National eXtension Initiative

The Webinar is Oct. 8 from Entrepreneurs and Their Communities. Topic is lessons from Littleton, Colo. using economic ‘gardening.’

Use the release, customize it for your own state Extension news. It’s at Oct. 8 Free Webinar Features Economic ‘Gardening’ to Grow Healthy Community

If you want a local (your state) angle in the article, try searching in People for Extension specialists from your state who are active in the Entrepreneurs and Their Communities community of practice.

I’ll be watching for your news releases coming into my feed!

One of the most requested features in the Ask an Expert application is the ability to follow-up with the person who submitted the question. This can be useful when we need to ask for more information before answering or if we need to provide clarifying statements once an answer is sent. This week we are releasing “Phase One” of the Ask an Expert question follow-up feature.

Here’s what’s new this week in Phase One:

1. We have created a private URL where public users can view their AaE question. (one URL for each question)
2. We now send a “We have received your question” email when the question is submitted. (it includes a link to the private page.)
3. Public users have the ability to edit their question until an expert responds.
4. If the public user edits their question, an email is sent to the assigned expert with the updated question.

Basically, Phase One starts to engage the public user by providing a URL destination and the ability to edit. We actually encourage the public user, through design, to edit and make the question better so it’s easier for the expert to answer.

Here’s what the public user will see

There are no changes to the AaE application user interface. The only difference for our experts will be the appearance of a new status in the question activity stream: “Question edited by public user.”

The next phases will include actual follow-up with back-and-forth replies, and will be the next item we work on.

Don’t forget! The deadline for early registration for the 2009 National eXtension Conference is Sunday, September 20! Register by that date and you’ll save $75.

The National eXtension Conference will be held October 20-23, 2009 in St. Louis, MO. This conference brings together community of practice leaders and members, institutional team members, administrators, specialists, county educators, and eXtension staff to share their expertise and knowledge in leadership, community building, working in virtual environments and more. Three outstanding keynote speakers: Bob Johansen, a futurist and expert in leadership development; Russ Roberts, a management guru to Fortune 500 companies; and Tara Hunt, noted author and expert in online communities are just the beginning to our conference. To add to that excellent lineup…more than 60 concurrent sessions will be offered. We’ll also feature panel discussions on the institutionalization of eXtension, funding opportunities and challenges, and we’ll be recognizing outstanding Communities of Practice for the first time in eXtension history.

If you have only one professional development opportunity this year…make it the National eXtension Conference. There’s something for everyone!!! Go to: http://about.extension.org/2009-extension-national-conference/ for more information!

eXtension is pleased to be a part of three national conferences in September 2009: Epsilon Sigma Phi’s national conference in Fargo, ND (September 13-16); the National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences in Birmingham, AL; and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in Portland, OR (September 20-24). Presentations, exhibits, and showcases are all part of the eXtension presence at these meetings. If you’re planning to attend, please stop by and say hello!!!

eXtension will host its final national web conference for 2009 on Wednesday October 7. All web conferences are held via Connect at the following web address: http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/teammeeting/ from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. EASTERN time. These web conferences serve as a means of updating Cooperative Extension faculty and staff on the current status of the initiative.

eXtension is pleased to announce a “scholarship” opportunity for one member of each Institutional Team in the Cooperative Extension System for the 2009 National eXtension Conference in St. Louis MO. This “scholarship” is basically a waiver of the $225 registration fee. At this point we’ve had only a few teams take us up on this offer…and it still stands!!!

To take advantage of this offer, simply email Carla Craycraft [carla.craycraft@uky.edu] with the name, email address, and your institution and she will provide the complimentary registration form for that individual to submit. The person receiving the complimentary registration should NOT register online, but must register using this special form.

The purpose of the eXtension fellowship program is to provide opportunities for qualified individuals, within or outside of Cooperative Extension, to work on a temporary basis through either sabbatical leave or other contractual arrangements with eXtension on specific projects that contribute to the Initiative as well as to the individual.

Until last year, applications were received and considered on a first-come, first-served basis. Because the number of applications has increased, we found it necessary to change our application procedure to give all applicants an equal opportunity to be selected.

The program will operate on a calendar year basis (i.e., January – December). The deadline for applications will be October 31 for the next calendar year. So, applications for the 2010 calendar year are due by October 31, 2009. Once all proposals are received, they will be reviewed and selections will be made based on proposal merit, contribution to eXtension, and available funding.

To see the eXtension fellowship program details, go to:

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

For more information, please contact Mike Lambur (mike.lambur@extension.org).

We are currently developing an overall eXtension metrics report, which will be available soon. However, we wanted to share some eXtension public website metrics with you to highlight the significant growth we continue to see in public website access. These metrics are available as a PDF file at: http://about.extension.org/wiki/Overall_Public_Website_Metrics

Note that the total site visits and total pageviews for the first half of 2009 almost equal the same numbers for all of 2008.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Mike Lambur (mike.lambur@extension.org).

The Consumer Horticulture Community of Practice creates content for public users in the areas of Gardens, Lawns & Landscapes. This CoP launched an internal communication blog to connect faculty and staff with consumer horticulture educational program responsibilities. This blog serves as an outlet for discussion and dissemination of information on consumer horticulture content development, needs, training, and information for the community. Beginning in March 2009, this CoP used the blog to get feedback from Cooperative Extension on content needed and has reported on how they are working to enrich the quantity and quality of content being delivered on www.extension.org. Additional posts also discuss the importance of and best way for other Cooperative Extension sites to link to Gardens, Lawns and Landscapes. Read more about this post: Three reasons why your state/county website should consider linking to www.extension.org/horticulture (http://consumerhortcop.wordpress.com/2009/07/15/three-reasons-why-your-statecounty-website-should-consider-linking-to-www-extension-orghorticulture/ )

Read more on this blog at: http://consumerhortcop.wordpress.com/

You may know them as avatars, but now is your chance to meet them in person. The eXtension in Second Life® builders and mentors: Thynka Little (LuAnn Phillips), Brianna Beresford (Peg Schear), and DFox Spitteler (Dmitre Raposo) will be live at the eXtension National Conference in St. Louis, October 20-23. Bring your ideas, your questions, and your curiosity!

Second Life® is an Internet-based 3D virtual environment where educators from around the world — and many of your eXtension colleagues — are finding new ways to create rich, immersive educational content. eXtension supports exploration of this new technology by providing in-world staff, professional development sessions, and space for building in both Second Life® and Teen Second Life®.

There will be several opportunities to meet with the eXtension in SL group.

Scheduled activities:

•Tuesday from 6:00-8:00 p.m. CT: The Mixed Reality Mixer at the Welcome Reception. See and hear Second Life® musicians streamed in live from across the country at the Virtual State Fair, and visit with Communities of Practice who have active projects in Second Life®.

•Wednesday at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. CT, back-to-back breakout sessions inform you about how and why to become involved in immersive 3D education now.

•Informal opportunities: The eXtension in SL group will camp out in the hotel lobby Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. CT, Wednesday 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. CT, and other times when possible. Please come and chat with us about how your educational programming can be enhanced by a 3D immersive component.

eXtension’s virtual Worlds Coordinator, LuAnn Phillips, encourages educators to take a closer look at this emerging technology, “The migration of Extension work into virtual worlds seems to be a natural fit. Experiential hands-on learning has always been a core methodology for Cooperative Extension, and doing this in 3D virtual space will allow programs to scale in a cost-effective way to reach new, even global, audiences,” she said.