figure out.
As the Information Industry comes in to play, there is a natural shift towards the user community as the focus of analysis. At this point in time we are presented with plenty of data compiled over the past, showing a clear-cut tendency to increase both the number of "nodes" and the number of users of The Internet. In fact the tendency is such that by the first quarter of the XXI Century the whole World population would be using the network..! The authors hold the opinion that a variety of barriers will render such forecasting highly unlikely. In order to develop a network, the setting in place of computers and links are necessary requirements to be met, but not sufficient!. We do think that the true development of any network is measured by the number (quantity) of active, effective and efficient (quality) users of Computer Mediated Communication, CMC. Fortunately, many technical barriers have been or are about to be solved. Even financial barriers seem to be creatively addressed with some success. Initially, a significant number of the pioneer users were already familiar with computer and communications specifics. Quite on the contrary, the overwhelming proportion of people to become users of The Internet are poorly, if at all, literate in these disciplines. Adding this to the increasing amount and diversity (complexity) of resources representing the potential benefit of the network, it seems pretty obvious that the main bottleneck for The Internet to: a) keep growing and b) for its user community to fully exploit its capabilities, is to provide the proper training to the newcomers and indeed to improve the degree of expertise displayed by many current users.
We have enriched the model by including a new group:
keep the net working, interact either individually or as organizational entities. Some of these actors are :
etc.)
In order to be comprehensive in our analysis we consider the following categories:
Based on type of use and perspective:
- user groups
Trainee Segment:
1. General presentation of Computer Mediated Communication,
CMC, as offered through The Internet
2. Detailed training on basic services, mailing lists and>
Bulletin Board Services
3. Detailed training in on interactive information delivery
systems (Gopher, World Wide Web, Alex), directory services
(WHOIS, Netfind, X.500) and indexing services (Archie, WAIS,
VERONICA, on-line library catalogues)
4. Detailed training on the alternatives to provide information
through The Internet
That leads us to the following final matrix:
[N/A] = Not applicable
[+] = Pertinent to information providers
[++] = Pertinent to User Groups, Joint Network Management, etc.
It is important to state that we are addressing the problem of
empowering end users of The Internet through training. This alone
is by no means enough. A lot of effort needs to be applied to
make some actors sensitive to these themes, in order to ask for
their adequate participation to the growth of the network. Some
of these efforts include:
First of all there should be a kind of "core curriculum" which is
aimed at providing a general but sound understanding of the
characteristics of the Computer Mediated Communication, CMC in
general, and its actual realizations within The Internet in
particular. The following is a list of topics to be addressed at
this Introductory level:
Next comes the detailed training on basic services provided by
the Internet. The following is a list of topics to be addressed
at this Basic Curriculum:
Next comes the detailed training on interactive information
delivery systems, directory services and indexing services
provided by The Internet. The following is a list of topics to be
mastered at this Advanced Curriculum:
Some specific curriculum is needed for training people to enable
them to provide information systems through The Internet. The
following is a list of topics to be reviewed at this Information
Provider Curriculum:
Some specific curriculum is also needed for training determined
people to enable them to get organized in order to run user
groups and information services related to The Internet. The
following is a list of topics to be addressed at this
Organizational curriculum:
in activities related to this field but from an organizational
entity.
At a very macro level it is fair to state that no matter the
training used an Internaut should be familiar with:
Almost every country has some kind of organization linked to The
Internet. This provides a unique opportunity to share experiences
and resources from each other.
An innovative and very promissing strategy would be to make that
as many proficient users as possible "adopt" one newcomer each,
in order to foster their training.
Numerous documents at different levels hace been written on many
of the topics listed above. Furthermore, many of those documents
are available on line. A critical mass of monographs are already
at hand to be used either as textbooks for formal courses or as
reference material for self training.
Progressively we have witnessed the introduction of distal
education techniques for introductory courses about and through
The Internet. Some effort should be done to evaluate the relative
success of those initiatives and to improve next releases.
It is not casual that the vast majority of people not initiated
or minimaly benefiting from the CMC as offered by The Internet is
not English speaking. Therefore if not for some other reasons a
massive effort is to be done in order to provide documentation
for training in the prevalent languages of the regions where
those people belong.
