National eXtension Initiative

The eXtension Foundation and Educational Media at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have partnered to offer app development and distribution opportunities for Communities of Practice and Extension organizations across the country.

Services include:
• Managing the eXtension Apple and Google Play stores.
• Consultation and development services for Communities of Practice to develop applications or estimate the cost of development when applying for grants.
• Reviewing applications to ensure they meet the specifications set forth by app distributors.
• Working with developers to update and support developed applications.
• Serving as a resource to help Extension organizations navigate the complexities of creating, distributing and selling applications. These include the technical, legal, financial, marketing and administrative roles related to app development.

Since 2011, Nebraska’s Educational Media has developed more than 30 applications on the Apple and Android platforms. These include native, hybrid, and web applications using IOS, Android and Flash development. All of these applications have an educational focus with the majority of them related to agriculture.

For more information on this relationship contact Dan Cotton, dcotton@extension.org.

Administrators and staff at Oregon State University Extension have adopted, shaped and marketed eXtension’s Ask an Expert so it’s inviting not only to Oregon residents, but to OSU Extension staff as well. Jeff Hino, Extension Learning Technology Leader, and Sandy Reichhuber are the behind the scenes folks who work to manage the system, get Extension staff involved and showcase the results.

In April, Jeff donned his ”Question Man” coat, and recognized OSU Extension faculty and staff for their outstanding participation in the first Ask an Expert Awards ceremony. In addition to certificates, the top three performers each received an iPad Mini courtesy of Scott Reed, Director of OSU Extension Service. Hino noted that OSU Extension leadership is fully supportive of Ask an Expert and considers answering online questions as important as those asked in an office or over the phone. “So, it was an easy sell to get support from the top to give away prizes with the awards,” said Hino.

One faculty member and one Master Gardener volunteer received “Outstanding Performer” awards. A third award went to an Extension wildlife specialist for the outstanding Question of the Year. The top performer awards were based on the number of questions answered, the turnaround time for responses, the quality of the answers (succinct but linking to additional Extension information) and engagement. The Question of the Year award recognizes a faculty member for the quality of answers and commitment to the program independent of how many questions they answer. “Otherwise only horticulture folks would get awards,” said Hino, alluding to the disproportionate number of gardening questions received by Ask an Expert.

2013 OSU Ask an Expert Outstanding Faculty award winner Ross Penhallegon and Outstanding Volunteer award winner Jacki Dougan with project coordinator Jeff Hino

Oregon’s maverick approach to Ask an Expert is also evident in how the system is set up. While many states’ Ask an Expert systems have a separate widget for every county, Oregon has only one. This geometry means all questions can be efficiently assigned independent of county staffing, and hence be more efficient, and take better advantage of expertise around the state. Hino and his colleagues stress that because the program is funded in part by Oregon taxpayers, reaching a larger audience is a priority. Ask an Expert has partly replaced traditional phone calls and walk-in questions, as well as reached a new online audience. “It’s the new normal,” said Hino. “These questions can serve as a rapid needs assessment on topics that OSU Extension can respond to with a news release or a publication.”

Perhaps an Oregonian never gets around to submitting a question, but he or she can read the featured Question of the Week, prominently displayed on the OSU Extension Service website where a new question and answer is added each week ( http://extension.oregonstate.edu/extension-ask-an-expert/featured-questions.)

But OSU Extension doesn’t stop there. Staff create animations from fun questions (http://youtu.be/2LeSHIwH_yM). And, they see Ask an Expert 2.0 as interactive enough to take on some of the qualities of social media, and regularly feed questions and answers to Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

The impact of the OSU marketing campaign has paid off, as the program continues to grow in size, popularity and impact since the Oregon Ask an Expert widget went online in March 2011. More than 131 faculty experts and more than 30 unpaid Master Gardeners currently answer questions in Oregon. Ask an Expert: it’s all about working differently in Extension today.

National media outlets featured and cited eXtension on a number of topics in May 2013.

Animal manure management – 3 mentions

Creating healthy communities – 1 mention

Dairy cattle – 5 mentions

Families, food and fitness — 1 mention

Imported fire ants – 2 mentions

Organic agriculture – 1 mention

Parenting – 3 mentions

Small and backyard flocks – 1 mention

eXtension – 7 mentions

If you know of other eXtension mentions in national media outlets or have suggestions of potential national news stories, contact Lynette Spicer at lynette.spicer@eXtension.org.

The mentions with links to media are posted at http://create.extension.org/node/96229.

Dave Gray, who will be a keynote speaker at the March 2014 joint meeting of the National Extension Directors & Administrators (NEDA) and the National eXtension Conference, will present “The Connected Organization” at a virtual conference hosted by eXtension on Thursday, June 27, 2013 at 1 p.m. ET. Go to https://learn.extension.org/events/1096 for details.

Universities, non-profits, governmental agencies, and Extension systems must embrace the principles of the Connected Organization to thrive in the future.

Being connected means being deeply engaged with faculty, staff, partners, and clientele, changing how work is done, how you measure success, and how performance is rewarded. It requires a new way of thinking about your organization: less like a machine to be controlled, and more like a complex, dynamic system that can learn and adapt over time.

Please join in learning how we can begin to transition Extension and others to being connected organizations. This is the first of three online sessions leading up to a dynamic conversation about the future of Extension to be held at the 3rd National eXtension Conference next March in Sacramento, California.

