THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, February 27, 1995 TAG: 9502250051
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: THE GATEWAY
EXPLORING THE COMPUTER WORLD
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
IF LARRY Whitworth has his way, Internet 101 will be just like Math 101 or English 101 - a must for students before graduation.
``If you're going to be a serious student, you need to be able to gather information,'' said Whitworth, president of Tidewater Community College. ``Today, the way you do a complete search is, you get on the Internet.''
Whitworth plans to ask TCC's faculty to approve an Internet 101 requirement for students this year and start enforcing it in 1996.
But even without requirements, many local colleges have begun classes in the last year to help students and business people navigate the Internet.
In the fall, TCC offered 70 one-day seminars to a total of 800 people, and the college expects to equal that this semester. Old Dominion and Christopher Newport universities also began courses last semester.
``This is the wave of the future,'' said Peter Shaw, director of continuing education at TCC. ``You've got two choices: You either ride it or drown.''
Local instructors say the courses have attracted everyone from college-age students to gray-haired professionals, technophobes to computer geeks. ``We've had people who've literally never turned on a computer to the other extreme - a person who owns a company that does programming,'' said Steve Goad, TCC's assistant director for continuing education.
TCC offers a range of non-credit three-hour classes, which generally cost between $35 and $65. ``To learn how to get on the Internet does not require an entire semester,'' Shaw said.
At the lowest level is ``Discovering the Internet,'' designed to introduce novices to basic functions like electronic mail. The courses go up to advanced labs, where students get hands-on help learning to execute ``gopher'' hunts and track down ``news groups.''
Many classes key students in on interesting sites, such as www.spb.su, which lands you in St. Petersburg, Russia, where you can, for instance, read Russian newspapers in translation.
TCC also offers ``Net Business,'' telling business people how to send documents and graphics by email and where to locate government regulations, and it plans to add a few variations next month. ``Internet for Educators'' could help a history teacher call up a database on the Civil War, Goad said.
Old Dominion takes a more academic approach, offering a three-credit, full-length course. For an in-state resident, it costs $388. ``It's not just, `Press button A, and this is how it works,' '' said the instructor, Dennis Ray, a lecturer in computer science at ODU.
In addition to teaching the how-tos, the course offers an overview of the history of the network and the underlying technology, even down to the wire connections. ``We tell you the difference between a T-1 line and a T-3 line,'' Ray said.
Norfolk State doesn't have courses, but provides informal workshops in the computer lab to interested students, Vice President Jesse Lewis said. Virginia Wesleyan College offered its first course during the two-week January term, and Thomas Nelson Community College plans to offer its first three-hour class on Feb. 21.
``This is a reality; it's not mumbo-jumbo high-tech stuff,'' Ray said. ``It's really down to earth. I think everybody can be involved.''
Rita Woods found out she could be, too. Woods - vice president of operations of Textile Marketing Group, a fashion consultant in downtown Norfolk - has taken three TCC courses in the last two months.
She started a bit intimidated, but now ``I feel completely comfortable using it for business and personal use.'' At home, she corresponds by email with friends and family across the country and overseas, saving money in long-distance bills.
At work, by subscribing to a newsgroup, she has found a new factory in Bangladesh that is considering making clothes designed by some of the firm's clients. ``That could incredibly increase our capability,'' she said. ``. . . We are always looking to find new means to be able to expand our business.
``The Internet is providing us a way to do that.'' MEMO: For more information on Internet classes, contact Steve Goad at TCC
(683-8550 or sgoad(AT)infi.net), Dennis Ray at ODU (683-3653 or
ray(AT)cs.odu.edu), Sue Jones at Christopher Newport (594-7158 or
gyoung(AT)pcs.cnu.edu) or the Center for Business and Community Services
at Thomas Nelson (825-2935 or 2936).
If you have any ideas or comments for The Gateway, contact Tom Boyer
at boyer(AT)infinet or call 446-2362.
In Hampton Roads, computer users can explore the Internet through the
Pilot Online. The best of the Gateway columns are available on the
Computer Page of the Pilot Online. See page A2 for details.
by CNB