OAKWOOD — More and more people are becoming computer-literate, but they still want to tweak their skills or venture into the next realm.

To help them, the University of Illinois Extension Service in Vermilion County has been fine-tuning its computer classes to meet people’s needs.

When the next series of classes starts Monday, people will find more choices, including how to use Microsoft Word and Excel and how to burn images onto disks.

“As we go along, we try to adapt to what people need,” said Ron Sbertoli, one of the Internet Masters who teaches the classes.

The classes have been well-received, said Marianne Venute, another teacher. “If there’s a need, we create a class for it. We’re very prepared to meet the needs.”

The classes cover a range of topics, from the very basic, such as how to use your computer, to more detailed, such as creating spreadsheets.

The teachers have all been trained, earning the title of Internet Master after taking 10-week classes. Vermilion County is the only Extension Service in the state that still has a core group of masters, Sbertoli said. Other Internet Master training classes have ended due to lack of funding or interest.

All of the masters are volunteers and all are retired, except one. Often, the students — who tend to be older — are relieved to see an older person teaching the class.

In addition, the teachers try to make the classes enjoyable.

Fred Hughes, another Internet Master, tells his classes: “We’re here to have fun and maybe learn while we’re doing it.”

“We try to put the students at ease,” Sbertoli said. “There are no stuffed shirts up there teaching you.”

Venute said, “The best part of teaching a class is when we witness the ‘aha’ moment of a new computer user.”

The median age of the students is 60, and the greatest interest involves e-mail. Some of the students are trying to keep up with their children and grandchildren, Sbertoli said.

Some of the students know how to use computers at their jobs, but want to become more comfortable with their home computers.

The teachers all have their specialties, too; Hughes is the “rose man,” who’s adept at photos while Sbertoli is a video person. Venute is familiar with Macs; however, there are no Macs in the Extension lab, just PCs.

The classes also use Windows XP, but the teachers can help people who use other systems.

Some students also take the classes to update their computer skills after having retired or lost jobs.

For all those reasons, Hughes and Sbertoli said they don’t foresee interest waning in computer classes in the near future.

The lab has 16 stations at the Extension Service west of Danville, near Oakwood.

That’s a far cry from 2002, when the Extension was located on Liberty Lane and didn’t have room for a lab. The classes were offered off-site, with the first being held at Teepak.

When the Extension moved to its current site in 2005, there was room for a lab and 12 computers. Many of the computers — which have been updated through the years — were donated by the Veterans Affairs Illiana Health Care System or Carle Foun-dation Hospital. Some were bought with grants.

Through donations of equipment, the Internet Masters have been able to pass some of the extra computers on to schools.

With their knowledge, Sbertoli and Hughes keep the lab running, Venute said, adding, “I consider them the ‘heart’s blood’ of our organization. Without their technical expertise, the Internet Masters could not function.”

The Extension hasn’t offered an Internet Masters training class for a couple of years, Sbertoli said, but might do so this fall.

FYI

Anyone interested in becoming an Internet Master to help teach classes at the University of Illinois’ Vermilion County Extension is asked to call Ron Sbertoli at 443-2450 or e-mail him at lore14@operamail.com or call Fred Hughes at 987-6659 or e-mail him at freddyt55@gmail.com