News and Press

Fort Valley State Extension provides west Georgia residents with computer training

by Russell Boone Jr.

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Residents of LaGrange, Georgia, show off new laptops after completing computer training co-sponsored by Fort Valley State Cooperative Extension.

A recent collaboration involving Fort Valley State University’s (FVSU) Cooperative Extension Program provided residents of LaGrange, Georgia with laptop computer training.

Through a partnership made possible with the First Baptist Church Fannin Street, the West Georgia Council for African American Women and FVSU’s West Georgia Alumni Chapter, arranged a four-day computer training program targeting residents age 60 years or older.

The training program was developed through FVSU Cooperative Extension using a curriculum provided by the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC).

For successfully completing the program, 15 participants received laptop computers donated by The Family Life Center Foundation from Hogansville, Georgia. Jimmy McCamey, Ph.D., the foundation’s chairman, is also an instructor in FVSU’s Social Sciences Department.

“The purpose of this training is for older adults to gain computer skills. This includes learning how to use e-mail, understanding hardware, software, website navigation, cybersecurity and how to use ZOOM,” said Yolanda McFerrin, Ed.D, technology curriculum specialist for FVSU’s Cooperative Extension Program.

Furthermore, McFerrin said that FVSU has conducted similar programs in various communities across Georgia for the past 18 months.

J.T. Thornton, a retired truck driver, said he enjoyed the program. He said that as an older person who is self-taught, he needed to improve his knowledge of computers.

“A person with limited computer skills should take advantage of the knowledge gained in this class,” Thornton said.

Additionally, Thornton said he now feels more comfortable using a computer. He said that by understanding and learning the computer’s capabilities, he can use more of its features.

J.T. Thornton (left) and his wife Diane Winfrey-Thornton (center), listen to instructions from FVSU Extension technology specialist Yolanda McFerrin, Ed.D.

Yvonne Pittman, a retired Bank of America employee, currently serves as an assistant for her daughter’s real estate business. She said she already knew how to work on a touch screen computer but was uncomfortable using a laptop’s toggle arrows on the keyboard.

“I learned how to use the arrows on the keyboard because I was familiar with using a touch screen on my laptop. Now I’m excited because I can use the arrows to navigate the screen, and I really enjoyed the class,” Pittman said.

Bessie Curry, a 1974 graduate of Fort Valley State College (early childhood education), is the president of the FVSU West Georgia Alumni Chapter, which includes LaGrange. She said she received her inspiration to help organize the training after seeing the Mobile Information Technology Center (MITC) and Mobile Health Unit (MHU) during a tour of the FVSU campus.

“There are some senior citizens who have never touched a keyboard. They have the knowledge but never had the experience to be able to connect with the technology world. We had to expose them to this, and we did,” Curry said.

The FVSU alumna further explained that McFerrin’s instructions on how to use the computers put the participants at ease and they are more than eager to put their newfound skills to work. She said after each day, the participants gained confidence using computers.

“Usually, when you get a computer, if you give someone something and they have no background of it, the first place they’re going to put it is in a closet or give it as a gift. They are working on the computers, holding them tightly and can’t wait to get home and start using them,” Curry said.

For more information about future Cooperative Extension computer trainings, contact McFerrin at (478) 825-6706 or (Yolanda.mcferrin@fvsu.edu).

 

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