Detailed Research Analysis - Internet Master Evaluation 1996-1999

Evaluation of the Internet Master Pilot Classes
1996-1998 and Programming Impact through 1999¹

The subject matter is new. The program delivery method has a history of more than 75 years of success.

Since the early 1900’s University Extension has had a history of success teaching early adopters and community innovators about farming practices and family living practices that would improve lives. In turn the early adopters and innovators tried the new methods and then turned around and taught their friends and neighbors about the new practices. Today the cutting edge subject matter is computer technology and the Internet.

The Internet Master concept was developed by a committee of Saline County citizens, Don Day, Maryann Redelfs and Cynthia Crawford, Central Missouri Regional Specialists with the enthusiastic support of Mark Stillwell, Central Missouri Regional Director. Saline County Division of Employment Security Director Linda Dryer started the project with a phone call to the Saline County Extension Center, "I’m not sure I’m calling the right place, however I’m concerned that the Information Superhighway isn’t going to have exit ramps in rural Missouri unless we are assertive in getting access to the information. What can Extension do to get people working and learning together?"

Patterned after the Master Gardener program, Internet Masters attend a minimum of 30 hours of instruction on the Internet and facilitating community education. Internet Masters receive in-depth instruction on Internet service providers, E-mail, searching the World Wide Web, downloading files, creating a web page, using browser programs, virus protection, evaluating information from the World Wide Web and tapping into individual teaching and learning strengths. Following classes, the Internet Masters are to do a minimum of 30 hours of volunteer community education about the Internet within a year of completing the program. For details about the Internet Master curriculum and programming management please visit the Internet Master Home Page at http://outreach.missouri.edu/imaster/.

The purpose of this evaluation is to examine the training approach, the impact of volunteer community education on program participants and the effectiveness of the Internet Master train-the-trainer model to address the lack of community adult education about Internet access and utilization. For data collection instruments and greater detail about the evaluation methodology please visit the Internet Master Evaluation Home Page at http://outreach.missouri.edu/saline/IMaster/.

University Extension is well suited and well positioned in Missouri to address the acute need for community adult education on how to access and utilize the Internet. The demand, though, exceeds Extension’s resources. Creative delivery methods utilizing trained community volunteers can be effective in rapidly expanding the base of those educated in how to access the Internet and how to conduct community informal education.

The purpose of this report is to present:

descriptive information collected from 1996 – 1999 on the pilot classes of the Missouri Internet Master programming conducted in 1996-1998,
the results of the data analyses, and
the impact of the programming on the Internet Masters and the dissemination of Internet education by the Internet Masters.

Descriptive information will be reported first, followed by findings about each of the research hypotheses and then impact data. The following sections are included: descriptive information, dependent variables, hypotheses testing, documented impacts and, finally, a summary.

Descriptive information

There were a total of 499 enrolled in 20 classes presented 1996 - 1998. Table 1 lists the counties where classes were organized, the time frame and the number enrolled in each class series.

Table 1

Location, Time Frame and Enrollment in Internet Masters Classes from 1996 – 1998

County	Time frame	Frequency
Saline	Spring 1996	22
Boone	Spring 1996	42
Pettis	Fall 1996	19
Saline	Fall 1996	33
Boone	Fall 1996	33
Cooper	Fall 1996	22
total for 1996			171

Audrain	Spring 1997	19
Cole	Spring 1997	29
Pettis	Spring 1997	20
Adair	Fall 1997	20
Camden	Fall 1997	29
Crawford	Fall 1997	19
Jefferson	Fall 1997	25
Nodaway	Fall 1997	24
Osage	Fall 1997	19
Pettis	Fall 1997	12
Marion	Fall 1997	39
total for 1997			255

Howard	late 1997-early 1998	18
Douglas	late 1997-early 1998	31
Phelps	Fall 1998	24
total for 1998			73

Total N for 1996 – 1998				499

Pie Chart 1 illustrates the University Outreach and Extension Regions in Missouri where classes were organized 1996 – 1998. The Central Missouri Region, where the Internet Master programming originated, had 12 series of classes presented during the pilot programming. The South Central Region organized 4 class series, while Northeast, North Central and East Central Regions organized one class each.

