Visibility. I have talked about it recently and a few people asked me what it means. After all, Extension is the local face of the University and many of us live, work, and volunteer alongside the people we serve. As you read below, some items are about innovation or presenting our work and data clearly. Others are about connecting or making sense of large amounts of information. But is that all there is to being visible?
For me, it goes beyond marketing and includes the effort to articulate the value of our work from the viewpoint of our stakeholders. Do they see Extension as part of their success or part of their path forward? Can they help others see Extension in that light?
What are your thoughts on visibility and Cooperative Extension? What did I get right or wrong? Share your thoughts by tweeting @eXtension4u and using the #coopext hashtag.
News Roundup
Digital Green eXtension Fellowship Applications Due April 24
Are you interested in Extension approaches that have been tested and proven in other countries? Do you enjoy working with innovative digital technologies? Digital Green and eXtension are partnering to fund a Fellowship project in 2017. The Fellow will work with the 2017 Food Systems Issue Corps to explore ways to apply the Digital Green model to U.S. Extension. Learn more about the fellowship…
Related: Check out a webinar on Digital Green’s work and fellowship announcement.
Coming Soon! The eXtension Impact Collaborative for Food Systems
Hundreds of Extension Professionals have already engaged in the Issue Corps experience with program ideas covering the entire spectrum of Extension. eXtension is looking to recruit more than 200 projects and approximately 700 members for the next iteration, which will be called the Impact Collaborative for Food Systems. Get your ideas ready and watch for the call for applications coming this spring! Learn more about the upcoming call…
Five Innovation Grants Awarded
More than 90 proposals were submitted and five are being funded to conduct cutting-edge Extension work. The selected projects include elements of Makers, data science, citizen science, Internet of Things, drones, and more. The principal investigators represent Ohio State University (2), Colorado State University, Virginia Tech, and the University of New Hampshire. As these projects continue, we will share successes and lessons learned in several ways, including blogs and webinars. Read more about the Innovation Grant projects…
Data Jams for Building Evaluation Capacity
In Extension, we collect a great deal of data on the impact of our work. Much of it goes beyond numbers and sometimes the amount of data can be overwhelming. Learn how Christian Schmieder, University of Wisconsin and eXtension fellow, is using Data Jams to build skills and evaluation capacity in Extension.
- Part 1 – A Response to a Data Challenge
- Part 2 – Software as a Teaching Tool or Data Analysis
- Part 3 – Readying Extension for the Systematic Analysis of Large Qualitative Datasets
Data Visualization Matters
It has been estimated that 90% of the world’s data has been created in the past two years alone. How can scientists and educators explain and present data in clear and concise ways amidst all this noise? Laura Thompson, University of Nebraska and eXtension fellow, offers some ideas in “Data Visualization: Why Does it Matter?”
Related: Check out this recorded webinar by Dr. Scott Cummings on Data Visualization Tools
Don’t Miss These Recordings
Working Out Loud. John Stepper, author of “Working Out Loud” led a webinar that attracted more than 100 viewers and provided the opportunity to sign up for learning circles with fellow Extension professionals. View the recording… | Sign up for a learning circle…
Building Your Brand. Presenter and Key Informant Sandy Adam discussed how to create and build your professional brand in social networks to increase knowledge about and impact of your work. View the recording…
Webinar recordings and related resources are posted on the link for that webinar in Learn, often within 24 hours after the webinar ends.