Schedule of eXtension Briefings at Ag Outlook

eXtension will present a series of briefings on various aspects of this exciting, new information resource. Leaders from eXtension’s Communities of Practice as well as eXtension staff will discuss the following topics:

Thursday, FEBRUARY 21

4:15 - 4:35 p.m.

eXtension’s Ask an Expert System: Responding locally and specifically

Like all eXtension Communities of Practice, Consumer Horticulture has developed basic content and a database of Frequently Asked Questions. Yet, public users will still want locally specific answers to their gardening questions. Through eXtension’s Ask an Expert system, user questions are routed to a local expert for an answer and the answer may be incorporated into the existing FAQ database.

4:45 - 5:05 p.m.

Helping Farm and Ranch Families Make Critical Financial Decisions

Learn about numerous resources available in eXtension’s Personal Finance area that can help farm and ranch families make important financial decisions.

5:15 - 5:35 p.m.

Putting the Numbers to eXtension Horse Annual Impact

Learn about clientele impact and site usage of eXtension's horse community. Using this information, the group has seen statistically significant increases in unique visitors and pages visited over the last year.

Friday, FEBRUARY 22 -- Morning

8:00 - 8:20 a.m.

Chatting Up HorseQuest Users Online

Content experts offer quarterly online chats with content that’s seasonally appropriate. Feedback gathered over the last two years helps to mold this two-way communication. This format is new to faculty experts and has given them a new way to access their audiences.

8:30 - 8:50 a.m.

Taking the Sting Out of Fire Ants Decision Tool

eXtension helps producers and consumers develop fire ant management plans, customized to fit individual needs. Responses to the choices in the decision tree will be used to make a management plan tailored for managing fire ants in a cattle operation, in a home lawn, or in other urban situations.

9:00 - 9:20 a.m.

Why eXtension? Benefits to the People We Serve

eXtension brings together experts from more than 74 land-grant universities to provide objective, scientific information to the public. By creating high-quality research-based information, eXtension will serve the needs of the anywhere-anytime generation of American users, giving them quick access to the organized customized resources they need to make informed decisions.

9:30 - 9:50 a.m.

Demographics: Helping Stakeholders Help Family Caregivers

The Family Caregiver Community of Practice has a database providing critical, state-specific information to community stakeholders and others who serve family caregivers. The information includes the numbers of older adults and caregivers and the estimated economic impact of caregiving within each state all presented in a user-friendly format.

10:00 - 10:20 a.m.

Are there Imported Fire Ants in Second Life?

Avatar-based virtual world education is highly interactive and provides a richer, more effective and enjoyable learning experience. eXtension is experimenting in using virtual worlds to provide real-world educational opportunities. This session will showcase a simulated "Virtual State Fair", where eXtension colleagues and people from around the globe can meet, interact, and explore fair exhibits. Featured will be an exhibit called the “Ant Adventure”, demonstrating an educational activity developed by the Fire Ant Community of Practice to teach children about ant identification using a dichotomous key.

10:30 - 10:50 a.m.

The Voices of the People: Stakeholders Weigh in on Entrepreneurship

Hear how the insights of people across America were captured by the Entrepreneurs and Their Communities team and the types of entrepreneurship activities that Extension stakeholders feel must become part of the economic fabric of communities across the United States.

11:00 - 11:20 a.m.

Engaging Parents "Just in Time"

The Just in Time Parenting Community of Practice delivers information to parents specific to their child’s age and then automatically collects follow up survey data to assess the impact of the program. The system automatically generates reports by state and county, allowing local extension staff to report on the impacts of this program to local stakeholders. The system also provides the capacity to report on the nationwide impact of the program.

11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Stump the Expert

Come see contributing experts from the new eXtension.org square off against leading media who will try to "stump" the expert panel.

eXtension.org is a new online resource that offers valuable information to help consumers make decisions to improve their lives or to learn more about a variety of topics from personal finance and parenting to horses and horticulture. Experts from more than 70 universities will be continually providing new content to eXtension.org and responding to questions to help consumers improve their life every day through access to objective, research-based information and educational opportunities.

Do you have a question you'd like to ask the expert?

12:30 - 12:50 p.m.

Break

Friday, FEBRUARY 22 -- Afternoon

1:00 - 1:20 p.m.

Access, Answers, Resources and more for the Dairy Industry

DAIReXNET provides educational and decision-making tools and timely information for dairy producers, allied industry partners, extension employees, and consumers by providing science-based information and learning opportunities. Twenty-one state and regional newsletters are searchable on the site and/or can be received via a RSS feed. Links to all state dairy websites are included along with the latest articles on topics which affect the profitability of today’s small, family owned and large dairy businesses.

1:30 - 1:40 p.m.

Building Online Curriculum using eXtension's Courseware

Communities of Practice are delivering in-depth content as complete self-paced lessons and certificate programs. Learn more about how these modules are being developed and offered using the Moodle courseware.

2:00 - 2:20 p.m.

Engaging Users through Frequently Asked Questions

The Financial Security for All Community of Practice has teams of experts organized to interact with consumers through more than 1,000 Frequently Asked Questions available to consumers and offering the most relevant, unbiased, research-based and accurate source of personal finance answers on the World Wide Web.

2:30 - 2:50 p.m.

Connecting to Users through Webcasting

The Livestock and Poultry Learning Center has hosted national webcast seminars on animal manure management issues including changes to federal Confined Animal Feeding Operation regulations, value of manure as an energy, vegetative treatment systems for open lots, application of treatment technologies, and managing manure as a nutrient resource.

3:00 - 3:20 p.m.

eXtension Collaborative Tools

Tools being used to help in the transformation of Cooperative Extension working collaboratively across the country include wikis, web conferencing, instant messaging, Jabber Chat, frequently asked questions, events and more!