Pie Chart 1

Pilot Classes by University Outreach and Extension Region

Pie chart 2 presents the number of Internet Masters trained in each region during the 1996 – 1998 pilot classes. During the two year pilot programming, 288 Internet Masters were trained in the Central Missouri Region, 103 were trained in the South Central Region, 59 in the Northeast, 25 in the East Central and 24 in the Northwest Region.

Pie Chart 2

Internet Masters by University Outreach and Extension Regions

It is interesting to note the characteristics of the learners that were attracted to the pilot classes of the Internet Master program from 1996-1998 in Missouri. The descriptive information in this section will present demographic variables in Table 2.

Sixty-four percent of the enrollees were female while 36% were male. Nearly ninety-five percent of the enrollees were Caucasian while 5% were minorities. The age of participants ranged from five learners under age 20 to twenty-nine learners in their 70's. Almost 5% were age 29 and younger, 18.5% were in their 30's, 36.6% were in their 40's, 20.2% were in their 50's, 11.6% were in their 60's, and 8.6% were in their 70's.

As the programming progressed over the years, the percentage of Internet Masters having computer access at work and having computer access at home increased. Overall, more than 78% had work access and over 90% had computer access at home. During the spring of 1996 we had a few class members that did not have access to a computer or the Internet. In subsequent classes, Internet access was a requirement for enrolling. The need for public Internet access cannot be overemphasized.

The highest grade-level completed also varied among participants. Three learners were currently enrolled in high school when they were enrolled in the Internet Master classes. Forty-five percent of the learners had a high school diploma or equivalency, 29.2% had a graduate degree.

The year a home computer was first purchased was a measure of timing of technology adoption. During the pilot programming early adopters were those primarily attracted to the training. Forty percent of the Internet Masters had a computer in their home prior to 1990. Nearly 70% had computers in their home before 1995.

Internet Masters are highly motivated to learn about the Internet. Similar to the "Lake Woebegone effect" nearly all our learners considered themselves as average or above in their motivation to learn about the Internet (91%).

Table 2

Descriptive Information about Internet Masters Trained 1996-1998

Variable	total	total percent	1996	1996 percent	1997	1997 percent	1998	1998 percent
Gender
Female	209	63.5	88	61.5	99	63.1	22	75.9
Male	120	36.5	55	38.5	58	36.9	7	24.1

Race
African American	10	3.0	5	3.5	5	3.2	0	0.0
Asian/Pacific Islander	5	1.5	2	1.4	3	1.9	0	0.0
Caucasian/White	312	94.8	134	94.4	149	94.3	29	100.0
Hispanic	2	0.6	1	0.7	1	0.6	0	0.0

Age
Under age 25	5	1.5	1	0.9	3	1.7	1	2.2
Age 20-29	10	3.0	4	3.5	6	3.4	0	0.0
Age 30-39	62	18.5	25	21.7	32	18.3	5	10.9
Age 40-49	123	36.6	40	34.8	62	35.4	21	45.7
Age 50-59	68	20.2	19	16.5	38	21.7	11	23.9
Age 60-60	39	11.6	17	14.8	17	9.7	5	10.9
Age 70-79	29	8.6	9	7.8	17	9.7	3	6.5
Age 80 or more	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0

Computer access
Work	261	78.1	82	70.1	146	80.7	33	91.5
Home	240	90.2	101	86.3	106	91.4	33	100.0

Highest education completed
High school or less	85	25.8	38	27.0	37	23.3	10	34.5
Undergraduate degree	148	45.0	63	44.7	72	45.3	13	44.8
Graduate degree	96	29.2	40	28.3	50	31.4	6	20.7

Year home computer first purchased
1975-79	7	3.4	2	0.2	5	5.2	0	0.0
1980-84	25	12.3	11	12.5	11	11.3	3	15.0
1985-89	52	25.5	23	26.4	26	26.8	3	15.0
1990-1994	57	27.9	30	34.3	24	24.7	3	15.0
1995-present	63	30.9	21	24.1	31	32.0	11	55.0


Self rating of motivation to learn about the Internet compared to Internet Master classmates
Lowest level of motivation	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0
One of the least interested	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0
Mildly curious & motivated	16	6.3	9	7.8	6	5.5	1	3.6
About average in my class	120	47.4	51	44.3	56	50.9	13	46.4
More than most	48	19.0	23	20.0	16	14.5	9	32.1
One of the most motivated	27	10.7	12	10.4	14	12.7	1	3.6
Insatiable appetite to learn	42	16.6	20	17.4	18	16.4	4	14.3

Table 3 presents learning characteristic variables. These include dominant learning quadrant, watching/doing scale, and attitude toward school.

