National eXtension Initiative

eXtension has released Version 1.5 of its overall metrics report, including data through June 2010. The purpose of the Overall eXtension Metrics Report is to provide a summary of appropriate data that highlights the continuing evolution and growth of eXtension. The data in this report represents a snapshot of the breadth and depth of eXtension at one point in time, with growth data as appropriate. As eXtension continues to grow and expand, new data will be added to this ongoing report to further characterize its growth and expansion.

In this report, a summary of the following is provided: eXtension ID holders, Communities of Practice, eXtension content metrics, Frequently Asked Questions, Ask an Expert, eXtension sponsored professional development sessions, the use of Moodle in both professional development and course learning, and the overall eXtension website metrics.

You can access the report at:

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

For additional information, or questions, please contact Mike Lambur, eXtension Evaluation and Research Leader, at mike.lambur@extension.org

Nov. 2 — Winterize Your Horse, 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1954

Nov. 9 — Improving Existing Dairy Stalls, 8:30 to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1810

Nov. 11 — Managing Somatic Cell Counts (SCC), 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1792

Nov. 11 – Culinary Tourism, 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1806

Nov. 12 – Homes and Home Performance with Energy Star, 12:00 noon Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1967

Nov. 15 — Bullying: What We Know Now, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1982

Nov. 15 — Greenhouse Gases and Agriculture: Where Does Organic Farming Fit? 2:00 to 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1984

Nov. 18 — Healthy Holiday Chat, 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1986

Nov. 19 — Conflict, Chaos, and Creating Opportunity on Dairy Teams, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1815

Nov. 19 — Update on EPA Regulation of Livestock Operations, 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time, http://www.extension.org/events/1950

News release on November webinars: http://www.extension.org/pages/Free_November_Webinars_Focus_on_Dairy_Production,_Horse_Health,_Culinary_Tourism_and_More

We’re fortunate to be part of two special sessions this month!

1) The first session of the 2010 North Central Regional Center for Rural Development Speakers Series is open to all and will be on Competencies for Extension Professionals on November 16 and

2) A virtual conference sponsored by The Extension and Research Support Staff Association (TERSSA) is also open to all and will be held November 12 offering three topics for professional development.

This month eXtension’s professional development offers other 30-60 minute sessions on a several topics including What’s New in Moodle (offered twice), New in Second Life: Information Networking for 4-H Leaders, Getting Started answering Ask an Expert Questions, Second Life Newbie Meetup, Facebook Privacy, as well as the Question Wrangler Monthly Meetup, and monthly Institutional Team web conference. These sessions are open to all Cooperative Extension faculty, staff and employees. No pre-registration is necessary. Please share this announcement with others and encourage them to pick a topic and try it out. Give us 30 to 60 minutes and we’ll teach you something useful!

* Institutional Team Web Conference – November 2010 on November 9,
2010 at 2:30 PM EST. http://www.extension.org/learn/event/79

* What’s New in Moodle on November 10, 2010 at 2:00 PM EST (repeated on November 11, 2010) http://www.extension.org/learn/event/81

* TERSSA Conference – “Don’t Let Lack Hold You Back” by Debra Jones on November 12, 2010 at 10:00 AM EST
http://www.extension.org/learn/event/78

* TERSSA Conference – “The Key to Success: Be the Best YOU Can Be” by
Donna Byrd on November 12, 2010 at 11:30 AM EST http://www.extension.org/learn/event/91

* TERSSA Conference – “Take-Charge Leadership” by Allisen Penn on Friday, November 12, 2010 at 2:00 PM EST http://www.extension.org/learn/event/97

* NCRCRD: Competencies for Extension professionals 2010 North Central Regional Center for Rural Development Speakers Series on November 16, 2010 at 1:00 PM EST http://www.extension.org/learn/event/87

* New in Second Life: Informal Networking for 4-H Leaders on November 17, 2010 at 2:00 PM EST http://www.extension.org/learn/event/95

* Getting Started with Ask an Expert on November 18, 2010 at 2:00 PM
EST http://www.extension.org/learn/event/86

* Second Life Newbie Meetup on November 19, 2010 at 2:00 PM EST
http://www.extension.org/learn/event/96

