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Owen County
continues to make progress in the world of technology.
The Community Leadership Team met Monday at the Owen County Public
Library to review how each of the teams has begun to put their
project ideas into effect.
Formed last summer, the Community Leadership Team has been meeting
every few months with ConnectKentucky to explore ways technology
can better serve Owen County.
During the early meetings, ideas were tossed around and eventually
the team was divided into three groups — Training and Awareness,
Online Government Communications and Web Sites for Local Organizations
— with each group focusing on a different way to bring technology
to Owen County.
The Training and Awareness group is designed to get the schools,
library and local businesses working together to improve technology
in Owen County, while educating those residents and businesses
unfamiliar with the Internet.
The Online Government Communications group is focusing on trying
to improve government services available online, while working
with private business broadband providers to find creative solutions
and funding options to enable the entire county to receive broadband.
The Web sites for Local Organizations group is trying to create
or improve Web sites for local businesses.
At Monday’s meeting, each group detailed its progress.
The Training and Awareness group has made the most strides in
moving ahead with realizing its technological goals.
At the last meeting in December, the library reported receiving
a $24,000 grant that would enable it to purchase better equipment
and be able to contract an instructor.
At Monday’s meeting, library spokesperson Cathy Matthews
said that the library has purchased and received its equipment
and began classes on March 6.
The classes, which are being taught by Naomi Cornette, the chief
information officer for the Owen County School District and director
of the Student Technology Leadership Program, are booked through
September.
Each block of classes is a series of three tutorials, held once
a week, teaching local residents basic computer skills or guiding
them through ways to use the Internet.
“A lot of people who didn’t grow up with computers
are afraid to use them,” said Matthews, who said the majority
of students are middle-aged to senior citizens.
With 12 students in each class, the student-to-teacher ratio is
small enough to allow inexperienced computer and Internet users
plenty of one-on-one time with the instructor.
Cornette is also teaching a Tuesday night adult education class
at the high school and on Thursday nights in April she plans to
work with a group of farmers.
The Online Government Communications group has had a harder time
making progress.
“It has been extremely slow,” said County Judge-Executive
Billy O’Banion, pointing to a lack of time and manpower
to fully develop a functional Web site.
The Web site is still in the test stages, but O’Banion said
his hope is that with training and the possibility of receiving
help from a high school student or another party, the Web site
can be up and running by the summer.
Right now, a template has been created, but it’s lacking
the necessary content to be put into full use.
The Web Sites for Local Businesses group is still trying to work
out a functional way to accomplish its goals.
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