The Learning Type Measure (LTM) classifies learners in four quadrants. The dominant quadrant for each learner was indicated by the quadrant with the largest score on the LTM instrument.

Table 3

Learning Characteristics Variables

Variable	Frequency for all IM - 1996-1998	% 1996-1998	Frequency for 1996 IM	% for 1996 IM	Frequency for 1997 IM	% for 1997 IM	Frequency for 1998 IM	% for 1998 IM
Dominant quadrant from the Learning Type Measure
Quadrant 1 - imaginative learners	102	25.7	45	30.0	41	20.8	16	32.0
Quadrant 2 - analytical learners	53	13.4	19	12.7	30	15.2	4	8.0
Quadrant 3 - common sense learners	157	39.5	53	35.3	82	41.6	22	44.0
Quadrant 4 - dynamic learners	85	21.4	33	22.0	44	22.3	8	16.0

Watching/Doing scale
Watching learners	122	32.4	47	31.3	55	31.1	20	40.0
Balanced learners	132	35.0	49	32.7	63	35.6	20	40.0
Doing learners	123	32.6	54	36.0	59	33.3	10	20.0

Attitude toward school
Enjoyed it	301	92.6	127	91.4	147	93.6	27	93.1
Did not enjoy it	24	7.4	12	8.6	10	6.4	2	6.9

Hypothesis testing

Three null hypotheses were tested. Hypothesis Ho1 was stated: There is no statistically significant difference in the scores of knowledge and use of the Internet and facilitating community education from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10 and from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education. The hypothesis was tested at the .05 level of significance using a general linear model for repeated measures.

Table 4 provides the results of a repeated measures analysis of variance for knowledge and use of the Internet between the beginning of class 1 and the conclusion of class 10. The repeated measure analysis yielded an F value of 9266.06 (df=1; p=.0001). There was a statistically significant difference in learner’s knowledge and use of the Internet from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10.

Table 4

Repeated measures analysis of variance for knowledge and use of the Internet from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10

Source	Sum of squares	df	F value	Prob>F
Use and knowledge: Class 1 to Class 10	1307338	1	9266.06	.0001
Error	58551.91	415

Table 5 provides the results of a repeated measures analysis of variance for knowledge and use of the Internet between the conclusion of class 10 and the conclusion of volunteer community education. The repeated measure analysis yielded an F value of 2706.70 (df=1; p=.0001). There was a statistically significant difference in learner’s knowledge and use of the Internet from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education.

Table 5

Repeated measures analysis of variance for knowledge and use of the Internet from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education

Source	Sum of squares	df	F value	Prob>F
Use and knowledge: Class 10 to conclusion of volunteer community education	312626.1	1	2706.70	.0001
Error	8085.064	70

Table 6 provides the results of a repeated measures analysis of variance for facilitating community education from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10. The repeated measure analysis yielded an F value of 5155.35 (df=1; p=.0001). There was a statistically significant difference in facilitating community education from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10.

Table 6

Repeated measures analysis of variance for facilitating community education from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10

Source	Sum of squares	df	F value	Prob>F
Facilitating education: Class 1 to Class 10	239506.4	1	5155.35	.0001
Error	18443.75	397

Table 7 provides the results of a repeated measures analysis of variance for facilitating community education between the conclusion of class 10 and the conclusion of volunteer community education. The repeated measure analysis yielded an F value of 803.66 (df=1; p=.0001). There was a statistically significant difference in facilitating community education between the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education.

Table 7

Repeated measures analysis of variance for facilitating community education from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education

Source	Sum of squares	df	F value	Prob>F
Facilitating education: Class 10 to conclusion of volunteer community education	61674.31	1	803.66	.0001
Error	5371.898	70

Ho2 is stated as follows: There is not a statistically significant difference at the .05 level between Learning Type measures and Watching/Doing measures and an increase in knowledge and use of the Internet from class 1 to the conclusion of class 10, an increase in knowledge and use of the Internet from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of facilitating volunteer community education, an increase in facilitating community education from class 1 to the conclusion of class 10, and an increase in facilitating community education from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of facilitating volunteer community education.