* Question Wrangler Monthly Meetup – November 2010 on November 23,
2010 at 2:00 PM EST http://www.extension.org/learn/event/85

* Facebook Privacy on November 30, 2010 at 2:00 PM EST
http://www.extension.org/learn/event/94

See complete descriptions and details at http://learn.extension.org/.
See information for each session, an overview of upcoming eXtension Professional Development sessions, links to historical sessions (and recordings once they are available), and log-in with your eXtension ID to indicate your 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!

eXtension has begun a video series entitled “eXtension Voices” featuring faculty and staff from across the country expressing their opinions on the eXtension initiative. The video clips can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/eXtensioninitiative and are compiled from interviewee opinions on how eXtension affects their work life, has linked them to new partners, and their forecast for eXtension’s future.

A news release from North Dakota State University Extension with the headline, “How High Will Corn Prices Go Before Usage Is Rationed?” went up on eXtension news October 15. It quickly zoomed into the all time most popular news releases on eXtension with more than 2,000 pageviews. Read the release at http://www.extension.org/pages/How_High_Will_Corn_Prices_Go_Before_Usage_Is_Rationed?

October news posted to 43 eXtension Communities of Practice. A special emphasis this fall is finding news for Communities of Practice preparing to go public and for newly launched CoPs. The number of releases posted to communities not yet public:
1 each–Agricultural Law, Freshwater Aquaculture, Grapes, Invasive Species
2 each–Animal Welfare, Marine Fisheries, Military Families, Rangelands
3–Drinking water
4–Companion Animals

News releases were posted for 33 launched eXtension CoPs:
2 each–Child Care, Community Planning and Zoning, Geospatial Technology, Oil Spill, Small Meat Processors, Wood Energy
3 each–Cotton, Food Safety, Home Energy
4 each–Blueberries, Wildfire
5–Extension master gardener
6 each–Animal manure management; Goats; Horses; Pest Management In and Around Structures; Youth Science, Engineering, and Technology
7 each–Agrosecurity and Floods; Dairy; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Wildlife Damage Management
8–Family Caregiving
9–Organic Agriculture
10–Cooperatives
11–Bee Health
14 each–Beef Cattle, Farm Energy
16–Entrepreneurs and their communities
18–Parenting
19–Corn and Soybean Production
22–Personal Finance
29–Families, Food and Fitness
31–Gardens, lawns and landscapes
312–Total

October News on eXtension came from 38 land-grant universities
22–University of Missouri
18–North Dakota State University
17 each–North Carolina State University, University of Illinois
16–Kansas State University
13 each–Iowa State University, Ohio State University
12–Michigan State University
11–University of California
10 each–Texas AgriLife Extension, University of Georgia
9–Louisiana State University
8 each–Mississippi State University, University of Arizona, University of Wisconsin, Utah State University
7–Montana State University
6 each–Penn State University, Purdue University
5 each–Alabama Cooperative Extension, University of Arkansas
4 each–Colorado State University, Oklahoma State University, University of Florida, University of Minnesota
3 each–University of Idaho, University of Kentucky, University of Nebraska
2 each–Cornell University, University of Connecticut, University of Maryland, Washington State University
1 each–Oregon State University, University of Hawaii, University of Nevada, University of New Hampshire, University of Rhode Island, West Virginia University
2–Original releases
42–Other sources

312—TOTAL Releases for October

The November Institutional Team Web Conference will be at 2:30 p.m. EASTERN on Tuesday November 9, 2010. To participate, go to: http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/teammeeting

Content strategy consultants from Minneapolis-based Brain Traffic have completed their work with eXtension and developed a duplicated Content Appraisal process for all eXtension Communities of Practice to use.

In reviewing 180 pages on eXtension.org, Brain Traffic consultants found good, useful content, “eXtension is in a good starting position with clear and useful material.”

In looking at the patterns that emerged during the appraisal, the consultants noted some areas where there are opportunities to improve content effectiveness:

•Content not well adapted for the web. “The weaker content was material that wasn’t written specifically as a web article, such as press releases and Q&As. By adding visual cues like subheads, bold type, and bulleted lists, you can better accommodate the way people read on the web—scanning, skimming, “foraging” for information.”

