Professional Development

CFAES Online Course Design Workshop

May 5 2015

A while back, those in Extension received an invitation to register for a CFAES Online Course Design Workshop. The workshop is being held simultaneously in Wooster, Columbus, and virtually NEXT Wednesday, May 13th. But there is still time to register! The day will consist of walking through hands-on learning to design online curriculum and/or trainings via Moodle or Carmen. (Note that only those with name.# accounts can access Carmen courses, so it may not be an appropriate tool for Extension online programming. Moodle, however, is still appropriate tool for any course or training that requires or offers a certificate upon completion.) This workshop has been a collaborative project between our new CFAES Director of Online Learning and Engagement (Deana Namuth-Covert), Instructional Development Specialists at ATI, myself, and many others.

Click here to register to attend in-person or virtually.

I will be attending a portion of the workshop in Columbus and will be available for any questions Extension colleagues in attendance might have. I will also send out a follow-up announcement to Extension participants after the workshop. Look for a blog post in the coming days on the differences between formal and informal learning environments, and when which is most appropriate to utilize.

~Jamie

More information on the Online Course Design Workshop:

Digital Scholarship is Getting the Attention it Deserves

May 1 2015

Eric Stafne, Extension Professor from Mississippi State University, has posted a very interesting and thought-provoking 5-part series on the eXtension Educational Technology Learning Network’s blog this week. In this series, he discusses his favorite definition of digital scholarship, how digital technology and scholarship best connect, outlines barriers to digital scholarship and offers solutions to how Extension can address these barriers.

I encourage everyone in Extension who is interested in traditional media, digital media, and scholarship, as well as the future of academic content, to read this series and offer your input on the digital scholarship blog posts. You can also Tweet your reaction and thoughts using the #EdTechLN hashtag and be part of the conversation.

Click here to access the entire digital scholarship blog post series by Eric Stafne.

During the entire month of May, the #EdTechLN is shining the spotlight on digital scholarship and its impact on Extension. Next week’s #EdTechLN TweetUp (May 7th at 2:00pm EST) will focus on this topic. You can join and follow the TweetUp by going to: twubs.com/edtechln If you’d like to take a look at the last TweetUp discussing digital scholarship, which focused on “Traditional Pubs. vs. Digital Content” you can access the summary here.

It should also be noted that we’re addressing digital scholarship questions and issues here in Ohio. The Extension Promotion and Tenure Committee is working hard to discuss solutions to how we define quality digital media and content. A handout presented to the P&T Committee to begin this discussion is below:

PT-Committee-Handout-Digital-Scholarship-1804j39.pdf.

UPDATED: Ohio State’s 2015 Innovate Conference is May 14th

April 28 2015April 28, 2015

****April 28th update: The conference sold out this morning, but you can still watch the Live stream of most of the sessions online in real time May 14th at the following link: http://osu.mediasite.com/mediasite/showcase

For those on Twitter, you can follow the conference backchannel searching for the #InnovateOSU hashtag. *****

Interested in hearing about the latest innovative teaching efforts going on at Ohio State?

This year’s Innovate Conference will be held at the Union on May 14th. The conference in years past has featured faculty, educational technology and learning design specialists, IT professionals, and students all sharing and learning from each other. It’s a day that never disappoints and always inspires!

If you’d like to join me in attending this year, please email me and let me know you’ll be there! If we have enough Extension folks in attendance we can plan a brief meet and greet in-between sessions.

For those who can’t attend, I’ll post a recap of the day’s most applicable information to this blog afterward.

~~To register (Psst…. IT’S FREE!)~~ [Registration sold out April 28th] and for more information, visit the conference website.

How to Write for Online Audiences

April 27 2015

The Ed Techs have shared several examples of online writing best practices in the past couple of years, including one created by CommTech and one from the CDC. This morning, I came across another one. Below is a Slidedeck from Jennifer Chilek (Ed Tech for eXtension’s Network Literacy CoP) on writing for online audiences.

In the slides below, she includes examples of best practices as well as succinct info that’s usable and to-the-point. If you have questions about converting content that’s currently in a traditional pub or curriculum into quality content more suited to an online audience, please let us know in the comments below or don’t hesitate to send me an email (seger.23).

Writing for online Audiences from Jennifer Chilek

Ohio State Mobile Video Hands-On Training

March 25 2015March 24, 2015

Have an iPad or iPhone and want to learn how to quickly capture and edit video on the go? Ohio State’s Office of Distance Education and e-Learning (ODEE) is offering a brief hands-on workshop April 10th at 9:00am in Stillman Hall. The workshop will focus on using the iMovie app for Apple devices.

Click here for more information.

If you are interested in one of the day-long video creation workshops the Ed Techs offered last year, you’re in luck! We’re currently in the process of scheduling three more workshops around the state in 2015 that will feature two software tools: one for Windows and one for iOS. We’ll announce the workshop dates sometime in April – stay tuned to the blog!

“Internet of Things” Webinar Announcement

March 11 2015March 10, 2015

During the Tech Talk Annual Conference in December, we discussed how Ohio would look very, very different in 2035. One of the disrupting technologies that is already here is the “Internet of Things”, or “IoT”. Jerry Thomas and I mentioned the IoT briefly during our talk, but for those who are interested in finding out which IoT devices already exist, which devices are right around the corner, and how they will change our tech landscape, eXtension is hosting an upcoming Webinar that will cover these very things on March 23rd at 1:30pmEST.

Click here to view Webinar information.

More information about the Internet of Things

Other eXtension Webinars of interest:

Which Social Media Platform is Right for You?

Twitter for Newbies

Twitter – Tier Two

Complete list of upcoming webinars.

What Can Live Smart Ohio do for You?

November 19 2014November 18, 2014

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).

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

November 13 2014November 11, 2014

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!

November 12 2014November 11, 2014

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.

Ohio State nav bar