The hypothesis was tested at the .05 level of significance using an analysis of variance for repeated measures in Table 8. The ANOVA to test the significant difference between knowledge and use of the Internet from class 1 to class 10 by learning style yielded an estimated F value of .34 and a p = .34. The ANOVA to test whether there was a significant difference between knowledge and use of the Internet from class 1 to class 10 by watching/doing scores yielded an estimated F value of 2.46 and a p = .09. The analysis indicated that this aspect of the null hypothesis would fail to be rejected.

Table 8

Analysis of Variance for Learning Type Measure and the Watching/Doing Measure with Knowledge and Use of the Internet from Class 1 to Class 10

Source	df	SS	MS	F	P>F
Learning Type	3	2.27	.76	.02	.99
Watching/Doing	2	17.39	78.70	2.46	.09
Learning Type* Watching/Doing	6	52.26	8.71	.27	.95
Error	314	10053.07	32.02
Total	325

The ANOVA to test the significant difference between knowledge and use of the Internet from class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education by learning style yielded an estimated F value of 1.66 and a p = .17.

Table 9 presents the ANOVA to test whether there was a significant difference between knowledge and use of the Internet from class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education by watching/doing scores yielded an estimated F value of .62 and a p = .54. The analysis indicated that this aspect of the null hypothesis would fail to be rejected.

Table 9

Analysis of Variance for Learning Type Measure and the Watching/Doing Measure with Knowledge and Use of the Internet from Class 10 to the conclusion of Volunteer Community Education

Source	df	SS	MS	F	P>F
Learning Type	3	89.92	29.97	1.66	.17
Watching/Doing	2	22.51	11.25	.62	.54
Learning Type* Watching/Doing	6	67.59	11.27	.62	.71
Error	57	1029.69	18.66
Total	68

The ANOVA to test the significant difference between facilitating community education from class 1 to class 10 by learning style (Table 10) yielded an estimated F value of 1.19 and a p = .31. The ANOVA to test whether there was a significant difference between facilitating community education from class 1 to class 10 by watching/doing scores yielded an estimated F value of 1.59 and a p = .21. The analysis indicated that this aspect of the null hypothesis would fail to be rejected.

Table 10

Analysis of Variance for Learning Type Measure and the Watching/Doing Measure with Facilitating Community Education from Class 1 to Class 10

Source	df	SS	MS	F	P>F
Learning Type	3	66.62	22.21	1.19	.31
Watching/Doing	2	59.29	29.65	1.59	.21
Learning Type* Watching/Doing	6	122.50	20.42	1.10	.37
Error	299	5574.51	18.64
Total	310

The ANOVA to test the significant difference between facilitating community education from class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education by learning style yielded an estimated F value of .16 and a p = .07 as presented in Table 11. The ANOVA to test whether there was a significant difference between facilitating community education from class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education by watching/doing scores yielded an estimated F value of .03 and a p = .054. The analysis indicated that this aspect of the null hypothesis would fail to be rejected.

Table 11

Analysis of Variance for Learning Type Measure and the Watching/Doing Measure with Facilitating Community Education from Class 10 to the Conclusion of Volunteer Community Education

Source	df	SS	MS	F	P>F
Learning Type	3	20.49	6.83	.16	.07
Watching/Doing	2	2.47	1.24	.03	.054
Learning Type* Watching/Doing	6	114.23	19.04	.45	.17
Error	57	2409.68	42.28
Total	68

Documenting Long Term Impact

Long-term impact of the programming will be measured at the behavior change and consequences to society levels of evaluation. It is the "doing" that counts.

Explicit in the learning contract between the Internet Masters and programming organizers was the agreement to do 30 hours of volunteer Internet community education. Table 12 reports on volunteer hours and number of youth and adults trained in Missouri. Of the 499 Internet Masters trained, 130 reported doing volunteer community Internet education. Nearly seven thousand hours of volunteer community education were documented. The study was able to document that more than 13,000 Missouri citizens were reached by 130 Internet Masters from 1996 – 1999. The study documented that twenty-four percent of the Internet Masters met the standard of 30 or more hours of volunteer community education with several Internet Masters doing more than 100 hours each of volunteer community education.