•Insubstantial or isolated content within the CoP.
–“Many articles are brief “teaser” articles that link to an external site. Users get the real information once they follow the link—and leave the eXtension site. This drives traffic away from other CoP content.”
–“Articles often don’t provide links to other related content within eXtension, even when they’re part of a series. By adding these links, you can help your audience see eXtension and the CoPs as comprehensive information sources—not just a quick answer to one question.”

Brain Traffic also saw some real strengths on the eXtension site:

•Clarity of writing. “It’s clear that Extension experts know how to write for their audience. We didn’t see the kind of dense academic writing that’s common in educational environments.”
•Relevance. “Apart from some outdated news pieces, we found a lot of content that would be relevant, now and in the future, to a broad audience.”
•Practical subject matter. “Extension content is about practical, real-world solutions. This lends itself well to writing actionable content. And people who find your site are likely to have a problem they’re trying to solve—so they’re motivated to learn.”

According to eXtension Associate Director for Content, Craig Wood, “With a solid content appraisal process developed by Brain Traffic, eXtension can address the problem areas and build on their strengths to make our content more usable and useful to our audience.”

For more information about Brain Traffic and this content review process contact Craig Wood at craig.wood@extension.org.

The Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) will recognize the Managing in Tough Times (MiTT) Leadership Team during this year’s Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) annual meeting in Dallas November 14. This group worked quickly to provide a database of Cooperative Extension financial resources for use by Cooperative Extension System workers. The project resulted in the MiTTNeT Directory: http://mittnet.extension.org/

The team includes: Lyla Houglum, Oregon State & Jane Schuchardt, NIFA/USDA co-chairs, Mary Hightower, Karen Ballard, Anne Sortor & Richard Poling, University of Arkansas, Nancy Porter, Clemson University, Dan Cotton & Terry Meisenbach, eXtension, Claudia Mincemoyer, Penn State University, Bo Beaulieu, Mississippi State University, Robert Craven, University of Minnesota, and Tom Coon, Michigan State University.

The eXtension Stakeholder Survey was distributed on October 27. If you have already completed it, please accept our thanks. If you have not completed it, please read on for more information about the survey and how to participate. The deadline for completing the survey is Friday, November 5.

We are requesting your participation in a brief online survey to assess the growth and development of our national eXtension initiative. The survey will take you about 20 minutes to complete and your responses will be completely confidential. The results obtained from this survey will serve as the basis for the 2010 eXtension Progress Review and will also provide useful feedback for purposes in revising and updating the eXtension Strategic Roadmap. You can complete the survey by clicking on the following link:

http://bit.ly/eXtensionStakeholderSurvey

Please make your voice heard, and let us know your feedback about eXtension and your experiences in using eXtension. A few minutes of your time will contribute to our identification of strengths, challenges, and opportunities for the future, while also helping to continue to ensure accountability for this national initiative.

Questions or support regarding the survey may be directed to Michael Lambur, eXtension Evaluation & Research Leader (mike.lambur@extension.org) who has supported the development and deployment of this survey. Results from this evaluation will be published and distributed in March 2011. Please complete the survey by Friday, November 5, 2010, and thanks in advance for your support of this effort.

Chat boxes were blazing as eXtension’s first national virtual conference, featuring outstanding keynote speakers as well as critical conversations engaged more than 700 Cooperative Extension professionals nationwide for three days last month. Keynote speakers Lee Rainie of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, Harold Jarche of Jarche Consulting and the Internet Time Alliance, and Nancy White of Full Circle Associates kept the virtual audience interacting both by phone and chat throughout their addresses and the mediated conversations that followed.

Twenty “critical conversations” focusing on how we are working differently today were conducted by CES faculty and staff and also engaged attendees. A surprise visitor during the final session of the conference was Shawn Callahan, Methods Designer and Story Specialist with Anecdote, a consulting company specializing in the use of stories to enhance business strategies http://www.anecdote.com.au/index.php

Recordings of both keynote and critical conversation sessions can be found here: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/broadcasts/nevc/