As broadband expands, some need to learn how to use computers before the Internet

As the government looks to bring more high-speed Internet access to rural America, computer literacy programs may be needed in some areas to increase adoption of computers, much less the Internet. Many rural communities have computer-literacy programs for adults; one that gets good reviews from its clients is in Aubrey, Tex., Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe of the Denton Record-Chronicle reports. It might seem like a routine story, but it's probably one that will prompt some people to enroll in the program.

"About 57 percent of rural Texas households have a computer with some kind of Internet access, according to 2009 data compiled by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration," Heinkel-Wolfe writes. That number jumps to 63 percent when considering households that have access somewhere like a library or at work. "Across the rural United States, slightly less than half of all adults 55 and older report being able to go online."

While skills needed for basic computer usage and Internet usage may not be exactly the same, the organizers of the Aubrey program say those little differences don't mean much to newcomers. "For the beginner, and the victims of the tech divide, the computer and the Internet are the same," Aubrey Area Library Director Kathy Gilson told Heinkel-Wolfe. (Read more)