There is a widespread agreement on the promissing potential of
the so called "Nintendo Generation". For those luckly enough to
receive informal (or formal) training in computer based gadgets,
being them for fun or as tools for education, at an early age,
are prone to become Internauts without major traumas. For the
incorporation of them it seems to be just a matter of time. Quite
on the contrary is the case of adult people, already specialized
in technical or humanistics fuilds but who have missed the
interaction with the above mentioned devices. Not only they lack
that joyful experience but the do not have the attitude, the
time, or even the intelectual flexibility to embrace a totally
new environment.
It is not that easy for a socially differentiated adult to
develop a whole Neoculture as the telematic one. It is at all
possible but not necesarilly easy. Therefore some techniques
borrowed from andragogy (adult education) are imperatives.
Particular potential display some techologies such as multimedia
in order to develop self administered training with the
unequivocal advantage of reinforcing the key issues to be learned
and to do so at one's pace. It is invaluable the benefit of
simulating a telematic session but without being connected. Thus,
one can spend all the time needed in grasping the lessons,
without being penalized by connection or remote computer usage
charges.
Another resource to be applied is the mass media. The level of
professionalism achieved by this sector and its coverage makes it
specially suited for dissemination of information on these
topics. After all, we are talking about an audience which is the
size of the World population. No kidding..!
Despite the fact that several million people already use The
Internet, the vast majority remains marginated due to a variety
of barriers. Having setted in place a critical mass of nodes and
links, the current bottle neck for the true development of The
Internet can be pinpointed: training of end users.
The users conform an heterogeneus mix and therefore require
training which should be tailored to some extent. We present a
conceptual framework based on a segmental analysis of the
different users and propose several curricula to be addressed to
them.
We enphasize the importance of making people aware of the social,
political and economical impact of the so called "Telematic
Neoculture". Non current users should be informed and motivated
about these themas. Non proficient users should receive
complementary training.
New actors should get more and more involved with the harmnonic
development of The Internet: the information providers, the
politicians, the comercial and industrial sector, the mass media,
the International Organizations, among others.
Sharing of experiences and resources, widespread application of
distal education, adult educational techniques, multimedia and
simulated sessions are some of complementary actions proposed.
A promissing strategy is put forward: to make that as many
proficient users as possible "adopt" one newcomer each, in order
to foster their training.
The chalenge resides in the trainee target audience: the whole
World population.
5. Detailed trainning on how to get organized to run user
groups and information services related to The Internet
CMC Not Motivated Not
Illiterate motivated (potential proficient
(potential (potential user) (actual
user) user) user)
Introductory A1 B1 C1 D1
Basic Services N/A B2 C2 D2
Advanced N/A B3, N/A N/A D3
Services
Information N/A B4, N/A N/A D4, N/A,+
Offering
Organizational N/A N/A N/A D5, N/A,++
Skills
Given the variety mentioned in the previous section one sees
clearly that no one single informational content could be chosen
to provide end user training. If we limit ourselves to those used
to build the previous matrix, we have a framework to define the
segments and its corresponding curricula.
By definition this core curriculum should be applied to all four
trainee segments considered.
This basic curriculum should be applied to the potential user and
the actual but unskilled user. It should be also considered for
those potential users not motivated, providing that the examples
have to be carefully tailored based on the interests of the
group.
This advanced curriculum should be applied to the actual but
unskilled user. It should be also considered for those potential
users not motivated, providing that the examples been carefully
selected for the interests of the group.
This information provider curriculum should be applied to some
actual but unskilled user, and it could also be considered for
those potential users not motivated, providing that the examples
been carefully selected for the interests of the group.
This organizational curriculum should be applied to those engaged
As can be seen from the previous sections, the skills needed to
fully participate in the growth of The Internet is wide and
diverse. Hence the training methods and techniques can not be
uniform.
It is important to tailor the curriculum to the objective needs
of the prospective user. It is so fascinating (but so extense)
the knowlwdge base related to The Internet that a real effort is
needed to avoid overwhelming the trainee. Also it is very easy to
bias the emphasis on its technical aspects on detriment of its
tremendous social, political and economical implications.
The CMC as offered by The Internet is one of the most oustanding
and promissing technologies to be applied to improve the quality
of life of mankind.
(Bibliographic references to be inserted)
End of Document