Promoting Internet literacy in isolated communities: a teaching experiment on information society at the University of the Aegean

Communicating science and technology (S&T) to the public has been revolutionised by the emergence of Internet. Since the early 1970s computer literacy has occupied the agenda of awareness actions addressed to the general public through the use of traditional channels of communication. Since 1994 ICT or rather Internet literacy has been at the center of concerns due to the exponential growth of Internet users and the emergence of electronic commerce. Many experiments have been launched world-wide using the Internet (the means) itself. National and international awareness raising actions have been implemented mobilising all relevant actors such as schools, business associations, information centers and universities. Universities, particularly in remote regions, could play a catalytic role by building awareness and offering practical experience to the local population as part of their teaching and research process. This paper presents an experiment launched by the University of the Aegean, Information and Communication Systems department at Samos, aimed at liaising a formal course on Information Society offered to second semester students to an Internet fiesta for local people and continuously supporting citizens to improve their ICT and Internet literacy.