It is a concern however that 76% of those trained in the Internet Master program did not report doing 30 hours or more of volunteer community education. Two percent, 12 Internet Masters, reported volunteer hours of between 3 and 29 hours. Seventy-four percent of the Internet Masters did not return the final evaluation or report any volunteer community Internet education hours.

Table 12 Volunteer Community Education


	1996	1997-1998	Total 1996-1999
Number enrolled	171	328	499
# Reporting volunteer hours	66 (39%)	64 (20%)	130 (26%)
# Meeting standard of 30 hours	62 (36%)	56 (17%)	118 (24%)

Total hours reported	2,819.75	4,138.5	6,958.25
Mean hours reported	42.72	63.67
Median hours reported	34.5	40

Number of adults reached	5,592	2,872	8,464
Number of youth reached	3,045	1,791	4,836
Total number reached by IM's	8,637	4,663	13,300

Mean number of adults taught	87.38	47.87
Median # of adults taught	43	25

Mean number of youth taught	112.78	35.12
Median # of youth taught	50	8

In a measure of long term behavior change, 1997 and 1998 Internet Masters were surveyed to assess long-term behavior changes precipitated from their participation in the Internet Master programming. The data is reported in Table 13.

Of the 79 Internet Masters responding to the evaluation, all but one (99%) reported that they can generally do successful searches for information on the Internet. A critical skill is successful access to information. Of those responding, 75% or more indicated that they share their knowledge of navigating the Internet with others, use e-mail more for communications, bookmark favorite web sites, evaluate the quality of information from the Internet carefully, download software, actively use virus protection and use e-mail more for professional communications.

Internet Masters are beginning to use the Internet for e-commerce. Two-thirds are careful to only give a credit card number over a secured connection and 57% are purchasing items over the Internet.

Forty-three percent report that they have created or helped maintain a web page.

Table 13

Long term behavior changes reported by 1997 and 1998 IM's

As a result of my participation in the Internet Master Program, I…
	Percent
Generally can do successful searches for information I want.	99%
Share my knowledge of navigating the Internet with others.	97%
Use e-mail more to communicate with family and friends	95%
Bookmark favorite web sites.	94%
Evaluate the quality of information carefully that I get from the web.	85%
Have downloaded software or software updates.	84%
Actively use virus protection.	82%
Use e-mail more for professional communication.	77%
Only give my credit card number over secured connections.	66%
Purchase items through e-commerce.	57%
Have created or helped maintain a web page.	43%

When Internet Masters were asked at the conclusion of class ten to report their weekly hours utilizing E-mail and the WWW before, during, and projected use after Internet Master classes, the measures indicated a dramatic increase in E-mail and WWW usage when those reporting compared use prior to the beginning of classes with use during class time. Table 14 presents the percentages in each usage category.

Learners projected that their use would continue at the higher level after classes concluded. For all Internet Masters reporting, they reported mean hours of use of the Internet at 5.8 hours and the median value for hours of Internet use was 2.9 prior to attending Internet Master classes. While attending class, those reporting nearly doubled their mean hours of use per week to 11.4. hours. The median number of hours of use per week tripled to 9.4 hours per week. Internet Masters projected that they would continue the same higher levels of Internet use after classes concluded, with a median number of hours of use per week of 8.9 hours and a mean value of 11.7 hours per week of access.

This is an indication that the curriculum empowered the Internet Masters to be successful in utilizing the Internet. A principle of successful adult education is that the adult learner immediately finds application for the concepts being presented. This was documented in the evaluation study.

They were taught life skills that they continue to utilize at a much higher rate because of their participation in the Internet Master programming. There is a long-term application of the knowledge and skills, as well.

