Sessions at 2011 eXtension National CoP Workshop on Wednesday 29th June

How can you engage people around your resource area? Is a community different in today’s world of social media than it was in the zip codes you served ten years ago? What does an empowered community look like? Michele Payn-Knoper, CSP, will give you practical tips from her experience in building a virtual community and parallel social media use with her experience as an Extension volunteer. She serves as a resource to the agrifood business through Cause Matters Corp. and is the founder of #AgChat & #FoodChat on Twitter, a lively weekly moderated conversation that’s engaged over 10,000 people from 10 countries. She believes engagement is all about building community - whether you’re in person, on a webinar - or Twitter. This lively keynote will likely change your perspective on what community and conversation mean in 2011, so hold on for some action with MPK!

The Consumer Horticulture Community of Practice launched the Extension Master Gardener blog (http://blogs.extension.org/maste...) in May, 2010 to serve as a national focal and contact point for the Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program, engage EMGs in sharing knowledge across state and county lines, and to ultimately provide new opportunities to increase EMG program brand recognition.

Generating discovery, interest, and use of the newly launched EMG blog was quickly discovered to be dependent on the ability to engage the nation’s vast network of Extension professionals (largely EMG Coordinators), EMGs, and the general gardening public either as blog post contributors, or participants in the conversation.

Specific mention during this session will address questions, such as, how do I…
* Increase discovery and use of my blog?
* Use social media tools or networks to enhance engagement opportunities?
* Attract and engage contributors from across the Cooperative Extension network?
* Sustain a national collaborative blogging effort?

Good marketing of your CoP’s content starts with a marketing plan. Most CoPs have not done a marketing plan fully analyzing audience(s), goal(s), message(s), tactics and time lines. This session will lay the groundwork for you and your fellow CoP members to truly discover what you need to do to get your content and your CoP into the hearts and minds of your customers.

As universities, faculty and staff are under greater pressure to demonstrate meaningful impact and behavior change resulting from outreach and educational programs, impact from online activities can be exceedingly challenging to document. In an attempt to capture some of this data, a survey was designed to collect respondent perceptions on seven general dimensions of the HorseQuest (HQ) online content including content readability and usability, subscriber interaction with the content, effects on user decision-making, overall satisfaction and usefulness, and subscriber demographics. One hundred and ten respondents from 19 states completed the survey. Ninety-two percent of respondents found HQ information somewhat to very useful, 78% indicated HQ was easy to very easy to use, and 96% would recommend the site to others. When asked “based on the information you received from HQ, have you made changes in your horse management and/or training practices,” more than half of the “Yes” responders (n=49) indicated that they had made changes that improved their horse’s health (59%) and performance (51%), while 43% made changes that saved them money. HorseQuest will continue to seek and utilize effective methodology to gain meaningful data documenting impact and behavior changes resulting from utilizing HQ online resources.

Congratulations on being selected as a new eXtension Community of Practice! This session will review the documentation needed to get your CoP funded. Who gets what paperwork, who can assist you in the processing the forms, and the timeframes associated with setting up the award. What is an allowable cost? What happens if my institution subcontracts out part of the work? What is a signature page and what is an AOR? I need more time! How do I get a no cost extension? We need to re-budget our funds, how do I do that? What is an allowable cost? What is the difference between eXtension Initiative and eXtension Foundation? We’ll walk you through the process, and answer other questions you have so can spend less time on paperwork and more time with your Community of Practice.

The Just in Time Parenting (JITP) website features newsletters that are electronically delivered so that parents receive regular issues that are specifically designed to be relevant to the age of the child at that time (prenatal through 5 years old). From April 2009 through February 2011, reporting and analytic tools were used to measure key performance indicators of typical e-mail marketing strategies (i.e., deliveries, opens, clicks on links). The Bronto e-mail marketing platform was used to evaluate the reach and effectiveness of the newsletters and Google Analytics was used with Bronto to monitor access to core content via the newsletter. These software tools provided useful information about the growth of contacts and overall performance over time. Initial results led to revisions of the JITP newsletter email reminders for months 1-12 to use different subject titles, and to include more content, and pictures. New reminders for months 13 through 60 were designed to include a picture and table of contents in addition to a link to the complete issue on the web. This presentation will focus on the initial results, the growth and performance changes after the revisions to the JITP newsletters, and a comparison of the number of referrals to the website by the newsletters versus other sources.

