National eXtension Initiative

eXtension’s professional development opportunities are open to all Cooperative Extension faculty and staff. We’ll be offering a variety of “30 Minute Sessions” of interest to any and all. Plan to attend any of the MediaWiki sessions to learn more about working in the CoP or Collaborate wikis.“30 Minute Sessions” – Give us 30 minutes and we’ll teach you something useful! These sessions will be held via Breeze at http://breeze.extension.iastate.edu/learn. Plan to join the session 5 minutes before the starting time

* On Thursday, October 5th at 4:00 PM Eastern Time, we’re offering a “30 Minute Session” Google Juice — help search engines find your information and ours!

* On Tuesday, October 17th at 4:00 PM Eastern Time, “30 Minute Sessions” Images & Graphics in MediaWiki – finding appropriate graphics, intellectual property considerations, appropriate resolution and sizing, loading to the wiki, and working with images within a wiki article.

* On Wednesday, October 18th at 2:00 PM Eastern Time, a “30 Minute Session” Why Atom? –- where is eXtension headed with syndication and why, what’s in it for you, what’s needed from you, and when.

* On Thursday, October 19th at 4:00 PM Eastern Time, a “30 Minute Session” Using Collaborate for agents/educators to share your educational materials… photos, PowerPoints, diagrams, and other media.

* On Tuesday, October 24th at 4:00 PM Eastern Time, a “30 Minute Session” FAQ Orientation for agents/educators to find answers to your clients’ questions, also how everyone can contribute to enhancing quality of the FAQ System to make it a more valuable resource.

* On Thursday, October 26th at 1:00 PM Eastern Time, a “30 Minute Session” RSS to Atom for IT staff — what’s it take to convert your RSS feed to Atom, and how to get help with making the conversion.

* On Tuesday, October 31st at 2:00 PM Eastern Time, a “30 Minute Session” MediaWiki Finishing Touches – using templates for final stylistic touches.

To participate in a session…

1. Five minutes before the start time, go to the Breeze meeting room at http://breeze.extension.iastate.edu/learn.

2. You will be presented with a login screen that has an “Enter as Guest” option. Select that option and click your mouse on the “Click to Enter” button.

3. Enter your first name, your last name, and your institution/university, then click the “Enter” button to join the conference.

4. To hear the audio of the workshop and participate in the Q&A portion of the workshop we will be using a built-in teleconferencing capability of Macromedia’s Breeze conferencing software. Once you log into the meeting you will be presented with the option to enter your call-back phone number. After entering your number you will be automatically called and joined into the audio portion of the Web conference.

If you or a colleague would like to get notices about upcoming professional development sessions offered by eXtension, go to https://lists.extension.org/mailman/listinfo/learn and subscribe to the “Learn” email list.

Join us on for one or more of these sessions in October!!

eXtension’s HorseQuest will offer quarterly online chats to discuss issues about the care and management of your horse. Equine experts from across the country will offer solutions and best practices on various topics and contributions from horse enthusiasts nationwide will make the chat even more valuable.

Horse Barn

Monday, October 2, 2006 horse experts will discuss Equine Facilities at:

• 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time
• 2:00 p.m. Central Time
• 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time
• 12 noon Pacific Time

HorseQuest experts include:

• Pat Comerford, Penn State University
• Betsy Greene, University of Vermont
• Christine Skelly, Michigan State University

Join the Chat: http://livechat.extension.org/

A group of cotton specialists from the Southern, Midwestern, and Western United States have been accepted as eXtension’s newest volunteer Community of Practice (CoP). The Cotton community of practice comes to eXtension with broad support from the cotton industry, a large and diverse group with an interest in the production and manufacturing of raw cotton fiber and its by-products. In 2003, over 170,000 U.S. cotton farms in 17 states produced over 18 million bales of cotton. Nationwide, the economic impact of cotton resulted in over $40 billion in revenue when considering the associated ginning, warehousing, and textile industries.

“We are particularly excited about the formation and acceptance of the Cotton community of practice,” said Dan Cotton, eXtension Director. “This is truly our first volunteer community of practice that has come together with the joint funding of individual institutions versus traditional grant programs or sponsors.”

Sandy Stewart of the Louisiana State University AgCenter will serve as the leader of the community of practice. Will McCarty, Associate Extension Director and State Leader for Agricultural Programs, Mississippi State University, will serve as the administrative advisor for the CoP. Other members of the CoP come from throughout the U.S. and include:

• J.C. Banks, Oklahoma State University;
• Tom Barber, Mississippi State University;
• Randy Boman, Texas A & M University
• Steve Brown, University of Georgia;
• Charles Burmester, Auburn University;
• Stewart Duncan, Kansas State University;
• Keith Edmisten, North Carolina State University;
• Joel Faircloth, Virginia Polytechnic Institute;
• Bob Hutmacher, University of California-Davis,
• Mike Jones, Clemson University;
• Phil Jost, University of Georgia;
• Robert Lemon, Texas A & M University;
• Chris Main, University of Tennessee;
• Denise McWilliams, New Mexico State University;
• Dale Monks, Auburn University;
• Randy Norton, University of Arizona;
• Bill Robertson, University of Arkansas;
• David Wright, University of Florida;

A volunteer Community of Practice is a group that has petitioned eXtension to become a Community of Practice without requesting the funds offered through the traditional Call for Engagement but with full adherence to the eXtension guiding principles, mission, vision, and values.

