From "Notebooks" to "Online"

By: John Dorner, Information Management Agent

I received the following questions (below in italics) from Doug Clement, County Extension Director. He's asking the right questions! And I thought it would be good to share his questions and my answers with other Extension professionals. The comments below are just my opinions and probably quite different from anyone else you might ask. Please share your opinions, tools you would recommend and comments!!! Especially if they differ from mine!

"I would like for us to move away from the notebook era to online documents available to folks after a program with a couple of fact sheets to handout but the bulk of the development to be online. For example the Ag Agents are planning a backyard flock workshop. Rather than the expense of developing a notebook, all the development be posted online. What are the options? "

Ideally, you'd create a print version and an online version so the customer can get it in the format they prefer. Ideally, this would be done via style sheets in the HTML code for the web site, so you could post it once and have a print version look appropriate on paper without all the navigation links displaying.

If you think the audience is going to want to print the materials, then PDFs are probably the best option we have available to us at this time. Otherwise, putting the content on our website in content pages would probably work fine for static content/factsheets type information. You can create as many pages as you like using the NCCE Web Site application.

If there are a lot of materials, then another option would be to create a 'web site' for the class. Using something like http://sites.google.com/ or even pbworks would make sense for that. The problem with moving your content off our site onto another site is the loss of identification. I think it is important to have as much as possible on the NCCE web site and maintain that style and marketing ability.

Another tool I think has a lot of potential - if you wanted to foster discussion between the participants before/after the workshop - is a tool like Ning - http://ning.com. See: http://ncsuwebdev.ning.com to see what can be done with a Ning group.

"Also when something like a farmers group is formed and they begin to keep minutes. what is your advise for posting? A blog...google docs...or other option. "

I think a wiki would be the best option for the minutes - http://pbworks.com/ is the one I've used a lot and really like. It is VERY easy to learn/use (and free). This would enable easy transition to future secretaries and let multiple members of the group be able to contribute to different parts of the website.

"I just see a lot of wasted paper and money in print that could be avoided."

IMHO, the paper and money savings is the least advantage of putting this information online. The real advantages are the collaboration, the ability to keep everyone updated, the ability to reach new audiences and bring them into the discussion/learning process and most importantly, continuing the discussion after the face-to-face workshop.

I'll be happy to work with you in any way to help decide which tools to use and in implementing them!

Information presented here is provided as a general information resource. Any mention of commercial products is for information only; it does not imply recommendation, endorsement nor support by Extension IT.

Upcoming Online Classes

By: John Dorner, Information Management Agent

All of these classes are open to all Extension. NCCE folks need to register at: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/xlms (or click on the class title below).

If there are other classes you'd like to see offered or you are unable to attend one of these, please let myself or your NCCE Information Management Agent know.

Intro to Excel
Dec 3, 2009 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
http://slms.delta.ncsu.edu/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1255176660340

Introduction to using spreadsheets, moving around, entering data and basic calculations. This class is designed for the person who has never used Excel before, but even experienced users will pick up some useful tips. After this class, you should feel comfortable using existing spreadsheets. Because we will focus more on the concepts than the steps, this class will be appropriate for anyone using many different versions of Excel - or any other spreadsheet. We'll discuss the differences between versions because you will not always be using the version you have today.

Creating Spreadsheets
Dec 8 & 15, 2009 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
http://slms.delta.ncsu.edu/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1255176660360

Learn how to create a spreadsheet from scratch. Will include using formulas, formatting, and more. This class starts on December 8 and finishes on December 15. At the end of this class, you will have created a useful (to you) spreadsheet. You will need to have at least a basic understanding of using a spreadsheet.

Skype and Instant Messaging
Jan 14, 2010 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
http://slms.delta.ncsu.edu/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1251146349586

Skype is a service/application that allows you to conduct audio conferences (one-on-one or up to 24 participants), video conferences (just 2 people), desktop sharing and more. For free you can connect/talk to anyone else using Skype from your computer. For a small fee ($3/month or $30/year) you can call any phone in the US or Canada and talk for as long as you like. This can save our counties (or whoever is paying the long distance bill) lots of money. Skype also has an instant messaging feature where you can type messages to any other Skype user that is online. Instant messaging can save you a lot of time. You can use it to have short conversations, send the URL of the page you are looking at to someone while you are talking on the phone, find out if they have time for a longer phone call, have your secretary tell you that so-and-so is holding on line 2, or just ask the person in the next office if they are ready to go to lunch. We'll also explore other Instant Messaging clients and services (i.e. Jabber/gChat/eXtension, AIM, MSN and Yahoo! Messenger).

