Innovate Extension May 11th & 12th: What Resources Will Be Available?

This is the third post in our series detailing the upcoming innovateExtension event May 12th. You can view other posts in the series here

 

This All Sounds Really Exciting, But a Bit Intimidating!

Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered! A pre-event webinar on Creative & Innovative Thinking facilitated by the OSU Leadership Center’s Beth Flynn [Save the Date = April 28th @ 9:00am] and other resources will be offered to participants to help you prepare for May 12th. innovateExtension itself will be all about developing innovative ideas and solutions in a fun environment… not necessarily about hard work with a lot of preparation leading up to the event.

We will also have coaches on hand during the event! Each participating team will be assigned a “creative coach” to help them during their work session and pitch development. Our creative coaches are experts in thinking outside the box and helping folks stay on task! Who are they? Our Ed Tech Unit has hand picked eXtension Ed Tech Learning Network innovation gurus to serve in this role – our OSU Extension ETIT (Extension Technology and Innovation Team) members will be assisting as well!

Creative Coaches

 

Bradd Anderson: University of Missouri State 4-H Youth Development Specialist, Genius Behind FilmFest 4-H

 

 

 

Bob Bertsch: North Dakota State University Web Technology Specialist / Ag Communications, Genius Behind Working Differently in Extension Podcast 

 

 

 

 

Alice Henneman: University of Nebraska – Lincoln Family & Consumer Sciences / Dietitian, Genius Behind UNL Pinterest and CookItQuick.org

 

 

 

 

Michele Walfred: University of Delaware Ag Communications, Genius Behind Social Musings and UDEL on Periscope

 

 

OSU Extension ETIT Members: Mark Light, Amanda Rysz, Carmen Irving, Andy Londo, Heather Gottke, Vickie Snyder, Stephen Heppe, Brian Raison, Jerry Thomas, Ken Martin, Danae Wolfe, Jamie Seger

 

Event Objectives:

  • To provide a day-long work session for innovative program planning.
  • To provide a fun environment conducive to creative thinking.
  • To inspire teams and individuals to update programs, change the way they work, or develop solutions to organizational challenges.
  • To provide Extension staff an opportunity to present new ideas and solutions to colleagues and administration.

 

Attend innovateOSU on May 11th to be inspired and learn how others in academia are creatively solving age-old dilemmas and finding new tools to strengthen their work. 

Attend our post-innovate event just for OSU Extension on May 12th to put these ideas and inspiration into practice.

 

Next Up: How Do We Participate?

 

Want to know more? Have questions? Leave us a comment below. Or, feel free to send questions directly to Jamie or Danae.

February First Friday Coffee Break with an Ed Tech: Social Media Image Templates

If you missed our First Friday Coffee Break with an Ed Tech this month, the webinar recording is now available!

What you missed:

  • Branded Social Media Image Templates
    • where to access
    • walk-through instructions demonstrating how to edit
  • Q&A on Ed Tech-related items and issues
  • InnovateExtension announcements
  • National eXtension Conference information

Click Here to View the Recording

 

Our next First Friday Coffee Break will be March 4th from 10:00am – 11:00am EST, topic TBD. Have a topic suggestion for a future Coffee Break? Comment below or email it to Jamie or Danae.

Editable Social Media Profile Templates

Social media branding got you down? Use our edit-friendly templates to create beautifully branded social media profile photos for your Facebook or Twitter account. We’ve developed templates in PowerPoint so all Extension staff can quickly and easily create OSU Extension branded profile images.

ANR ProfileVisit our Social Media Template Box folder to access the templates along with step-by-step instructions for creating your profile image. We’ve included two templates – one with just the block O bug and one with the block O bug and the scarlet Extension banner. Choose the template that makes sense for your social media account.

If you’d like help learning how to create your social media profile using these templates, join Jamie and Danae on the First Friday Coffee Break with an Ed Tech on February 5 at 10am (TODAY!).

