National eXtension Initiative

The next Call for Engagement (CFE) was recently announced and in conjunction with that announcement eXtension hosted two workshops about the on developing a proposal for the CFE. There were over 100 participants in the both of the workshops. If you want to view the recordings of these workshop, you can click on either of the links below. The PowerPoint slides used in the workshop are also avialable below. More information on the Call for Engagement can be found on the Community of Practice wiki.

CFE Workshop PowerPoint Presentation
CFE Workshop recorded February 13, 2006
CFE Workshop recorded Febraury 16, 2006

The next Call for Engagement (CFE) was recently announced and in conjunction with that announcement eXtension hosted two workshops about the on developing a proposal for the CFE. There were over 100 participants in the both of the workshops. If you want to view the recordings of these workshop, you can click on either of the links below. The PowerPoint slides used in the workshop are also available below. More information on the Call for Engagement can be found on the Community of Practice wiki.

CFE Workshop PowerPoint Presentation
CFE Workshop recorded February 13, 2006
CFE Workshop recorded Febraury 16, 2006

We have received new C-Band coordinates for the eXtension National Video Conference set for 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, February 28, 2006:

New coordinates for C-Band:

AMC4, Transponder 24, 4180 MHz (H)

KU-band (no change):

AMC6, transponder 22, Freq 12140 (H)

Internet Streaming and Program Web site: real.unl.edu/extension

To phone in questions call (800) 755-7765

To FAX in questions send them to (402) 472-9724

To email questions send them to questions@extension.org

TECHNICAL TROUBLE NUMBER: 800-755-7765

There are various groups and committees that help to keep eXtension moving toward its 2007 launch, but one that is responsible for overall policy and direction of the initiative is the Governing Committee.

The Governing Committee is accountable to NASULGC’s Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) and is made up of representatives from each ECOP region, NASULGC, ECOP’s Program Subcommittee, and CSREES. The committee meets monthly either by conference call or face-to-face, usually in conjunction with another NASULGC or eXtension-related meeting. Minutes of each Governing Committee meeting can be found on the eXtension wiki site.

The current Governing Committee includes:

• Elbert Dickey, North Central Region, Chair
• Paul Coreil, Southern Region, Vice Chair
• Dalton McAffee, 1890 Region, Secretary
• Karen Hinton, Western Region
• Lavon Bartel, Northeast Region
• Noland Williams, ECOP, ex-officio
• James Wade, NASULGC, ex-officio
• Greg Crosby, CSREES, ex-officio

More information about the Governing Committee can be found in various documents on the eXtension wiki site under governance.

eXtension would like to receive applications from land-grant universities interested in developing and supporting a national eXtension Web Conferencing Center. The center will be expected to support a variety of organizational and educational activities associated with the work of:

* Pioneering Communities of Practice
* iTeams (institutional teams)
* Training and Development Programs
* Advisory Team Meetings
* Clientele education
* Organization and management functions
* Special needs as defined

An institution or group of institutions working together may submit a proposal.

In calendar year 2006, eXtension will guarantee 125,000 user minutes. The period of coverage will be through Dec. 31, 2006.

Applications are due March 15, 2006 and should be e-mailed to Dan Cotton, Director eXtension Initiative at dan.cotton@eXtension.org. If you have questions, please send them to Dan or Kevin Gamble at kevin.gamble@eXtension.org.

For complete information per this request for applications, please visit:

http://about.extension.org/wiki/eXtension_Web_Conferencing_Center

The next eXtension national videoconference is scheduled for Tuesday, February 28, 2006, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The program will focus on key updates including the recently announced Communities of Practice: Call for Engagement II, eXtension contributor and institutional license agreement, and technical infrastructure. The University of Nebraska will produce the program with origination points from North Carolina State University and the University of Kentucky.

TIME: 2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Eastern Time; 1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. Central Time; 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m. Mountain Time; 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Pacific Time.

BROADCAST COORDINATES: The program will be broadcast using KU- and C-Band satellite services, and Webcast in both QuickTime and Real formats.

