Just like having a deep (or high, or sprawling among several rooms) collection of books, I also seem to have a full collection of recorded shows on my DVR. Right now I’m working through It’s All Geek to Me from the Science Channel. These are 30 minute shows hosted by David Pogue, the NY Times Technical columnist. So far I’ve watched the shows about digital cameras, cell phones and iPods. There very good, especially if you have a limited introduction to these tools.
They’re good because Pogue is good. Pogue’s background includes the theatre and he uses an entertaining and humorous delivery method. Much of the shows takes place either on the streets of New York or in tech stores.
Here is a list of upcoming shows. See also Pogue’s show notes for the tips and ideas he shares. David also has a cool site. All are highly recommended.
The Galaxy III website is up and running! Many of the preliminary details are posted including the broad, overview schedule. I’ve participated and presented at the previous two Galaxy programs and highly recommend attending. Having the site and information up this far in advance helps Extension Professionals plan and organize to attend.
Here is the site link. See this link for a brief mission statement for the conference.
Here at OSU Extension we’re on the cusp of selecting a pilot group of internal students (cutting edge OSU Extension Professionals) to test our ability to teach Knowledge Economy programming via Web 2.0 tools. More information about the program can be found here. An initial source of inspiration came from the Otter Group and their work with the American Library Association (see this link for more on Kathleen Gilroy and the Otter Group). As I’ve repeated for the last year or so, the librarians continue to impress me with their experimentation with newer technologies to reach audiences (see an older post here and a new one here).
We’ve also developed a fairly detailed LOGIC model to measure our longer term impacts. I’ll share more of this as we move ahead. Based on our instructors’ training bootcamp I’m expecting this to be a messy but fun experience. More updates as we move ahead. I’d really like to hear more ideas or input from other Extension Professionals (or other fields for that matter) on related programming.
I’m a co-author of a Journal of Extension feature article this month entitled Applied Research Initiative: Training in the Scholarship of Engagement. The article describes a program started in Northwest Ohio in the 1990’s to increase the level of creative and scholarly work by Extension professionals. County level professionals were the primary audience.
One major goal of the program that has generally been successful has been to demonstrate that scholarship and research are already part of local Extension programming, not an additional duty.
One of my co-authors, Cindy Torppa along with Keith Smith and Daney Jackson are moving forward with related ideas in a paper at the next ESP national meeting. We’re still determining future directions, but there are a lot of opportunities for training, collaboration and development. Especially using newer Web 2.0 technologies.
Below is the abstract for our ESP presentation.
Empowering Extension Professionals to Conduct Research
Abstract:
As federal, state, and county budgets tighten, Extension systems across the nation are challenged to find ways to enhance our images with legislators and other stakeholders. At the same time, there is a growing expectation at all levels of government and community practice that agencies and organizations must be able to demonstrate the value they provide to the citizenry. Together, these two pressures are making the ability to conduct research critical to Extension’s ongoing success.
Despite these changes, it can be difficult for Extension personnel to come to terms with the need to add this particular set of skills to their repertoire – particularly when so many of us are already stretching our work lives by being asked to do more with less! In this presentation, we will discuss four aspects of evaluation and outcome research that may help to motivate and inform Extension personnel’s thinking about the need for embedding research practices into their educational programming.
- First, to document the outcomes from educational programs create. It is becoming more critical to demonstrate to stakeholders that Extension programs impact clientele in ways that make a meaningful difference.
- Second, to ensure that the curricula we write and programs we design address the most relevant issues and critical needs of the clientele served.
- Third, to market Extension. Strategic marketing is about identifying an audiences’ needs and then showing them how you fulfill them. By conducting evaluation and applied research that documents the outcomes our programs create, we have the ability to demonstrate to our audiences that we are the source they want to come to get their needs met.
- Fourth, as identifying funding streams to support Extension programming becomes more critical, basic knowledge of research methods and designs is becoming necessary in order to write successful grant applications. Many funders now require that grant applications (a) explain the contribution their program and its evaluation will make (b) include a logic model and, (c) many federal grants now require an experimental or quasi-experimental evaluation design in order to demonstrate that a program “causes” the outcomes it claims to produce.
Literature and information will be shared via lecture and discussion with class participation. Resources that Extension professionals can access and use will also be shared.