Sessions at ACE / NETC version 2.011 with slides on Monday 13th June

Drat! I forgot my password.

"I used to use one password for everything. I needed to change, so now I have like 5 and can't remember them." Sound familiar? If this is you, a password safe can help. We'll show you how to easily keep up with hundreds of passwords using the KeePass Password Safe.
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Application of Digital Tablets for Extension Programs

Extension agents who work in the field to educate clientele are sometimes asked questions that they may not be able to answer immediately, which requires additional time for the agent and the client—this can be problematic if the information required addresses a time sensitive issue. Also, educating clientele on topics that may not be evident in the field is easier to do with photos, video, and other media, but that kind of media is difficult to carry into the field. While laptop computers can be useful, they are large, cumbersome, and often slow. To remedy the problem, two Extension agents experimented with digital tablets to facilitate access to information while educating clients in the field. The agents used the digital tablets to access information requested by the client, and to enhance outdoor educational programs. This kind of technology can be an inexpensive way to deliver information more efficiently, and it can enhance the learning experience of outdoor class participants.

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Prezi: A Nonlinear Alternative to Death By Powerpoint

For many, PowerPoint has become “a way of knowing.” But is knowledge always best represented by a linear sequence of bullets? Rather than lead your audience in a step-like manner, why not give them more control over the sequence of your presentation? Buzz has been steadily growing about Prezi, a cloud-based, easy-to-use nonlinear design tool that offers a striking alternative paradigm for creating and delivering presentations. Rather than a linear sequence, Prezi—which offers a free version for educators--acts more like a Google map of your material, letting you fly over an information landscape at will, zooming in to objects of interest—text, images, videos, links—to pick up additional details.

This session will give you a head start on exploring Prezi and demonstrate how to respond to audience needs by altering your presentation to match those needs. With a nonlinear approach, you can assess audience clues, cues, and questions to move the presentation into more fertile and relevant topics. Prezi will challenge you to rethink how you organize your information, and to just “let go” and give the audience more control.

Project ordering online - providing transparency and management tools

In New Mexico we have released the ways of the stone age and have brought the counties and State 4-H office into a world of transparency for the ordering of 4-H projects. Accountability has shifted from the state office to the counties. Self-audits and histories are available at the click of a button. Go through the process of needs assessment, development and deployment with this simple custom application developed in-house using PHP and MySQL.
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A Symphony of Blogs

By creating a University of Minnesota Extension blog network and template, we found effective methods to deliver traditional news vehicles such as Yard and Garden News and Minnesota Crop News, as well as new approaches to reaching audiences, while reducing the web team’s maintenance. Hear how the blog network functions and get ideas for how the concept can be adapted in a variety of situations.
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Agri-Food and Rural Link - Collaborating Ontario Style - A new approach to university and government collaboration for the mobilization of knowledge

Is Agriculture Extension in Decline in Ontario as noted in the December 2010 Journal of Extension (Article # 6FEA7. Definitely not! In fact, Ontario is embracing an exciting and innovative approach to extension – the Agri-Food and Rural Link.
The Agri-Food and Rural Link is a collaboration between the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and University of Guelph. This hub for translating and transferring research is fostering innovation through advancing the synthesis, dissemination and exchange of research knowledge as well as by expanding collaboration efforts between OMAFRA, the University and community partners and stakeholders.
Our team is developing enhanced resources, knowledge exchange events, and tools that will accelerate the transfer of research knowledge into use across a broad variety of audiences. Agri-Food and Rural Link also offers a funding program to facilitate projects specifically dedicated to knowledge translation and transfer. To date, over 25 knowledge translation and transfer projects have been funded in 2010/2011 covering a broad spectrum of topics. Through Agri-Food and Rural Link, the collaboration between OMAFRA and the University of Guelph is enhancing the ongoing outreach, extension and technology transfer activities that will bring the benefits of research knowledge to Ontario communities.
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Using Facebook in Extension Programming

The growing trend of social network use creates new opportunities for Extension Educators in how they engage with their audience. The Washington State University Extension Forestry program is using Facebook as part of a broad communication strategy. This effort has been largely successful in engaging more people, increasing interaction (including peer to peer interaction), and generating more interest in and awareness of Extension education programs. WSU Extension Forestry’s experience with Facebook has yielded valuable lessons about how to effectively interact through social networking while maintaining professionalism and not significantly increasing workload. Lessons have also been learned regarding the effectiveness of Facebook versus other social network tools such as Twitter and online groups.

Even though the brains of graphic designers, web designers and programmers are all wired differently, they have to work together in harmony in order to succeed. Often times there is miscommunication between moving a project from print to web or vice versa. Here are some of the best practices to ease the translation between different brains and different mediums. The presenters will tell stories of trials and tribulations of projects and how to work more efficiently. Some topics to be covered: where to begin print or web, file management, resolution, optimizing graphics, color challenges, functionality, working together, and flexibility. These tips and tools will provide you with plenty of knowledge to propel your next masterpiece.

In the past decade, more and more Extension content has found its way “onto the web.” However, putting your content online doesn’t ensure access or use of the content by your target audience. The way you use digital communication tools to make the content more discoverable and support your message now matters more than ever.

Social media can help provide multiple points of access for people to discover Extension content including fact sheets, event announcements, curated links, external content, and more. Wise use of social media and other digital communication tools can build new audiences, deepen engagement with existing audiences, add value to traditional Extension offerings, and draw learners into the center of co-constructing, co-creating, and mindfully utilizing research-based information in real-life applications.

Acknowledging time constraints and other work-related demands, this session will utilize social media models, real Extension examples and outcome evaluations, and exercises to help you envision how to create your own path or strategy for using social media to:

-Generate increased discovery of educational information
-Facilitate resource sharing
-Extend and enhance personal learning opportunities
-Integrate multiple social media tools and resources to form a cohesive web presence

Most people don’t think about a disaster unless it’s headline news—and then it may not make an impression unless it is close to home. Often we in Extension don’t think much about disaster, but like it or not, when a disaster happens, Extension is involved. So making an impression that affects a change in people’s attitudes toward disaster preparedness and their ability to recover from a disaster is an important challenge for Extension, and there are success stories to be told. Attend this panel discussion to learn what it takes to deliver effective disaster education.

Panelists Rick Atterberry, Steve Cain and Becky Koch have successfully used a variety of approaches to help their respective states prepare for and recover from floods, power outages and other disasters. Virginia Morgan will moderate the discussion. Bring your questions, comments and ideas for effectively delivering disaster education to the session. Make it a two-way learning opportunity!