Questions or comments? Let us know!

Files at Your Fingertips: The Beauty of Box

Imagine having all your work files accessible at your fingertips all the time. With Buckeye Box and its associated apps, you can have easy access to your most important files whether you’re at the office, home, or even in the field.

phone

Make it a New Year’s Resolution

If you’re not yet using Box, you should start now. Earlier this year, OSU increased the storage size of Box from 50GB to unlimited for all OSU employees. This means there is no excuse to not be storing your entire hard drive in the cloud. The Box Sync app makes it super simple to sync files from your hard drive to your Box account. Once downloaded, you can drag and drop any file into the Box Sync folder for instant synchronization to cloud storage.

To install the Box Sync app on your computer, visit Box Sync for Windows or Box Sync for Mac and follow the instructions for downloading the appropriate app. Once installed, you can save the Box Sync folder somewhere easily accessible on your computer (I would recommend on your desktop or dock if you’re using a Mac).

To start syncing, simply drag and drop files or folders into your new Box Sync folder! Keep in mind that sync time will vary depending on file size and internet connection (after installing Box Sync on my computer, I decided to sync all of the files on my computer and it took several hours to complete the process).

To access your Box files on the go, you may want to also consider downloading the Box app on your mobile device (visit this site to browse all of the available Box apps). With Box app on your phone or tablet, you’ll be able to access and email your work files any time from anywhere (as long as you have access to internet).

If you’re a first-time Box user, visit Buckeye Box and click “Sign Up” to enable your account.

Questions or comments? Don’t hesitate to reach out to Danae or Jamie.

Web-Based Survey Workshop December 14th!

Get a jump start on your 2016 program planning by participating in an upcoming workshop offered by the Program Development and Evaluation unit December 14th. The hands-on workshop will cover:

  • Web-based survey best practices
  • Basic features of LimeSurvey and Qualtrics
  • Guided survey development

This workshop will take place in Columbus. Registration is now open – sign up soon, as these workshops fill up quickly!

Web based survey training flyer_December 2015

Contact Debby Lewis with any questions.

Before You Blog Best Practices Checklist

Danae and I recently walked the Live Smart Ohio blog authors through an updated version of our blogging best practices tip sheet. It includes the useful rules of thumb below to check before you hit “publish” on your next blog post, especially if you submit your blog content for peer review.

Does your post…

  • Have a good title that includes keywords?
  • Have less than 300 words in the body of your post?
  • Have a quality photo, image, infographic, or video included?
  • Have a few embedded links that readers would find helpful?
  • Have a call to action at the end? (information included that directs readers to local or statewide Extension / OSU resources)?
  • Include content that can easily be repurposed?
  • Cite your hyperlinked sources in the endnotes below the content?

More in-depth information and resource links for each tip in the list can be found in the slidedeck below.

 

We suggest bookmarking this post, or download and print the PDF to always have a copy in front of you.

Do you currently blog? Add your blog links in the comments below and tell us what you’ve been using your blog for!

10 Ways to Repurpose Content

Be Creative Image

Why Recreate When You Can Repurpose?

Repurposing content allows you to take your best content and make it available to multiple audiences in a variety of formats.

1. Expand Individual Ideas From Previous Content

Take an existing blog post or factsheet and expand on individual ideas presented. A listicle (an article presented in the form of a numbered or bulleted list) lends itself especially well to expansion.

2. Develop an Electronic Slide Set

Use a service like SlideShare to create visually stunning slide sets from PowerPoints, Word documents, PDFs, or infographics. Slide sets can be embedded on websites and blogs and shared on social media for maximum impact.

3. Create an Infographic

Blog posts, factsheets, or journal articles that are particularly data heavy can be repurposed into infographics and shared on social media or websites. Use online tools like Canva or Piktochart to create your infographics.

