Education through Social Networking

Social MediaI have the best job in the world. As an extension educator for Ohio Sea Grant and OSU Extension, my job is to help communicate science in an easy-to-understand way to the public. When I started in this role, this was done mostly through in person meetings, phone calls, emails, and within educational settings such as outreach events. I still continue to communicate with the public and my stakeholders through these outlets, but I have added a new approach for reaching others to this list: social media.

When I created my first Twitter account and a Facebook page for our program, I wasn’t really sure what I was doing! I had used these platforms to interact with family and friends, but was unsure of how to engage the public. However, I soon found that by following other colleagues and programs there was a community well-versed in the art of social communication. In my case, I found a group of science communicators who have taken to social media to help engage the public around the topics that they are researching, and to aid in communicating the scientific process to the public. The #SciComm community – as they call themselves – has helped me to realize the value of social media as a method for education and outreach. Another great network of people who provide helpful guidance on social media is the Educational Technology Learning Network, or #EdTechLN. You can find their social media feed here: extedtechs.org/edtechln/.

I use social media to promote outreach events, share news about recent accomplishments in my organization, and to provide current and factual information on a variety of topics related to my program and organization. As a company, community, or citizen – you can use social media to promote your business, recognize an exceptional employee or colleague, and to provide up-to-date, reliable information to your audience. There are many ways that you can follow and interact with OSU Extension and Ohio Sea Grant on social media – I’ve listed a few below. Feel free to engage with us through these platforms – we’re listening and here to help!

OSU Extension and Community Development:

 Ohio Sea Grant:

Clean Marinas program collage

On our Ohio Clean Marinas and Clean Boaters Page, we promote marina businesses that take steps to improve air and water quality at their facility. We in turn encourage these businesses to use social media to promote themselves as a certified Clean Marina to their clientele.

Sarah Orlando is the Program Manager for the Ohio Clean Marina Program. She can be contacted at: 419-609-4120, orlando.42@osu.edu, or @SarahAOrlando.

Building healthy and productive lives together

Without a place to call home, it is difficult to build a healthy and productive life. And while being number one is usually a good thing; it is certainly not so in this case.

Franklin County has the highest number of evictions in the state, averaging 19,000 filings annually over the last 10 years. Matthew Desmond’s book, Evicted, indicates that evictions occur for a variety of reasons, including: a limited understanding of the tenant’s responsibilities and rights; lack of financial management and home maintenance skills; and, an untenable rent to income ratio.

Franklin County Extension is attempting to address this issue by offering to residents throughout the community a vast array of programs and services focused on, for example: HUD-certified home buyer education; money management; food production, preservation and nutrition; workforce development and much more!

To learn more, check out the materials shared on the Franklin County Extension website. To learn about what’s happening in your community and how OSU Extension can help, visit the OSU Extension website or call your local Extension office.

Susan Colbert is Program Director for Expansion and Engagement in Franklin County (Heart of Ohio EERA).

Organizational Change – make it real

One of the questions I get asked the most when working with an organization is, “How do you go about creating cultural change?” I think the reason we get asked this so frequently is because the task seems huge, outside the realm of the possible. There are a number of reasons a corporate culture needs or wants to change, but regardless of why, the process of making the change a reality is rooted in dialogue.

Human beings experience the world through language. It shapes our reality and defines our lives. The most cohesive organizations have a common language. Sometimes we call it jargon, and sometimes it is all but impossible for someone from the outside to understand, but the way the team (or company, or entire discipline) talks impacts its identity.

In the book Tribal Leadership, Logan, King, and Fischer-Wright outline five stages of organizational development which are defined by the conversations that members of the organizations have. Moving an organization through the stages is a process that can be managed, but requires that individuals become conscious of and responsible for how they communicate. If you work for or with an organization that is struggling, this book is a good place to start looking for solutions.

While the book focuses on the impact that corporate culture has on productivity, what I find in my work is that corporate culture impacts and is impacted by so many aspects of an organization. We may measure our success based on productivity, but in the end that is only a measurement, as are things like job satisfaction, recruitment, and turn-over rates.

How then, do we bring out real change in an organization? Is it really as simple as managing the conversations? Yes and no.

The first thing to remember is that leaders set the tone. Not just in the formal speeches like those made at the Annual Meeting of the Board, for example, but in every interaction they have with members of the organization. All too often, leaders are focused on themselves. On their work, their goals, their team. They use “I, me, and my” statements without realizing that this often sets up competition within the organization itself. In fact, they frequently see internal competition as healthy in a Darwinian way.

The authors of Tribal Leadership contend, and my own observations support, that this is not a conversation that allows for or supports positive organizational change, and yet it is the most common conversation that happens in an organization. Instead, positive change occurs within the conversation of vision. This is where teams come together and take on industry standards as the competition, not other parts of their own company. This is not an easy shift to make, but it is essential for both personal and organizational growth. We see this in many industry-leading companies and most successful social movements.  Simon Sinek may have said it best in his TED Talk, “Start With Why.”

If organizational change is something your organization is struggling with, know that there are a number of resources to help. For more information, contact your local Community Development Extension personnel. We would love to help you.

Laura Fuller is a county Extension educator in Noble County (Buckeye Hills EERA).

Great Lakes Sea Grant Network Set to Rock in Cleveland this Summer

University faculty, educators and staff involved in the Sea Grant College program throughout the Great Lakes region will converge in downtown Cleveland for the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network meeting hosted this year by Ohio Sea Grant from June 5-8.

GLSGN Meeting Logo

Credit: Ohio Sea Grant

Why is this important? For 50+ years, the National Sea Grant College program has worked to create and maintain a healthy coastal environment and economy. The Sea Grant network includes 33 programs based at top universities in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The programs of the Sea Grant network work together to help citizens understand, conserve and better utilize America’s coastal, ocean and Great Lakes resources.

A partnership between universities and the federal government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Sea Grant directs federal resources to pressing problems in local communities. By drawing on the experience of more than 3,000 scientists, engineers, public outreach experts, educators and students from more than 300 institutions, Sea Grant is able to make an impact at local and state levels, and serve as a powerful national force for change.

Sea Grant invests in high-priority research, addressing issues such as population growth and development in coastal communities; preparation and response to hurricanes, coastal storms and tsunamis; understanding our interactions with the marine environment; fish and shellfish farming; seafood safety; and fisheries management. The results of this research are shared with the public through Sea Grant’s integrated outreach program which brings together the collective expertise of on-the-ground extension agents, educators and communications specialists. The goal is to ensure that vital research results are shared with those who need it most and in ways that are timely, relevant and meaningful. For more information, please visit the Ohio Sea Grant website above or the National Sea Grant College program website.

Joe Lucente is an Associate Professor and Extension Educator for the Ohio Sea Grant College Program.