"I cannot imagine working at Africa Online without the training I received through this course. I am now dealing in a very practical way with the same ethical questions and intellectual concepts we discussed in class. Of course, I apply the technical material we covered on a daily basis."

-- Kathryn Toure', Africa Online based in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (West Africa)

About our courses

The Internet is a vast resource that can enrich research and teaching on international issues. It has become an important tool in international communication, development, and education. The Internet has quickly become the premier resource for new information in the developing world and a prime medium for discussing current international issues.

Our courses seek to make the Internet more accessible and assume little previous computer or Internet experience. These courses introduce the wide range of international information available on the Internet and covers how to both locate and publish information on the international "Information Highway."

More than teaching the core skills one needs to navigate and publish on the Internet, we examine the Internet's past and potential and look "under the hood" for a manager's perspective on Internet technology.  

Being a communication technology, we investigate the Internet's role in giving voice to millions of people who have hitherto been unable to participate in the global conversation.  With students on multiple continents (including Africa) in the course, we experiment with these new communication capabilities. 

These courses are appropriate for students (undergraduate and graduate), teachers, and practitioners from all disciplines. Participants will be encouraged to focus on their particular field of interest while learning common Internet tools and techniques.

About the instructor

The course instructor, Cliff Missen, holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Iowa in Development Communications Support. He has worked in Liberia, West Africa setting up a medical clinic in a very remote part of southern Liberia and teaching rural villagers how to drill water wells using ancient hand-powered drilling methods. He has created a video and book on water well drilling that he continues to distribute around the globe.

(For more information see: http://www.avalon.net/~cmissen/wellsprn/)

On the other hand, Missen has 12 years of professional experience in networking personal computers.  Having built hundreds of computers from the ground up and wired them together using a myriad of networking technologies, he currently works as a Systems Analyst for the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Iowa, where he oversees the development of networking, World Wide Web applications, intranets, and dynamic multimedia for classroom instruction.

Missen spent 10 months as a Senior Fulbright Fellow at the University of Jos in Nigeria teaching about computers and networking.  He currently heads up the WiderNet Project, which creates linkages between U.S. and African scholars.  

(For more information see: http://www.widernet.org)

Professionally and academically, his prime interest is in how people communicate with computers and how computer systems can be customized to best reflect the user's work habits, lifestyle and even belief system.

Last updated July 19, 2002 by Dirk Staatsen. © Cliff Missen 1994-1998