Table 14

Weekly Hours Utilizing E-mail and WWW

	All Internet Masters 1996-1998			1996 Internet Masters				1997 Internet Masters		1998 Internet Masters
Hours weekly	Before IM classes	During IM classes	After IM classes end	Before IM	During IM	After IM	Before IM	During IM	After IM	Before IM	During IM	After IM
0 hours	19.9%	2.1%	0.7%	28.4%	0.8%	0.9%	14.5%	0.7%	0.7%	13.9%	12.1%	0.0%
.5 - 4.5	41.7%	19.0%	27.7%	37.1%	16.4%	26.3%	45.5%	22.1%	28.7%	41.7%	15.2%	28.1%
5 - 9.5	17.8%	28.0%	22.5%	15.5%	28.4%	18.4%	19.3%	30.0%	27.3%	19.4%	18.2%	15.6%
10 - 14.5	10.1%	24.9%	20.4%	11.2%	29.3%	27.2%	11.7%	23.6%	15.4%	0.0%	15.2%	18.8%
15 - 19.5	5.1%	9.3%	14.5%	3.4%	9.5%	14.9%	4.8%	8.6%	13.3%	11.1%	12.1%	18.8%
20 - 24.5	2.7%	9.0%	6.9%	0.8%	9.5%	4.4%	2.8%	8.6%	8.4%	8.3%	9.1%	9.4%
25 - 29.5	0.7%	2.8%	2.4%	0.8%	2.6%	2.6%	0.7%	1.4%	2.8%	0.0%	9.1%	0.0%
30 - 34.5	0.7%	1.4%	1.0%	0.0%	0.8%	0.9%	0.7%	2.1%	0.7%	2.8%	0.0%	3.1%
35 - 39.5	0.3%	0.7%	0.7%	0.8%	0.0%	0.9%	0.0%	1.4%	0.7%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
40 or more	1.0%	2.8%	3.1%	1.7%	2.6%	3.5%	0.0%	1.4%	2.1%	2.8%	9.1%	6.3%

Mean hrs/week	5.8	11.4	11.7	5.4	11.9	11.9	5.4	10.3	11.2	8.4	14.9	13.6
Median hrs/week	2.9	9.4	8.9	2.0	10.0	10.0	3.0	8.5	8.0	4.0	12.0	10.0

This evaluation study documents that doing the volunteer community education was important to the educational process of the Internet Master. The hypothesis testing indicates that following the conclusion of class and during the time of the volunteer community education there was a second statistically significant increase in knowledge and use of the Internet and confidence in facilitating volunteer community education. The idea that a person will really internalize and more fully learn material if he/she is positioned to reteach the information has been documented by this study. Data from the 1996 classes was used for this analysis.

Table 15 reports the analysis of variance for volunteer success and the knowledge and use repeated measure from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10. The analysis yielded an estimated F value of 1/28 and a p=.28. There was not a statistically significant difference between knowledge and use between the beginning of class 1 and the conclusion of class 10 and volunteer success.

Table 15

Analysis of Variance for Success and Knowledge and Use of the Internet from Class 1 to Class 10

Source	df	SS	MS	F	P>F
Volunteer Success	2	312.15	156.07	1.28	.28
Error	89	10861.51	122.04

Table 17 reports the analysis of variance for volunteer success and the knowledge and use of the Internet repeated measure from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education. The analysis yielded an estimated F value of 3.12 and a p = .05. There was a statistically significant difference between volunteer success and repeated measures of knowledge and use of the Internet from the conclusion of class 10 and the conclusion of volunteer community education. The three levels of the success variable were: did not meet standard of 30 hours of volunteer community education (0 to 29.5 hours of volunteer community education), met standard (30-34.5 hours of volunteer community education), and exceeded the standard (35+ hours of volunteer community education). Group means for volunteer success and repeated measures are presented in Table 16.

Table 16

Group Means for Volunteer Success and Repeated Measures

Variable	Beginning of Class 1	Conclusion of Class 10	Conclusion of volunteer community education
Knowledge and use:
did not meet standard	24.55	44.21	42.40
met standard	25.50	44.28	47.22
exceeded standard	27.89	46.95	49.40
Facilitating community education:
did not meet standard	14.67	18.61	16.00
met standard	14.84	19.82	21.78
exceeded standard	15.39	19.75	22.05

Post hoc analysis indicated that there was not a statistically significant difference in knowledge and use of the Internet and success at the conclusion of class ten. As Table 17 indicates, there was a statistically significant difference at the conclusion of volunteer community education between those that did not meet the standard and those that exceeded the standard of volunteer community education hours (p = .024).

