Becoming a Virtual Educator
In an effort to stimulate my brain into getting some ideas for this first blog post, I began surfing through the latest posted issue of the Journal of Extension. I thought it might be nice to see how the rest of Extension is responding to this whole idea of a “Knowledge Economy”. What are they doing? What are they researching? What are the issues emerging across the nation?
Of course there were several articles that dealt with this whole idea of adapting to the technology at hand, but one in particular that stuck out to me and peaked my interest. That would be an article entitled The Virtual Extension Specialist by Charles Ray. The article starts out strong with a look at the need for a web-based system that they produced in response to the growing internet needs. One of their first comments that caught my attention and really got me thinking about our endeavors is this introduction:
“By now, everyone knows that Web sites that reflect a mirror image of the university’s organizational structure are not real popular. For most of the history of the Internet, public organizations seemed to feel that Internet sites were simply glorified directories for their units and programs. Directory information for an organization’s services is certainly one useful component of a Web-based approach to constituent interaction. However, that is just one (and perhaps a minor one) of the multiple products an Extension organization can offer its constituent base. . . So the really aggressive Extension specialists have leaped into the fray and developed tools (or on-line courses) that could be delivered on-line to their constituents. The specialized nature of these Extension tools often finds a large and willing user constituency, and Internet-based Extension tools may in fact be the most popular and representative face of Extension today. Here, however, we reach the outer limits of traditional Web-based Extension programming. For the Virtual Extension Specialist, however, this is just the beginning.”
By George, I think we are on to something here! Long story short, they go on to build the case for the Virtual Extension Specialist and a technology space that built called WoodPro.
These statements aren’t entirely new to me it just got me thinking about several things. So many of us spend all of our time hung up on the obstacles that are going to get in our way in implementing this type of technology in our lives, our work, and with our clients. But what if we took on a new way of thinking? What if we looked at it from another angle? (Now some of you will have to bear with me on this one.)
Try this on for size - What if tomorrow there was this colossal world event that meant that you no longer could have outside contact with the people you served? You also have come to the office only to find that there no longer is any paper. Yes, it has all vanished without a trace; you have no choice but to become a “Virtual Extension Educator”! What would you do? How would you connect with the people in your county? How would they know about you? How could you do your job? What would you do differently?
The reason I ask these questions is that I believe when faced with adverse circumstances we respond. We do what we can to find ways to carry on the things we value and find important. Sure, you can still have contact with your clients and you still have paper in the office; but if you didn’t you would be forced to make adjustments. So why not find ways to make adjustments regardless of such a colossal event? Sure, I know, there are people in your county that don’t even own a computer. Let me remind you, there always will be. The greater achievement is finding ways to move forward despite these obstacles.
Perhaps you still aren’t sure you want to head down that road. It all seems a little overwhelming and you aren’t completely convinced that there is a benefit to you, your county, and your client. Perhaps dollar amounts will sway you? In our county this year, as part of 4-H club enrollment we collected email addresses of family members who had them and were willing to receive their 4-H information via email (they signed a consent saying this is what they wanted and agreed to update us when their information changed). This one small process will save us over $5,000 alone for the current year. Who couldn’t use an extra $5,000 in their budget? We went from sending 815 newsletters every other month (only one per family) to sending 556 by email and 250 by regular mail. Considering postage, printing, paper and labor hours the overall saving will be in the ballpark of $5,559 for 2007. That is for 4-H newsletters alone! Never mind all of that other information that we have that is distributed similarly.
In addition to the financial benefits, there are many other reasons to convert our current efforts into “virtual efforts”. Finding ways to not only utilize this technology, but to utilize it in ways that are innovative and relevant to our clientele will become a necessity. So, can you survive without face-to-face contact or paper? If not, how will you get there?
Tricia Callahan
June 19th, 2007 at 10:06 am
The article by Charles Ray, “The Virtual Extension Specialist”, referenced above is particularly thought provoking. In discussion “conversion of the work environment,” Ray suggests that any electronic documents not stored and accessible on the web “do not exist.” This seems pertinent in Extension and many organizations. Whether looking for a school form for one of my kids or a registration form for a conference, I certainly find it frustrating when looking for a document I know exists but is not available on the web.