The presentation will be conducted as a Google+ Hangout On Air. Attendees can view and participate in the conversation on the Google+ Event page or on the Network Literacy CoP YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/NetworkLiteracyCoP). For more details on eXtension’s use of Hangouts On Air see http://bit.ly/on-air-instructions

Due to a lack of space with competing conferences, the joint meeting of NEDA and the National eXtension Conference [NEDA/NeXC2014] will now be held at the Hyatt Regency Sacramento in Sacramento CA, March 24-28, 2014.

The first keynote speaker for the joint meeting will be Dave Gray, author of ‘Game Storming’ and ‘The Connected Company’. Gray works with executives in the world’s leading companies and organizations to spark breakthrough thinking, to find and clarify their greatest challenges and opportunities, and to design their way into the future.

Additional conference details and announcement of additional speakers are expected in the coming weeks.

Plan now to join us in Sacramento in March 2014!!!!

Photo Courtesy Fort Hood Sentinel

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a leading concern and the signature wound of war for American service members returning from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan the last 12 years. Just as we are learning from the effects of multiple concussions for athletes, the military is learning about these concussion-related injuries on the battlefield. Though there is much we still don’t know, families who care for those who live with TBI need to learn about its effects and how to care for those returning home with the condition. The increased numbers of returning service members with TBI and companion complications has caused the Department of Defense and the Veterans Affairs to look at significant changes in the treatment of these injuries. Although family caregivers receive education about TBI, many families find they need additional and ongoing support.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Wounded Warrior Program has teamed up with the eXtension Family Caregiving CoP and the Military Families Learning Network in offering webinars for caregivers. While the webinars are geared for military families, the latest research that is being shared is helpful to anyone who is living with TBI, has a family member or friend with the condition, and professionals who work with these types of families. The webinars focus on complications, issues, coping, and problem-solving strategies.

A new free application for handheld mobile devices will help corn and soybean growers make field and management decisions.

The corn and soybean app was designed to help growers plan their work in the office or on the field. The app includes a crop calendar for corn and soybeans, some of the growth stages for corn, access to crop progress reports and useful facts for helping make production decisions.

The calendar in the app sets approximate dates for field work and management.

The app’s features include:

Useful everyday equivalences and measures
-weight and seed compositions
-row width and length
-how much is one acre, gallon, pound

Production calendar for prioritizing and scheduling work
-corn for grain
-corn for sillage
-full season soybean
-double crop soybean

Growth stages
-key growth stages in corn
-corn growing degree days calculations
-GDDs expectations

Reports
-USDA crop reports
-Development and harvesting progress by state

The app was developed by the corn and soybean experts on eXtension led by Chad Lee, University of Kentucky grain crops Extension specialist. Additional images from the app are at http://www.extension.org/67906.

The app may be downloaded at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cornproduction/id643458959?mt=8.

Agricultural and Food Law

The Agricultural and Food Law Community of Practice provides objective legal research and information dealing with the array of local, state, federal and international laws, regulations and policies that impact the nation’s food, fiber and energy systems. The Community of Practice is led by the National Agricultural Law Center, headquartered in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The CoP leaders are Harrison Pittman and Rusty Rumley from Arkansas. The primary topics in this resource area are agritourism, alternative dispute resolution, business organization, environmental law, estate planning, food law, Native American agriculture and renewable energy law.
Check it out at eXtension.org/ag_law

Animal Welfare
As the Animal Welfare Community of Practice develops content, members encourage the submission of questions for their experts. Topic areas will include ethics, housing, disease, transport, handling, slaughter, euthanasia, and pain and distress. Information on the site will cover cattle (dairy and beef), sheep, goats, horses, camelids (llamas and alpacas), poultry (chickens and turkeys), and swine. The CoP leaders are Maurice Eastridge and Jessica Pempek from Ohio State University.
See http://www.extension.org/animal_welfare

Volunteer Administration
The Volunteer Administration Community of Practice is a clearinghouse for peer-reviewed resources and expert-created professional development focused on improving the knowledge and practice of those responsible for the administration of volunteer systems. It is a central, convenient, easy-to-use resource synthesizing the diverse arena of applied and scientific research. The Community leader is Molly Frendo from Michigan State University.
Check it out at http://www.extension.org/volunteer_administration

eXtension in Second Life® is on target for an outstanding 600% increase in vistor traffic in 2013. The key to this success is to regularly feature content that is fresh, dynamic, relevant, and fun.

The next featured event will be Bedbug Hotel, opening June 10. In this scenario, visitors will learn facts about the growing bedbug problem and how to protect themselves while traveling. The virtual “Littletown Inn” is a classy looking establishment, apparently clean, but this should not give visitors a false sense of security. Bedbugs can lurk in any hotel room (spoiler alert–they do!) Will visitors make it through check in and arrival without being bitten? Or will they find the telltale signs of bedbug activity, report it to the manager, and receive a gift from the hotel?

eXtension’s current featured event, Virtual Food Safety Inspector, has attracted more than 8,000 visits in just six weeks. Far more engaging than a static web page, this environment challenges visitors to hunt for 16 food safety hazards in the local diner. Along the way folks learn about food safety, and those who persevere to the end win a prize package of virtual goodies. Virtual Food Safety Inspector will remain open, and is ideal for educators to use as a teaching tool. Contact eXtension’s Virtual Worlds Coordinator, LuAnn Phillips, for information on how to enhance your programming with virtual 3D content.

eXtension recently adopted Qualtrics as our online survey tool. In collaboration with the University of New Hampshire we will be offering an informal learning community to help users learn best practices for online surveys and basics of using Qualtrics. The learning community will kick off on June 20 at 2pm ET with a webinar on using surveys for program development and evaluation followed by a series of Google+ hangouts to discuss specifics of using Qualtrics. For more information: http://bit.ly/qualtricslearning