Technology

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.

Innovate Extension May 11th & 12th: Event Format

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

 

What Will We Be Doing on May 12th?

Being innovative. Spending an entire day thinking of creative solutions to our often complex challenges in Extension. Perhaps even putting together the most non-traditional funding or idea proposal you have ever created.

Here is an overview of the event timeline:

  1. Reflection on things we learned at innovateOSU
  2. Team work session to utilize what you learned = brainstorm ways to update programs, ways of teaching/working, or just think of creative solutions to Extension challenges. The sky is the limit!
  3. Team “pitch” development. Using what resources are available to you during the event, your team will create a very brief presentation – or “pitch” – of your best idea, solution, or even prototype.
  4. Voting! All teams and others in attendance (including OSU Extension Director Dr. Roger Rennekamp and other administrators) will vote for the winning team(s) based on the pitch session.
  5. The winning team(s) will go home with awesome prizes – including potential funding to turn their amazing idea into a reality! And all participants will take home some cool swag items.

 

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: What Resources Will Be Available?

 

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

innovate Extension May 11th & 12th: Who should attend?

Have you ever wanted a day to plan new and innovative programs for Extension with no hidden agenda… and have fun networking with colleagues in the process?

We in Extension too often neglect innovative program planning because it’s difficult, it makes us uncomfortable, and because we simply have not devoted time to it. But we all need to be innovators. We all need to be change agents. It’s the backbone of Extension work.  Our Ed Tech unit is busy planning a great day for you. Over the next few weeks, we will roll out information about THE event you do not want to miss!

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.

 

Who Should Attend?

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The short answer: Anyone! Our post-innovate event will welcome program teams and individuals interested in learning about new ways of teaching and working at innovateOSU, and then thinking creatively to apply what they learned to their Extension work. Whether it be updating a program, developing a strategy, or just applying a new tool to their professional toolbox. Teams may even develop a breakthrough solution to one of our organizational challenges! This event will encourage you to get your creative juices flowing and “think outside the box”.

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 all Extension staff an opportunity to present new ideas and solutions to colleagues and administration.

Next up: Event Format Details!

 

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

2016 OSU Extension Tech Use & Skills Survey

The time has come for our annual organizational tech use and skills survey! Your responses to this brief survey provide the Ed Tech unit, as well as the entire organization, with valuable information. Last year, your responses helped us tailor workshop, training, and coaching professional development opportunities to your needs. The survey is mobile friendly, so you can easily complete it from your tablet or smartphone!

 

Click here to complete the 2016 Tech Use & Skills Survey

 

 

Questions? Contact Jamie or Danae.

Save the Date: OSU’s INNOVATE Conference + Extension Post-Conference Event

Save the Date for the 2016 Innovate conference + special Post-Conference Event for OSU Extension professionals!

May 11th & 12th 

 

From the Innovate Community blog: With Excellence as our theme for 2016, we’re sharing innovations that let educators re-imagine their instruction without sacrificing pedagogical quality and rigor. It’s fun to experiment and enjoy the novelty of cutting edge technologies, but a focus on excellence is what drives meaningful implementation.

Innovate is a time for bringing people together across disciplines and across adoption barriers. The conference is built with the educator in mind: you don’t have to be tech savvy to fully participate in this day of presentations, demonstrations and valuable dialog.

Innovate is The Ohio State University’s annual conference exploring teaching and learning with technology. The highly engaging one-day event is built upon six years of successful conferences: 95% of 2014 participants learned something that could change the way they think about or do their job, 96% reported they would like to attend a similar event in the future, and the repeat attendees every year support this number. Innovate is hosted by Ohio State’s Office of Distance Education and eLearning.

While geared toward OSU faculty, with participation numbers growing each year of the conference, so too have professional development sessions relevant to outreach education and Extension initiatives. And in 2016, the OSUE Ed Tech Unit will be hosting a post-conference event for OSU Extension on May 12th. Innovate will be held at the Ohio Union, while our Extension event will be hosted at the 4-H Center. More details can be found here.

To be updated when registration and other details for Innovate become available, you can sign up to receive email updates or follow @InnovateOSU on Twitter. We’ll also share updates here on the Ed Tech blog!

We hope to see many of our Extension colleagues this year at Innovate in May!

 

2015 Ed Tech Year in Review

Last week, the Ed Tech Unit shared a snapshot of data and other information from August – December 2015 with Administrative Cabinet members. Browse through the brief slide deck below to see how 2015 Tech Use and Skills Survey data was used to address the needs of the organization, how many OSUE professionals received assistance during this time period from an Ed Tech and the type of assistance they received, as well as Ed Tech initiatives for 2016.