Table 17

Analysis of Variance for Volunteer Success and Knowledge and Use of the Internet from Class 10 to Conclusion of Volunteer Community Education

Source	df	SS	MS	F	P>F
Volunteer Success	2	671.79	335.90	3.12	.024
Error	62	6684.94	107.82

Table 18 reports the analysis of variance for volunteer success and facilitating community education repeated measure from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10. The analysis yielded an estimated F value of .54 and a p = .58. There was not a statistically significant difference between volunteer success and facilitating community education from the beginning of class to the conclusion of class 10.

Table 18

Analysis of Variance for Volunteer Success and Facilitating Community Education from Class 1 to Class 10

Source	df	SS	MS	F	P>F
Volunteer Success	2	49.73	24.86	.54	.58
Error	89	4078.36	45.82

Table 19 reports the analysis of variance for volunteer success and facilitating community education repeated measures from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education. The analysis yielded an estimated F value of 4.78 and a p = .01. There was a statistically significant difference between volunteer success and facilitating community education from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education.

Post hoc analysis indicated there was not a statistically significant difference in facilitating community education and success at the conclusion of class ten. At the conclusion of volunteer community education, though, there were statistically significant differences between success and facilitating community education. Those that did not meet the 30 hours standard for volunteer community education had statistically significantly lower scores for facilitating community education than those that met the standard (p = .007). Those that met the standard did not have statistically significant differences in facilitating community education at the end of volunteer community education than those that exceeded the standard.

Table 19

Analysis of Variance for Volunteer Success and Facilitating Community Education from End of Class 10 to the Conclusion of Volunteer Community Education

Source	df	SS	MS	F	P>F
Volunteer Success	2	413.33	206.66	4.78	.01
Error	62	2680.77	43.24

This evaluation study, therefore, suggests that it benefits the Internet Master to reteach the information to others. Further knowledge and use of the Internet as well as ability to facilitate community education are statistically significantly increased from reteaching the information.