For more information on this Community of Practice or the volunteer Community of Practice process please contact Carla Craycraft (carla.craycraft@extension.org) or Craig Wood (craig.wood@extension.org).

1. Ain’t Got No eSatisfaction
2. The Tubes Came Out
3. Down at the POP
4. The Sup 2 Blues
5. Meltdown
6. Goin’ to the Hardware Store
7. Switchin’ and a Swatchin’
8. The Cisco Disco
9. Da Cards in the Mail
10. A Whole Lotta Lovin’
11. Eternity Plus Two Hours
12. Restoration
13. Hallelujah Chorus

Produced by: MCNC/NCREN
Recorded at: NCSU
Performed by: ComTech

For more information, see our ad in the Skeptical Inquirer.

eXtension’s iTeams will meet on September 19, 19, & 20 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The meetings will be conducted using eXtension’s web conferencing via Breeze. To join the meeting go to: http://breeze.extension.iastate.edu/iteam/ and follow the directions presented.

The agenda for the meeting includes:

1. eXtension Identifier
   • Graphic/logo
   • Tagline (next steps)
2. Rollout of new CoP Web Site (Horses)
   • Features
   • Content
3. Communities of Practice
   • New Communities of Practice
   • Call for Engagement III: CoPs
   • CoP Leadership Workshop
   • Pioneer CoPs – Update
4. Frequently Asked Questions
   • Participation
   • Reports
   • Feedback
5. Professional Development
   • Current and future activities
   • Plans
6. Development
   • Working with CoPs
   • Activities
7. eXtension ID
   • Registering new users
8. Evaluation
   • Evaluation and Research Leader
   • eXtension Progress Report
9. Milestones (next 3 months)
   • Virtual Newsroom
   • Learning Management System (CECP Partnership)
   • Digital Repository
   • Planning for 2008 – 2010
10. Action Steps
    • Registering new users
    • Institutionalizing eXtension (local news & update)
    • Local Feedback
    • Input into the planning process

eXtension is pleased to announce the launch of its first Community of Practice web site: HorseQuest. Available at http://www.extension.org/horses, this is the first of many communities of practice to go public in 2006 and throughout 2007.

“We are very excited to launch HorseQuest today and to demonstrate the capacity that eXtension brings to America’s Cooperative Extension System,” said Dan Cotton, eXtension Director.

HorseQuest provides Internet visitors with reliable and up-to-date horse information through a knowledge base of commonly asked questions that have science-based, peer-reviewed answers. In addition, online lessons use self-paced learning objects to help users learn more about specialized areas of equine science. The newest lesson being introduced is a module for new and prospective horse owners.

“eXtension has provided an exciting new method of delivering scientific data to horse owners. Its 24/7/365 availability and interactive capability puts the horseman in direct contact with experts,” said Clint Depew, chair of the HorseQuest team and Louisiana State University extension horse specialist.

HorseQuest also features experts who work one on one with online users through live online chats. These one-hour chats feature three expert specialists covering various relevant topics.

“HorseQuest brings the strengths and backgrounds of many equine experts into one on-line tool. And, the accessibility of solid, research-based information is now available on a national (and international) platform, said Betsy Greene, University of Vermont extension horse specialist and vice-chair of the HorseQuest team.

“The 37-member HorseQuest Community of Practice has brought greater expertise to each area of interest and reduced the workload on individual experts at the same time. The collaborative relationships with other experts is minimizing duplication of effort and maximizing utilization of good materials. The spin offs into other projects is phenomenal,” noted Depew.

HorseQuest was developed through eXtension’s innovative collaborative tools including a unique “wiki” environment where community of practice members create, enhance, edit, and publish the various components featured on the public web site.

“Since my work with the HorseQuest Community of Practice, I now have expert resources at the click of a mouse. I have already utilized some of our collaborative ‘wiki-work’ when consulting with my clientele,” noted Greene. “The eXtension HorseQuest project has brought together the resources and opportunities for collaboration that no single state could afford.”

HorseQuest is the first eXtension “Community of Practice” to come online. Eight more communities with topics ranging from financial security, fire ants, disaster response, parenting, rural entrepreneurship, horticulture, and wildlife damage management are set to come online in the next several months. All will feature similar attributes of Frequently Asked Questions, Ask the Experts, news, events, and learning modules.