The 2016 Organizational Tech Use & Skills Survey will be emailed January 29th!

Ed Tech Learning Opportunities at OSUE Annual Conference

This year’s OSUE Annual Conference theme, “Innovation in Action”, provides the opportunity to showcase the creative, innovative programming taking place across Ohio in Extension! The Ed Tech unit is excited to offer several breakout sessions this year, alongside our annual Tech Faire (formerly the “Tech Zoo”). We’ll also be announcing a few new Ed Tech initiatives for 2016.

Ed Tech – Led Focus Sessions:

Tuesday, December 8th

Wednesday, December 9th

Tech Faire

8:00am – 6:00pm: (Ohio Stater’s Room, 2nd Floor)

Marty McFly’s 2015 hat + other BTTF props await you at the Tech Faire photo booth!

 

 

What Focus Sessions are you presenting that showcase how you’re utilizing technology in your work? Add them in the comments below and we’ll see you at #OSUE2015!

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!

Barnes & Noble Mini-Maker Faire Opportunity for OSUE Educators

All Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide will be hosting Mini-Maker Faires November 6th-8th in partnership with Make Magazine. This event provides a unique opportunity for OSU Extension Educators to learn more about the Maker Movement or even host their own booth at the Faire to share STEM-focused project ideas or provide 4-H program information. Have a drone or 3D printer? Set them up at the Faire and let kids see them in action – then discuss how you use them in your Extension work. Or, bring your Lego League project information and share how they can get involved!

To further put Extension’s involvement in context, I interviewed Paul Hill, eXtension Maker Fellow and 4-H Assistant Professor at Utah State University, to gain some insight into the potential benefits of participating in the Mini Maker Faire:

Why should Extension participate?

It’s all about engaging a new audience that already aligns with the STEM goals of 4-H. Doing so will position 4-H to be more relevant in the 21st century. Makers need the structure of a 4-H club and the essential elements to truly create an environment of positive youth development. Making is considered cool now and it’s the perfect way to help youth gain STEM abilities. 4-H joining the Maker Movement would create a symbiotic relationship for both audiences. 

In your opinion, what potential exists if Extension gets involved in the Maker Movement?

By joining forces with B&N to support the Maker Movement in your county, 4-H can reach a new audience of clients and volunteers eager to learn by doing.

OSU Extension Educators are beginning to get involved in the Maker Community. Mark Light, 4-H Educator in Hardin County, received an eXtension innovation grant to create a maker space within the Hardin County OSU Extension office.  Dubbed the Spark Lab, this project will instill that inspiration or “spark” youth and adults need to learn, discover, and grow in a creative environment. It will be an overall center of innovation framed through the educational lens of a land grant university system. It will further have the potential to transform the Extension office beyond the traditional use into an innovative space by bringing entrepreneurship, university education opportunities, and a technology and maker space together in a dynamic and still to be explored relationship. The Spark Lab will create a physical space model that can be reproduced by Extension nationwide.  It will open in Hardin County in November 2015. If you have questions about the Hardin County Spark Lab, please contact Mark.

Interested Extension program staff are encouraged to contact their local Barnes & Noble store by submitting a information to participate at the B&N Maker Faire website.

 

Comment below with questions, or contact Jamie.

Share Your Innovative Programming and Ideas at this Year’s “Innovation in Action” OSUE Annual Conference

There are just SIX days left to submit your session and poster proposals for the 2015 OSU Extension Annual Conference! This year’s “Innovation in Action” theme seeks to highlight the creative and innovative programming that takes place in Extension across Ohio every day.

Did you try out Instagram or Pinterest this year and want to share the results? Have you started communicating with your clientele in different ways? Did you learn a new innovative skill through trial and error? Did you replace traditional content with digital? What innovative methods of teaching are you using to plan, promote, and/or facilitate face-to-face events?

Ohio State University proudly boasts one of the largest groups of innovative Extension professionals nationwide.

Please share the great work you’re doing with your colleagues by submitting a proposal! If you would like assistance from an Ed Tech to brainstorm ideas or even help facilitate a breakout session or poster – we’re happy to help! Contact Jamie or Danae via email. While we do have several hands-on Ed Tech session proposals submitted, we’re also still open to suggestions for topics to cover during AC! Comment below with your ideas of what information you need from us this year.

We’re happy to announce that we will once again host a Tech Faire (formerly the “Tech Zoo”) during Annual Conference, complete with technology that inspires and the opportunity to connect with the Ed Techs, IT Support, and Communications staff. More details about the Tech Faire will be posted soon.

More information about the conference and proposal submission form can be found on the Annual Conference website.