Month: November 2014

What Can Live Smart Ohio do for You?

LSO announcement

Today, the new Live Smart Ohio blogsite will be rolled out during the Family & Consumer Sciences annual in-service. FCS Staff will have the opportunity to hear about how and why a new FCS content hub was needed and how the concept of Live Smart Ohio was born. New features of the site will be discussed, as well as the updated FCS social media strategy. One topic that we will not have time to cover in detail however, is how program staff can utilize Live Smart Ohio to showcase and promote their expertise, events, programs, and other efforts. The info below highlights how Live Smart Ohio was created with our program staff’s best interest in mind and that in the end, it really is all about them; showcasing their expertise and the good work they do to a much broader audience while simultaneously streamlining our online efforts.

So, what can Live Smart Ohio do for you? And how will it promote your work?

Live Smart Ohio site:

Become an author of Live Smart Ohio and share your expertise in the area of Food, Money, Mind & Body, or Family & Relationships. Interested individuals (from any program area) can contact Carmen Irving.

Social Media:

“Like” the new Live Smart Ohio social media pages for Food, Money, Mind & Body, Family & Relationships; as well as the main FCS Facebook page and the Live Smart Ohio Twitter account.

By following various Live Smart Ohio social media pages, you can share posts that are relevant to your area of expertise or to the programs you teach on both your personal and professional social media pages. This expands our total FCS online reach and engagement exponentially. Program staff can also post to all of the Live Smart Ohio pages with information regarding events, programs, etc.

Why are there so many Facebook pages?

The updated FCS social media strategy separates our Facebook presence by topic area, which allows Facebook users to like and follow the topics they’re most interested in. On Twitter, while all Tweets are tweeted out using one main Live Smart Ohio account, topics are “labeled” with different hashtags (#LSOFood, #LSOMoney, #LSOMindBody, #LSOFamily). In the coming months, with additional staff support, our social media presence will also expand to include Google+, Instagram, and Pinterest. 

Events:

The creation of a new, modernized content hub allows FCS to showcase and house in one central location our new methods of educating online clientele, including webinars, Twitter Chats, and other virtual events hosted by FCS program staff. The Live Smart Ohio site will feature information on such events, while our new social media feeds will promote this information. Program staff interested in presenting webinars and other online events can contact Jamie Seger to get further information from the Ed Techs, as well as get more details about how Live Smart Ohio will help promote their events.

Programs & Resources:

As FCS fact sheets are updated, they will be posted to Live Smart Ohio and featured on the side bar of each topic area’s home page. Videos are also showcased this way (see below).

LSO Food page

Infographics created from our updated fact sheets will also be featured content, as well as program information. To share or blog about specific program information, contact Carmen Irving with a request or suggestion. Some local program information may be best to share via social media, instead of the blog.

For specific information on how program staff can promote or share Live Smart Ohio to their clientele during face to face programs or events, contact Betsy DeMatteo or Jamie Seger. 

Announcing the eXtension Ed Tech Learning Network

Interested in Ed Tech and want to take learning, sharing, collaboration, and support to the next level? The eXtension Ed Tech Learning Network, which is already over 100 members strong, is the new educational technology resource and support network for Cooperative Extension professionals nationwide. Unlike an eXtension Community of Practice, this Learning Network focuses on the power of sharing, collaboration, and integrated support which all allow for the implementation of successful technology-enhanced programs to be introduced by other Extension professionals in other states. Input from private industry expertise is also a highlight of the Ed Tech Learning Network.

Check out this video created by the Learning Network’s Guiding Committee about why they’re involved:

 

JOIN

Visit the Learning Network’s Join page and browse the many ways to get active and get involved.

PARTICIPATE & ENGAGE

We also invite you to participate in our first #EdTechLN Tweet Up on November 20th at 2:00pm EST. Not familiar with Tweet Ups? Here’s a great blog post by OSUE’s own Heather Gottke to bring you up to speed before November 20th. 

QUESTIONS?

I have the exciting opportunity to serve as Project Manager for the Learning Network for the next year, so please feel free to contact me (seger.23) with any questions you may have. Jerry Thomas is also giving leadership to the LN along with Paul Hill from USU, and Barbara Chamberlin from NMSU.

~Jamie

Ed Tech in Action: Apply NOW to Test Google Glass!

Infographic from TechNorms.com

Infographic from TechNorms.com

Are you interested in testing out Google Glass as a programming tool? The Ed Techs are now recruiting interested individuals to participate in a Google Glass pilot project. Those who are selected will be able to “check out” a pair of Glass from one of the Ed Techs and use them over a 3-4 week period. When you pick up your Glass, an Ed Tech will walk you through set up and what their capabilities are for every day use. You will also receive a handy tip sheet to use as a reference guide. You then have the loaner period to test out Glass for yourself, see what the possibilities could be for their use in Extension programming, and even utilize them in your own programming and educational methods.

We (the Ed Techs) have tested out Glass ourselves for several weeks and see the following potential uses for them in Extension:

  • Point-of-View (POV) out in the field, during demonstrations, etc.
  • Hands-Free navigation of social media, Google Hangouts, and other online programming tools
  • The increasing takeover of wearable devices over mobile devices (think iWatch becoming more popular than iPhone… because it will eventually happen).

Ready to test Glass out for yourself?

Click here to submit your request and information!

Want more info? Watch this video demonstrating how Google Glass is being used as an educational tool.

Using Webinars to Teach: Training Slidedeck, Recap, and An Opportunity for Staff!

Last week, the Ed Techs hosted an online training about utilizing webinars as a teaching tool. The PPT is below, as well as a summary of the main points. A recording link to the webinar itself will be included as soon as we receive it.

Are you interested in presenting an educational webinar?

We know how busy you are, and so the Ed Techs are offering to provide preparation training, hosting, and “back-end” support for program and support staff who wish to present educational webinars in 2015!  These will not be professional development webinars we are all used to, but rather webinars intended to educate our online clientele (How to Respond to Temper Tantrums, 3 Simple Ways to Stick to Your Budget, How to Diagnose Pest Disease – as examples). We are requesting that individuals interested comment on this post, or contact us directly with the following information:

  • Webinar Topic
  • Title and Category (if you would like to call it a “Webinar” or “Lunch & Learn” or something similar)
  • Target Audience
  • Requested Date & Time to Present Webinar

Send the above information to any of the Ed Techs-

Jamie Seger: seger.23

Kim Roush: roush.143

Heather Gottke: gottke.4

Training Slidedeck

 

Summary

7 Tools for Using Webinars to Teach

Planning:

  1. Basic Plan: timing, marketing, brief content

Design:Webinars screenshot

2. Visual Appeal: large images, one key point on each slide

3. Layout/ Structure: divide content into 10 minute segments or less, set up webinar session to promote interaction with different pods, discussions, polls, and activities

Interactive Elements (demonstrated in CarmenConnect):

4. Polling / Quiz / Questions

5. Chat Box

6. Whiteboard

7. Online Search

Link to Recording: TBA