The history of Land Grant Alliance is one which few people may know, until now.
Once Upon a Time
Many people haven’t heard of the Land Grant Training Alliance and it’s really no wonder – it’s not really up and running anymore. But this program has a lot of good lessons to teach us, even if it’s not the one in charge of making sure the lessons are followed anymore. This land grant alliance was created in order to help people learn more about the way a computer is used in the world – whether for land grants or not. This unfunded and informal organization was created by computer professionals who wanted to pass their skills onto others. These teachers were employed by universities in the United States Land Grant University System.
The Goals of LGTA
The LGTA was interested in helping to teach computer skills like email and WordPerfect to new computer users. And back in 1994, this was a revolutionary idea. Those who were just starting to use the Internet didn’t really have a lot of experience because the Internet, as it is seen today, just wasn’t as well organized. In fact, the Internet only could really send emails and not much else.
As time passed, the LGTA began to offer more online lessons for users:
- Spreadsheets
- Word processing
- Graphics design
Over time, the group seems to have disorganized a bit as the Internet began to be more fast-paced and possibly just easier to use. People are now trained in basic computer skills at their workplaces and at school, so outside training is not as necessary.
However, the overall goal of the Land Grant Training Alliance was a good one – to get people to use their computers. And look, it worked. You’re at your computer right now due to having been training on using a computer, even if not by this organization.