KU-band:

AMC6, transponder 22, Freq 12140 (H)

C-band:

AMC4, Ch. 17, Freq. 4040, (V)

Internet Streaming and Program Web site: real.unl.edu/extension

AGENDA:

1. Welcome and Agenda Overview (Dan Cotton)

2. eXtension Contributor and Institutional Business Agreement(s) (Dan Cotton)

a. Management of intellectual property and copyright

3. Request for Proposals (Dan Cotton)

a. Communications and Marketing – User Interface

b. Web Conferencing

c. Evaluation

4. Community of Practice (Craig Wood)

a. Call for Engagement II

b. Pioneering Communities of Practice

5. Technical Infrastructure (Kevin Gamble)

a. FAQ/Ask an Expert

b. Content management

c. Training sessions

6. Q & A

To phone in questions call (800) 755-7765

To FAX in questions send them to (402) 472-9724

To email questions send them to questions@extension.org

TECHNICAL TROUBLE NUMBER: 800-755-7765

The National Extension Directors and Administrators (NED/A) meeting was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico last week. On Wednesday, February 15, I participated in an eXtension presentation, which went very well.

Elbert Dickey, Director of Cooperative Extension in Nebraska and Chair of the eXtension Governing Committee, shared the eXtension 2005 Report on Investment Annual Report with the group.  The report describes key accomplishments ranging from hiring a leadership team, development of the prototype, the 2005 – 2007 eXtension Implementation Plan, naming the Pioneering Communities of Practice, starting a national FAQ system, establishing business and technical infrastructure, and engaging the system.

Karyn Malinowski, Director of Cooperative Extension at Rutgers University and chair of the eXtension Progress Review Panel, shared the panel’s two-page “2005 eXtension Progress Report – Executive Summary.”  The report concluded that year-one milestones were basically met and that significant “behind the curtain” work to move the initiative forward had been accomplished.  Panel recommendations included moving forward quickly with development of “in front of the curtain” services.  Other panel members included Jim Christenson, University of Arizona; Frank Boteler, CSREES; Margaret Hale, Texas A&M University; Duane Hauck, North Dakota State University; and Noland Williams, Kentucky State University.

Next, I presented an overview of what to expect in 2006 by reviewing the “2006 eXtension game board” and “2006 Key Milestones: Building and Ramping-Up eXtension.”  The handouts were very useful in describing how eXtension should develop over the coming year.

Larry Turner, Director of the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Kentucky and co-chair of the eXtension Finance Taskforce, gave an eXtension financial update.  He reported on the payment of institutional assessments, the success of establishing the FY06 line item “New Technologies for Agricultural Extension” budgeted at $1.485M, and the President’s FY07 budget that includes a $2.97M line for eXtension (double the FY06 line).

Afterwards, directors and administrators asked questions related to the management of intellectual property and copyright, FY07 budget strategies, engaging the system, milestones, and more.  Conversation was quite positive and as excitement mounts for seeing eXtension “in front of the curtain.”

Last fall eXtension issued a call to all land-grant universities to submit institutional graphics to the initiative. A critical component of eXtension is the opportunity to “brand” information and programs for each user with their local university’s identity. While we had some success in collecting these graphics…we’re still missing quite a few.

To see if your institutional graphics have been uploaded to eXtension you can go to this link to a List of States Submitting Institutional Graphics on the eXtension wiki site.

If you don’t find your institutional graphic there…follow this link to Graphic Identity Guidelines to learn about how to upload the graphics to the site.

The deadline for submitting all institutional graphics is Wednesday, March 15, 2006.

If you have questions about submitting institutional graphics please contact Terry Meisenbach at Terry.Meisenbach@eXtension.org or 760-318-0276.

Cooperative Extension Directors and Administrators attending the National Extension Directors and Administrators meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico received a report on the progress of eXtension. A Progress Review panel, named by the eXtension Governing Committee reviewed the eXtension initiative’s progress on milestones laid out in the eXtension Implementation Plan.

The Progress Review Panel was chaired by Karyn Malinowski (Northeast Region). Other members included Margaret Hale (Southern Region), Jim Christenson (Western Region), Noland Williams (1890 Region), Duane Hauck (North Central Region), and Frank Boteler (CSREES).

The Progress Review report is available in both an executive summary and full report in PDF documents.

Dan Cotton, eXtension Director, will distribute the 2005 annual report for the initiative to the National Extension Directors & Administrators meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Wednesday, February 15, 2006.
The report entitled “Return on Investment” highlights the progress made by the eXtension staff members, advisory groups, governing bodies, and others who have supported the initiative in 2005. The report features the first Call for Engagement and announcement of the eight Pioneer Communities of Practice, the launch of the Frequently Asked Questions initiative, and provides a listing of the various individuals involved in the project as either staff members, governing bodies, or advisory groups.

The report is available as a PDF document and will be updated during 2006.