Infographic

4. Share Content on Social Media

Share your best content on social media including Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. Since people use different social media platforms for different purposes, it’s important to compose unique messages for each platform. Find high quality and interesting images to accompany your posts and use online services like Canva to create content specific to each platform. Visit our blog post on royalty free images for image inspiration.

5. Send Electronic Newsletters

Use an online service like MailChimp to manage newsletter subscriptions and send your audience interesting content directly to their inbox. Be sure to include links to your most popular recent posts as well as content from other relevant sources and information about upcoming programs.

6. Create a Video Factsheet

Use a service like Camtasia Relay (free for all CFAES employees) to capture your voice and what’s happening on your screen to easily create video presentations that can be shared on social media and YouTube. You can also create short animated video clips with online services like Wideo (free and paid plans available). Check out the short Wideo I made about repurposing content!

7. Host a Webinar

Use a program like Carmen Connect to hose a webinar. Webinars allow you to expand on a topic and interact directly with your audience.

8. Host a Twitter Chat

­Create a unique and relevant #hashtag and host a Twitter chat with your audience. Choose a time and topic and invite people to participate in your Twitter chat by using your #hashtag. Encourage your audience to use a service like Twubs to curate content.

9. Repackage Content into an eBook or Guide

If you have multiple blog posts or factsheets revolving around a similar topic (e.g. sustainable gardening practices; canning vegetables; tips and tricks on managing finances), consider repackaging that similar content into a comprehensive peer-reviewed eBook or electronic guide.

10. Update and Republish Old Content

Consider updating and republishing your most popular content. This method of repurposing content works particularly well with topics that come up every year (e.g. maintaining a healthy weight around the holidays).

Be creative with how you repurpose and recycle your content!

Questions or comments? Email Danae or Jamie.

The eXtension #EdTechLN, One Year Later [Interactive Infographic]

The eXtension Educational Technology Learning Network is celebrating one year of learning, sharing, and collaboration this month. If you’re not familiar with the EdTechLN, it was funded and created by eXtension in 2014 to provide informal professional development, collaboration, and partnership opportunities focused on technology use in Extension programming, working differently, as well as fostering innovative ideas and concepts. While many individuals who engage with the EdTechLN are program staff, the Learning Network has attracted engagement from IT and Communications professionals, Extension Specialists, Faculty, and support staff; forming an ideal collaborative network that provides not just ideas and inspiration, but resources and support as well.

The EdTechLN is lead by Jamie Seger (Ohio State), Paul Hill (Utah State), Jerry Thomas (Ohio State), and Barbara Chamberlin (New Mexico State).

Anyone who is interested in the successful incorporation of technology into their work, or collaborating with like-minded Extension professionals are encouraged to participate in the EdTechLN! Some ways to get involved are described here. To date, Ohio leads the pack with more than 25 individuals engaging with the Learning Network in some fashion on a regular basis! The easiest way to get involved? Sign up to receive info and updates in your email inbox. And we hope to see you during the next TweetUp, they’re a lot of fun.

The infographic below is interactive, so by hovering your mouse over many of the charts and info boxes, you can see additional information. Click on hyperlinked images and text in the infographic to be taken to additional resources.

 

Even Easier-to-Use CFAES and Extension Branded Images!

We have great news and not-so-great news this morning. Yesterday, we shared the link to a Buckeye Box folder that housed easy-to-use branded images. The not-so-great news: we’ve deleted this Buckeye Box folder. The great news? = the reason why! What we didn’t realize, was that this resource already exists! CFAES Communications now offers branded college and University background images, art, in addition to logos in .jpg and .png formats.

This 4-H Background image is one of many image resources available on the CFAES Communications site.

This 4-H Background image is one of many image resources available on the CFAES Communications site.

We apologize for the confusion. As we had mentioned in the previous post, if you have trouble using an image in it’s current format, do not see a desired image available, or just have a general branding question, please contact Jamie or Danae and we will help or contact the appropriate parties within the college.