Summary of Findings

Was the curriculum effective? Yes. There was a statistically significant difference at the .0001 level among repeated measures of knowledge and use of the Internet and facilitating community education from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10 and from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education.
Did the curriculum meet the needs of a variety of learning styles and of those that learn best by watching as well as those that learn best by doing? Yes. There was not a statistically significant difference at the .05 level between Learning Type Measures and watching/doing measures and repeated measures of knowledge and use of the Internet and facilitating community education from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10 and from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education.
Does volunteer community education benefit the Internet Master? Yes. There was a statistically significant difference between volunteer success and facilitating community education and knowledge and use of the Internet from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education. However, there was not a statistically significant difference at the .05 level between levels of volunteer success in completing hours of volunteer community education and repeated measures of knowledge and use of the Internet and facilitating volunteer community education from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10.
The Internet Master program attracted adults of all ages, from teens to learners in their 70's. More than ninety-five percent of those enrolled in the 1996 and 1997 classes were 30 years old or more. Seventy-seven percent of those enrolled were 40 years old or older. Nearly nine percent were 70 years of age or older.
The Internet Master program attracted people from a wide variety of educational backgrounds. Twenty-six percent had a high school education or less, 45% had an undergraduate degree, while 29% had graduate degrees.
Internet Masters were highly motivated to learn about the Internet. More than 93% of the Internet Masters rated their motivation to learn about the Internet as being average or higher.
Participants’ weekly hours utilizing the Internet increased after enrolling in the Internet Master program. During the pilot programming from 1996-1998 Internet Masters’ median Internet use more than tripled from 2.9 hours per week prior to class to 9.4 hours per week during classes. Internet Masters projected that they would have a median of 8.9 hours per week utilizing the Internet after classes concluded. This suggests that the curriculum empowered the Internet Masters to be successful in utilizing the Internet immediately. A principle of successful adult education is that adult learners immediately find personal or professional application. This is certainly the case for the Internet Master curriculum. In addition, maintaining a higher use of the Internet suggests there is a long-term application of the curriculum, as well.
Those enrolling in the Internet Master program were people that have a positive attitude toward school. Nearly 93% of Internet Masters reported enjoying school.
Of the 499 participants in the 20 pilot classes, 130 (26%) reported volunteer community Internet education hours. Of those reporting hours, 118 (24% of the Internet Masters) successfully achieved the volunteer standard of 30 hours or more of volunteer community education.
The impact of the 130 reporting their volunteer community Internet education hours was impressive. Nearly 7,000 volunteer hours were documented by the study. Internet Masters were efficient, reporting preparation time to teaching time as a ratio of nearly 1:1.
The study documented that the Internet Masters reporting volunteer hours reached over 13,000 Missouri learners with Internet education. Internet Masters reached more than 8,000 adults and nearly 5000 youth with quality information.
The curriculum, as utilized by teaching, was successful in increasing scores on knowledge and use of the Internet from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10.
The curriculum, as utilized by teaching, was successful in increasing scores on facilitating community education from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10.
Facilitating community education by Internet Masters benefited the volunteer educator. Knowledge and use of the Internet had a statistically significant increase for repeated measures from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education. Volunteers that exceeded the standards for volunteer community education had significantly higher knowledge and use of the Internet scores at the conclusion of volunteer education than those that did not meet the volunteer community education standard.
There were no statistically significant differences between volunteer community education success and repeated measures of knowledge and use of the Internet and facilitating community education from class 1 to class 10.
Facilitating community education benefited the Internet Master as well. Confidence in facilitating community education had a statistically significant increase from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education. Volunteers that did not meet the standards for volunteer hours had statistically significant lower confidence facilitating community Internet education than those that met or exceeded the standards at the conclusion of their volunteer community education.
There was not a statistically significant difference between Learning Type Measures and knowledge and use of the Internet from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10. This would suggest that the curriculum was able to successfully meet the needs of people with a variety of learning styles.
There was not a statistically significant difference between Learning Type Measures and facilitating community education scores from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10. This would suggest that the curriculum was successful in enabling participants with a variety of learning styles to strengthen their confidence to facilitate volunteer community education.
There was not a statistically significant difference between Learning Type Measures and repeated measures of facilitating community education from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education. This would suggest that the volunteer community education experience was successful in increasing their confidence in doing volunteer community education for all the learning types measured.
There was not a statistically significant difference between Learning Type Measures and repeated measures of knowledge and use of the Internet from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education. This would suggest that all types of learners increased their knowledge and use of the Internet by doing volunteer community education.
There was not a statistically significant difference between watching/doing measures and knowledge and use of the Internet from Class 1 to the conclusion of class 10. Classes were taught with only one computer and a projection device to enlarge the output so that all learners could see. There was not a computer lab available for learners during the instruction. Learners, though, were expected to have hands-on practice and assignments between Internet Master classes. This would suggest that this was an effective teaching strategy for both people that learn best by watching and those that learn best by doing. Extension staff and Internet Masters do not have to wait until computer labs with Internet access are readily available to do effective adult Internet education.
There was not a statistically significant difference between Internet Master's watching/doing measures and repeated measures of knowledge and use of the Internet from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education.
There was not a statistically significant difference between Internet Master's watching/doing scores and repeated measures of facilitating community education from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10, and from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education.
Those with below average motivation to learn about the Internet had statistically lower scores than those with higher than average motivations to learn about the Internet for knowledge and use of the Internet and facilitating community education repeated measures from the beginning of class 1 to the conclusion of class 10 and from the conclusion of class 10 to the conclusion of volunteer community education.

The Internet Master classes in 1996 and 1997 had a completion rate of 85% as measured by the number enrolling with the number completing the instrument at the conclusion of class 10. Three hundred thirty-four of the 393 people enrolling in the program in 1996 and 1997 completed the series of classes and filled out the instrument at the conclusion of class 10. This is a remarkable completion rate for a series of 10 three-hour classes.

¹ The report was prepared by Family and Consumer Economics Specialist Cynthia E. Crawford, Ph.D., with University Outreach and Extension. Outreach and Development funds were used to hire Mark Belwood as a short-term project assistant. Mark’s careful attention to detail was very much appreciated on reporting documents and also in the development of an Internet Master Evaluation Project web site http://outreach.missouri.edu/saline/IMaster/.

This web site is supported in part by the University of Missouri Outreach and Extension Outreach Development Fund.

			Cynthia Crawford, Internet Master Evaluator Mark Belwood, Webpage Design Updated 10/11/01
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