Ten new Communities of Practice have been named to join eXtension, a 24/7/365 Internet-based portal to the Nation’s largest educational and information system:

Beef Cattle Clearing House
Family Caregiving; Caring for the Aged and/or Disabled Adults
Youth Literacy in Science, Engineering and Technology
Pork Information Group
eOrganic
US DAIReXNET
Corn and Soybean Production
Urban Integrated Pest Management
Map@Syst: Geospatial Solutions for Rural and Community Sustainability
Diversity Across Higher Education

These 10 new Communities of Practice were named following an extensive review of 19 finalist proposals by the Call for Engagement Review Panel in mid August. The Call for Engagement Review Panel is comprised of Extension directors, administrators, and program leaders representing the five Extension regions plus three CSREES-USDA national program leaders.

“We are extremely excited to welcome these new Communities of Practice into the eXtension family,” said Elbert Dickey, chair of the eXtension Governing Committee. “These new groups broaden the subject matter ‘reach’ of eXtension and allow us to continue to bring the excellent programming strength of the Cooperative Extension System to the world through this innovative effort.”

A total of $500,000 will be divided among nine of these groups and the Diversity Across Higher Education Community of Practice will receive no direct monetary support but will receive in-kind support from eXtension through use of its collaborative space and other development resources.

These 10 newly funded Communities of Practice join eight Pioneer Communities of Practice, named in September 2005:

Building Local Economies of the Future
Consumer Horticulture
Extension Disaster Education Network
HorseQuest
Financial Security for All
Imported Fire Ant Management
Just In Time Parenting
Wildlife Damage Management

In July 2006, eXtension added a pilot volunteer CoP, Pesticide Environmental Stewardship. A volunteer Community of Practice joins eXtension with its own resources and agreement with the eXtension mission, vision, values and guiding principles.

With the newly funded groups, this brings the total to 19 eXtension Communities of Practice.

The leaders of these newly named Communities of Practice are:

Beef Cattle Clearing House

• Rick Rasby, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
• Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University
• Jack Whittier, Colorado State University

Family Caregiving; Caring for the Aged and/or Disabled Adults

• Mary Brintnall Peterson, University of Wisconsin
• Celia Hayhoe, Virginia Tech
• Sharon Johnson, Oregon State University
• Sarah Kirby, North Carolina State University
• Colleen Jolly, Iowa State University
• Luci Bearon, North Carolina State University
• Thelma Sanders-Hunter, Tennessee State University
• Carolyn Wilken, University of Florida
• Jackie McCleeland, North Carolina State University
• Deborah Killam, University of Maine

Youth Literacy in Science, Engineering and Technology

• Tony Cook, Alabama Cooperative Extension System
• Trudy Dunham, University of Minnesota

Pork Information Group

• Todd See, North Carolina State University
• David Meisinger, Iowa State University

eOrganic

• Alexandra Stone, Oregon State University
• Deborah Cavanaugh-Grant, University of Illinois
• Heather Darby, University of Vermont
• Mike Gamroth, Oregon State University
• Bryan Hopkins, University of Idaho

US DAIReXNET

• Donna Amaral-Phillips, University of Kentucky
• Geoffrey Benson, North Carolina State university
• Mireille Chahine, University of Idaho
• Geoffrey Dahl, University of Illinois
• Warren Gilson, University of Georgia
• Arlyn Heinrichs. Pennsylvania State University
• Alan J. McAllister, University of Kentucky
• Mark Varner, University of Maryland

Corn and Soybean Production

• Chad Lee, University of Kentucky
• Seth Naeve, University of Minnesota
• Palle Pedersen, Iowa State University

Urban IPM

• Faith Oi, University of Florida
• Lawrence “Fudd” Graham, Auburn University

Map@Syst: Geospatial Solutions for Rural and Community Sustainability

• Nathan Watermeier, Ohio State University
• John Nowatzki, North Dakota State University

Diversity Across Higher Education

• Wendy Hamilton, New Mexico State University
• Chiquita Tillman McAllister, North Carolina A&T University
• Pamala Morris, Purdue University

These newly named eXtension CoPs are finalizing their Year One deliverables and budgets with eXtension before entering into formal contract agreements. A workshop will be held in mid-October for these CoP leaders to further introduce them to expectations, collaborative tools, and virtual team skills for eXtension.

For more information on these new Communities of Practice, the Pioneer Communities of Practice, the Call for Engagement Process, or information on how to form or join a Community of Practice please feel free to contact eXtension’s Associate Directors for Content Development, Carla Craycraft [carla.craycraft@extension.org] or Craig Wood [craig.wood@extension.org].

eXtension represents more than 70 land grant universities, bringing the best of the best to Americans. It is a 24/7/365 Internet-based resource designed to provide access to objective, research-based programs solving real problems in real time on any Internet ready device. But, most of all, it is designed to be America’s tool for information gathering and education. eXtension is customized for all Americans…where they live, work, and play.