The eXtension People and Ask an Expert now include support for displaying times relative to your own time zone (as opposed to UTC time). Setting your timezone is easy, just edit your profile and select your time zone from the drop down list.
Here’s short video describing the feature:
On September 20, 2010 eXtension will be shutting down the eXtension chat server currently operating at chat.extension.org in an effort to focus on essential collaborative tools and workspaces. Current chat users are encouraged to switch to Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger, or other IM networks and to reconnect with their chat colleagues through those services. You can use the eXtension social networks tool to share your chat networks with your colleagues. Additionally, you can locate others by service or search for your colleagues so you can reconnect with them.
eXtension is pleased to announce it will hold the 2010 National eXtension Virtual Conference on October 18, 19, 20, 2010. The conference, titled A Symposium on Working Differently, will feature both keynote speakers as well as opportunities for interaction and dialog between participants.
Keynote speakers for the conference include:
Rainie
Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit, non–partisan “fact tank” that studies the social impact of the Internet.
White
Nancy White, Full Circle Associates, an international practitioner in understanding and practicing online group facilitation of distributed work, learning and community groups.
Jarche
Harold Jarche, Jarche Consulting & the Internet Time Alliance, helps organizations make sense of the Web for community building, collaboration, professional development and communication.
eXtension is also seeking proposals, due Friday, September 17, for Critical Conversation segments of the program. These conversations will be held around the keynote speakers each day. Each conversation will be 45 minutes in length. The conversations will be interactive and engaging and topics will reflect collaboration, teamwork, working differently, network literacy, serving new and existing audiences in new and different ways. Some areas of interest will include open education, global interests and their impact on Cooperative Extension, intellectual property, barriers and solutions to working differently, and exploring emerging topics in education and technology.
Proposals will include the topic, proposer name and contact information, a 100-word synopsis, suggested conveners and/or facilitators for the conversation, and rationale regarding relevance of the topic to the conference. Click here to submit a proposal.
More information regarding specific times and conversation titles will be provided in the October eXtension UPDATE. Current scheduling for the 2010 National eXtension Virtual Conference, presented via Adobe Connect, Second Life, and streaming video, will be Monday, October 18 from 2 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern; Tuesday, October 19, from 11 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. Eastern; and, Wednesday, October 20 from 11 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. Eastern.
eXtension has awarded five existing Communities of Practice (CoPs) with $30,000 each to assist them in further developing their CoP and to publish content for their end users. The CoPs were eligible for this funding because they had not previously received start-up funds from eXtension. The five CoPs receiving funds included:
1) Agriculture Law,
2) Cooperatives,
3) Companion Animals,
4) Evaluation and
5) Public Deliberation.
Also, eXtension has issued a call to establish three new CoPs. Each selected CoP will receive up to $60,000 of start-up funding. Fifteen letters of intent have been received and reviewed in targeted subject matter areas. Applicants have been sent reviewer feedback and invited to complete full proposals.
The eXtension Governing Committee will be conducting a stakeholder evaluation this Fall. The Committee is interested in producing an objective, fact-based, and insightful review of eXtension’s progress and performance that’s rooted in:
1) the performance goals for which eXtension is accountable;
2) an understanding of new developments which may have occurred over the course of time and how eXtension has responded to them;
3) the creativity and resourcefulness eXtension has demonstrated in achieving its commitments;
4) the desire to identify apparent strengths and capabilities which can serve as a platform for future growth and success; and
5) objectively integrating the views of a wide range of stakeholders.
The stakeholder evaluation will inform the work of the 2010 eXtension Progress Review Panel and be used to “tune-up” the eXtension Strategic Roadmap. The stakeholder evaluation will be conducted this Fall and enhancement of the Strategic Roadmap will occur in early 2011.
eXtension leadership visited with Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration staff members and Related Agencies in late July to describe eXtension progress and to thank them for their continuing support. Senate staff members were particularly interested in the Ask an Expert feature, how it works and how Cooperative Extension supports it. A Senate staff member had recently submitted a question and wanted to share his experience. An important takeaway was the importance Senate staff members place on eXtension its services for end users.
For more information about this visit please contact Dan Cotton at dan.cotton@extension.org.
Congress declared September the first-ever National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. This is a time for all Americans to
• Realize children’s lives are in danger from excess foods and lack of physical activity;
• Make changes that will result in healthier kids and
• Take responsibility for a healthier future.
eXtension’s Families, Food and Fitness community of practice (CoP) of health and nutrition professionals invites all Extension workers to help Americans become healthier.
Families, Food and Fitness content on eXtension is focused on six key behaviors to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight:
• Move More Everyday
• Tame the Tube
• Control Portion Size
• Enjoy More Fruits and Vegetables
• Prepare More Meals at Home
• Re-Think Your Drink
Besides articles, frequently asked questions (FAQs) and Ask an Expert, the area has fun interactive tools including the “Beverage Guide to Sugars,” “Fast Food Menu with Fitness Calculator,” “Spice Guide” and “Nutrition Facts Label.” The site also offers healthy recipes, a cooking and nutrition glossary contributed by culinary textbook author Chef Sarah Labensky, and short, entertaining, and instructional videos.
Connect with Families, Food and Fitness on
Facebook, http://bit.ly/94G6cF
Twitter, http://twitter.com/FFFCoP
You Tube, http://bit.ly/bS3H9x
The Families, Food and Fitness CoP has 11 leaders from Mississippi State University; Montana State University; North Carolina State University; Rutgers, State University of New Jersey; University of Tennessee; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
If you are interested in joining the community, visit http://about.extension.org/
There’s a new feature called “Learn” at http://learn.extension.org/ that provides an overview of upcoming Professional Development sessions, links to historical sessions (and recordings once they are available), and provides tools for indicating interest in and attendance of the offered sessions.
Check out http://learn.extension.org/ and let us know what you think. Start including your favorite session links in Twitter, Facebook and more!
Version 2.5 of the State and Institutional Reports is now available and can be accessed at http://about.extension.org/wiki/eXtension_State_and_Institutional_Reports in both PDF and Excel formats. The reports include data for January-June, 2010, as well as data from 2009, 2008, and 2007. We are continuing to see growth in pageviews, visits, and visits by city. We have also noted that new visits to the site are beginning to come down, which may indicate more repeat visitors to the eXtension public website.
For more information, please contact Mike Lambur (mike.lambur@extension.org).
Sept. 9 — Starting Right in Specialty Foods, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1804
Sept. 14 — Dairy Cattle Handling and Restraint, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1809
Sept. 16 — The New Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumers, and Consumer Educators, 11:00 a.m. -12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1849
Sept. 16 – Maximizing Dry Matter Intake on Organic Dairy Pastures, 2:00 – 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1763
Sept. 17 — Legal Considerations for Dairy Advisory Team Members, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1813
Sept. 17 — Novel Approaches to Manure Application in No-till, 2:30 – 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1789
Sept. 24 — Key Legal Considerations in Biomass Production, Harvesting, and Storage Contracts, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time, http://cop.extension.org/events/1850
Link to the webinar news release from your state site, feature it in your communications to the public, and adapt it for your own news: http://www.extension.org/pages/eXtension_Expands_Free_Webinars_in_September