They will share their strategies for designing educational tools; will address common pitfalls in educational media (such as, “it seems educational so it must be”, and “If I tell them, they will learn it”). They will explain why “having a good idea for a game” is not enough, share the power of the 3-minute video, and provide recommendations on integrating media with your eXtension CoP to reach youth and adults.

Many CoPs have decided to utilize social media as a method of engagement between their members and their communities of interest. For both experienced and new CoPs who are using – or contemplating using – social media, this session will concentrate on the strategy of engagement in social channels. There are many different methods and ways that you can use social media to engage your network. This hands on workshop will explore and explain what different engagement models look like, and how they operate. The focus on this workshop will be interactively demonstrate what “engagement” looks like through using social media in different ways. You will learn how to set up some strategies for working with clients, and for choosing tools that enhance your reach. Learn how to move your CoP from an online presence to an active engagement network. Join staff from eXtension and keynote speaker, Michele Payn-Knoper, in this hands on work session involving developing your CoPs social media strategy. You will have the opportunity to talk one-on-one with MPK and each other as you explore tools, ask questions, and gather information about how people are using social media to enhance their personal learning networks.

The plant breeding and genomics community of practice (CoP), an initiative funded through the USDA-NIFA plant breeding and genomics competitive grants program, focuses on helping plant breeders translate basic research into practice. Developed by public and private researchers and educators, the content targets professional plant breeders and associated personnel. Prior to content development, a needs assessment was conducted within the plant breeding community by an external evaluator. This assessment revealed that the community desired training and tutorials demonstrating application of plant genomics tools to crop improvement. Tutorials, case studies, reviews, and articles in webinar, video, and text formats are being developed to meet these needs. To facilitate collaborative content development, a password-protected Drupal work site was constructed. Within this site, multiple authors can jointly develop content and track content progress using a workflow tool. The workflow tool is also used to track a three-tiered review process. Prior to publication, content is peer-reviewed by experts in the CoP and copy edited. The copy editor ensures that all content meets the community’s established style guide. Authors are also encouraged to submit content for publication in indexed, peer-reviewed journals such as JOVE and the Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education.

The eXtension environment is designed to provide the “best of the best” research based information to serve clientele needs. It is based on collaboration and content evolves based on user input. It expands delivery of quality research-based information to individuals not currently accessing extension materials. The extension professionals providing the content to eXtension exist in an environment where output and performance are measured by authorship of peer-reviewed publications and delivery to in-state constituents with documented impacts. The development and long-term stability of a COP depend on successfully meshing the strengths and characteristics of the eXtension environment with the constraints and incentives of the content suppliers. . Each COP must define and deal with the issues of scholarship, peer review, authorship and incentives to content suppliers. This presentation summarizes the Cooperative COP’s strategies for authorship, peer-review and incentives for the development of content. The policies and systems developed maintain authorship and recognition for content suppliers provide recognition for reviewers and have developed a strong team of content topic managers. The community also developed a unique linkage with regional research teams that underpins the COP information. These topics and strategies are relevant to all COPs and provide excellent opportunity for lively discussion.

Engaging academic faculty members, particularly those without extension appointments, in collaborative efforts to develop content can enrich the information made available through eXtension and create opportunities to develop programs and grant proposals. eXtension can serve as an venue for sharing and applying the results of research projects, as well as encourage the development of applied research studies that provide practical results for Cooperative Extension personnel. Academic faculty in communications and other disciplines already have established working relationships with colleagues who are active with the Extension Disaster Education Network, resulting in creation of a community through which disaster-related research can be shared with Extension personnel and clientele. Through these efforts, research is being conducted that will help individuals and communities become more resilient to disasters. In this session, members of the community will share their approach to these collaborations and discuss ideas for additional collaborative opportunities.

In preparing content for a youth audience there are a few considerations to keep in mind. The youth target audience for eXtension is K-12 of which 4-H is a part. Integrating 4-H content with the eXtension public site is relatively straightforward. However, 4-H is not our only audience so content must be presented as a land-grant resource to a broader audience. As a land-grant resource, the knowledge base and learning environment for youth can be delivered under the eXtension banner as well as the traditional 4-H clover. Other considerations include presenting content in appropriate reading levels, accommodations for adult facilitators, safe learning environments, collaborative learning, interfacing with social media, virtual learning environments, and more. Interfacing with third party resources is critical as well in order to provide paths of learning for the individual. As the Youth SET for Life CoP transitions to the For Youth, For Life CoP, an expanded knowledge base provides a rich learning resource for all learners. The land-grant knowledge base as a starting point for youth audiences can be an excellent service to our audience. Learning forums initiated with eXtension content can expand to include other resources including new knowledge generated by the forum itself.

