County Extension Computers Will Be Networked By July 1 by Linda Charles Iowa's county extension staff are getting wired. Nearly 70 percent of the county offices already have been connected to the campus network, and thus the Internet. The rest should be hooked up by July 1. "The end goal is to provide the field staff with the same (computer) capabilities that the staff on campus have," said Brian Webster, who co-manages the extension communication systems with Deb Coates. In counties that are on line, staff can share printers and files, send and receive electronic mail and cruise the information super highway. Webster noted that many field staff travel a great deal between offices. The new network will allow them to hook up their portable computers in any county office and retrieve their e-mail, as well as send information. Coates said the biggest benefit of the computer update for field staff so far has been e-mail, which allows staff to communicate among themselves almost instantly. Barbara Hug, county director in the Polk County Extension office, said the new system saves both time and money. Weekly schedules now are gathered electronically, e-mail has reduced the number of phone calls to each other and staff have fast access to a world full of information on the Internet. For example, Hug said she has used the Internet to look up parenting and nutritional information written in Spanish for the office's Spanish-speaking program. Robert Anderson, vice provost for extension, noted, "Over the next several years, as ISU Extension staff become more expert with these processes, they will teach extension clients-- Iowans--how to do this themselves." The network also will allow extension to develop a client database that tracks what extension clients need and how extension staff have responded. For example, an extension specialist planning to visit a community leader could check to see if other specialists have contacted the person and what information they have provided. The new ISU Extension Information Network has an initial cost of about $2.4 million, Anderson said. _____ contact: Linda Charles, Internal Communications, (515) 294- 3129 updated: 4-6-95