The focus of this session is to provide an overview of the stages of CoP development and the corresponding evaluation activities that may be conducted—markers for success—to document participation, engagement, and outcomes the CoP has achieved. Tools discussed will be online surveys, Google Analytics, and applications to document engagement through social media. This session will be of interest to members of new CoPs. The outcome of the session for participants will be a blueprint for action to move their CoP evaluation efforts forward.

They will share their strategies for designing educational tools; will address common pitfalls in educational media (such as, “it seems educational so it must be”, and “If I tell them, they will learn it”). They will explain why “having a good idea for a game” is not enough, share the power of the 3-minute video, and provide recommendations on integrating media with your eXtension CoP to reach youth and adults.

Educators have always been advised to seek to understand the audience that is the target of their efforts. This is particularly true when the audience has a unique context that complicates a topic many already find difficult. This is the case for Personal Financial Management Program Managers (PFMPs) who serve the military community providing financial education, counseling and referral services. Researchers have found benefit in employing participatory research methods which involve engaging members from the community of interest in the research effort from its inception to shape the research process and delivery of benefit back to the target community. Adopting a participatory framework, the Financial Security for All Community of Practice engaged military personal finance professionals in the process of defining, designing and delivering employee professional development opportunities for their colleague Personal Financial Management Program Managers. Extension faculty, educators, and military personal finance professionals from each service branch develop and deliver educational content utilizing 21st century techniques to include social media strategies and distance education. Speakers will present their model of multi-community collaboration and discuss the process in which they communicate across the different communities bridging the world of Extension faculty, educators, and personal finance educators serving the military community.

A key component of any evaluation is reporting the results. This demonstration session will outline the basics of reporting the results of CoP evaluations. Topics include identifying the reporting audience, linking results to CoP goals and outcomes and demonstrating change. Examples from current CoPs will be used to demonstrate effective communication of evaluations.

A decade ago, the phrase “social networking” did not exist. Today, it is a major avenue for communication, marketing, and information sharing. Social media literacy is a 21st century technical skill. Along with computer literacy and subject matter expertise, Extension educators need to understand, not only how specific social media tools operate (e.g., how to tweet) but, more importantly, how to engage online users in two-way information flows and measure the impact of social media outreach. This workshop will describe results of an online survey conducted by the eXtension Financial Security for All (FSA) Community of Practice (CoP) to determine the social media capacity and activity of its members. Several FSA CoP leaders began delivering social media outreach in 2009 and were interested in gauging the capacity of the entire CoP to deliver financial education in this manner. The survey was conducted to inform two subsequent FSA CoP programs: an archived webinar on social media use and impact evaluation and a national grant-funded financial education social media outreach project. Survey questions covered topics such as social media tools used, methods of social media access, frequency of use, descriptions of content posted, number of fans/followers/friends, and social media impact evaluation strategies.

Planning an effective program begins with an evaluation of the needs of the audience or the community, and the resources available to meet those needs. Having objectives that are tied to local, state, and national goals, building these objectives throughout the program, and linking your program to a sound theoretical approach are important for maximizing program impact. This session will provide information on needs assessment, designing measurable objectives, incorporating theories in programs, and using appropriate technologies in reporting impact data. Best practices for building strong programs will be identified.

Avian influenza (AI) outbreaks occasionally occur throughout the world and have become of great importance to animal and human health. This disease has become very disruptive to the poultry industry, causing millions of chickens, geese, and turkeys to be destroyed to prevent further spread of the disease. There has also been a growing concern over the loss of human lives and management of potential pandemics of the highly pathogenic strains of the avian influenza virus.
In an effort to prevent AI, several projects have been developed through eXtension that focus on educating diverse audiences about avian influenza by various online venues, including eXtension Community of Practice(CoP), Moodle biosecurity certification courses, and virtual hands-on training in Second Life. These free web-based sites provide easy access to accurate and up-to-date information on avian influenza, biosecurity practices, and outbreak implications to the general public as well as specific target groups, such as emergency response personnel, backyard flock owners, and youth/4-H members. These educational tools provide engaging learning environments and virtual practice opportunities specific to preventing and responding to avian influenza.

Since 2007, the Home Energy Community of Practice has been successful in providing extension.org clients with valuable content for existing homes, new homes, and alternative energy (wind, geothermal, solar). The community coordinates content through four leaders and over one hundred community experts on topics such as lighting, weatherization, appliances, landscaping, and best-construction practice in various climate zones.

The portal contains videos, webinars, step-by-step graphics, and content geared toward consumers including those preferring do-it-yourself projects. The community provides its members and related professionals with monthly webinars on home energy topics. Since the formal launch in 2009, the Home Energy portal receives approximately 50,000 page viewings each year and averages a few thousand viewings each month. Each month, the community also adds relevant specific topics, such as tax rebate and credit information during tax season. Each community member is assigned to core knowledge areas so that consumer requests, ask an expert answers, and FAQs are consistently added to the site.

In 2010, the Home Energy Community of Practice began to expand content to include issues relating to indoor air quality and healthy indoor environments due to the number of consumer inquiries related to the subject and its relationship to home energy efficiency.

The Imported Fire Ant Community of Practice has used simple
questionnaires to determine how individual community members want to be engaged in the community. On-going projects are presented so members have the ability to indicate which content projects they would like to lead, develop content for, or review. Project priority rankings are
been used to decide the order in which topic areas are developed.
Members are asked to suggest ideas for, then rank, topic areas for new
content. At the same time, they are asked to indicate if they would be
willing to lead, participate in, or review that content area, if it
should be selected for development. This approach has allowed us
develop project teams, without consuming valuable face-to-face meeting

Content appraisals are necessary for both new and existing communities to ensure published online content remains relevant and is discoverable. We will discuss the eXtension content appraisal process starting with the positive attributes that make up good content followed by a look at the online system for managing the appraisal. Sample content will be illustrated with appropriate ratings to further assist communities in developing an understanding of the eXtension Content Apprasial process. Content appraisals will become a critical step in the development of eXtension content and communities will be expected to participate in this quality control measure.

Google Doc’s collaborative document working environment (compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint) allows you to work, store, organize, search, and quite conveniently, share documents without the complications of emailing several document versions back and forth between collaborators. With flexible sharing and permission options to match the collaborative environment or task of your choice, features such as sticky note-like comments and display of real-time text status markers can make it feel like you are working side-by-side with other collaborators, even though they are afar.

Come explore how to use Google Docs for sharing and collaboratively working in ways that improve your ability to connect, collaborate, organize, and manage your creative and collaborative efforts. This session will specifically focus on: Sharing options ( What they mean, and how they allow people to participate), Key collaborative features, Key ways CoPs can share via Google docs, Forms/spreadsheets options (helpful for surveying group needs, getting group input), Content management solutions (tracking article/faq needs, project milestones/timelines, managing hyperlinks in content), Collaborative brainstorming/writing

What you would like to know about using Google Docs? Go to this Google Docs form http://bit.ly/cop-googledoc and let us know so we can cover it at the CoP Workshop.

InstantSurvey is the online survey tool that is available to all CoPs to assess needs and document participation and outcomes of their work with other CoP members, stakeholders, and clientele. This demonstration session will cover the basics of developing, distributing, and reporting survey results using InstantSurvey.

This workshop will describe a national social media outreach project conducted by the Financial Security for All (FSA) CoP to promote savings and debt reduction during America Saves Week 2011 and strategies used to measure its impact. A grant funded two FSA CoP members’ time to develop and track usage of “cut and paste” Twitter and Facebook messages that were e-mailed to almost 100 project cooperators. A total of 70 Facebook posts and 70 tweets were prepared. The messages, which provided information about the America Saves program or some aspect of saving money or reducing expenses, were, in turn, distributed through cooperators’ individual social media accounts. Here is an example of a “turn-key” message that complies with Twitter’s 140 character limit: “Save >$2/day buying coffee vs. latte. In 1 year, you could “find” $500 to save. Wake up & smell the coffee! http://bit.ly/ASEnroll #eXasw” Project outreach was tracked through a project-specific hash tag (#eXasw), online surveys of project participants and their content users, the number of clicks on project-specific URLs, and Klout and Peer Index “Twitter “influence metrics.” At the conclusion of America Saves Week, 1,037 tweets and 845 clicks from Facebook messages and 234 clicks from tweets were recorded.

In this session, we will present best practices for using web conferencing technology. Different technologies will be discussed to include audio conferencing, Skype, web conferencing, traditional video conferencing and streaming broadcasts. When to use each technology based on purpose, audience, cost and capabilities. We will discuss how to plan and prepare for webinar series and provide a few strategies for program delivery.