Bookmark Sharing
Feb 11, 2010 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
http://slms.delta.ncsu.edu/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1251146598366

Delicous.com is a social bookmarking site. There are others, but this is the one we'll discuss in this class. It has plugins for both Internet Explorer and Firefox that make organizing and finding your bookmarks much easier than the bookmarking tools included with the browser. It allows you to share bookmarks between computers or even between browsers on the same computer. But, the real power comes with the ability to share your bookmarks and comments about the site with others. Imagine how powerful it would be for a new agent to be able to see and search an experienced agent's bookmarks and her comments about that site! Find out what your colleagues and leaders in your field are finding interesting - as soon as they find it. Share what you are finding useful. We can all 'tag' sites with a common tag and be able to search and find those sites much easier than by sharing them via email.

Feed Readers
Mar 11, 2010 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
http://slms.delta.ncsu.edu/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1251146795257

Feeds (aka RSS or Atom) are a way to get new information as it becomes available. Lots of websites have feeds available, from calendars, to bookmark sharing sites, news sites, the county extension site's news and of course blogs. A feed reader lets you aggregate and organize feeds from many sites into one place so you can quickly read what is important to you without having to go and visit many different sites. Think of your feed reader as the "come to me" web or your own personalized newspaper. A feed reader puts you in control and helps you stay up-to-date with what's changing and what's new.

Blogging
Apr 8, 2010 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
http://slms.delta.ncsu.edu/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1251147169846

Blogs can be used to augment or even replace (depending on your audience) your hard copy newsletter. They are free and it is very easy to post articles. Most importantly, they allow you to get information to your clientele in a timely manner. Whereas hard copy newsletters take weeks to go from writing to delivery, a blog takes minutes. Blogs also allow us to target our message to the people interested in that message. For example, we could have a blog specifically for food service workers or day care workers. You can have multiple authors to your blog which takes a lot of the load and stress off one individual and also makes it so the blog maintains it's organizational affiliation when an author leaves Extension. In this session, you will create a blog and have it ready to post your first article by the end of the session.

Social Networking
May 13, 2010 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
http://slms.delta.ncsu.edu/join_meeting.html?meetingId=1251147343572

In this class we'll discuss how to use social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter and Ning to enhance and market your educational programs.

Information presented here is provided as a general information resource. Any mention of commercial products is for information only; it does not imply recommendation, endorsement nor support by Extension IT.

MS Office for $10 - for home use

NCSU Faculty and Staff are now eligible to participate in Microsoft's Software Assurance Home Use Program (HUP). This program enables you to get a licensed copy of Microsoft Office software to install and use on your home computer without restricting it to work-only purposes for just $10. For an additional $12, you can get the DVD for a backup of the installation disk.

You are eligible to use the Home Use Program software as long as you are an employee at NCSU.

The following products are currently available for purchase through the Home Use Program: Office Enterprise 2007 or Office 2008 for Mac.

To get this software, go to: http://www.ncsu.edu/software/download/hup/

Information presented here is provided as a general information resource. Any mention of commercial products is for information only; it does not imply recommendation, endorsement nor support by Extension IT.

Another Email Phishing Attack on NCSU Addresses

Please share this message with everyone in your offices. Several of you have contacted our office about a phishing attack today. Here is the official post from the central campus IT group on this issue:

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is investigating a phishing attack targeting campus email users. The message appeared to come from the email address 'ncsuweb@webmaster.com'

As a reminder, the password on your account should be known only to you. OIT will never ask you to send your password to us via email, therefore any email like the one you may have received today should be considered suspect and you should not reply to it.

An excerpt of the text of the message is below:

Dear NCSU Account User,

We have noticed an unauthorized attempt to change your North Carolina State University Account password from a foreign IP. This was going to result to your inability to access your account due to the password change.

We are about to terminate your account but If you know you are the authorized owner of this account, kindly reply by providing your original

Unity ID (*******) Password (*******)

so as to protect your ID and password from unauthorized access.

Failure to do this will violate North Carolina State University's email terms & conditions.

From North Carolina State University Admin and Web Support

© 2009, North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27695

Information presented here is provided as a general information resource. Any mention of commercial products is for information only; it does not imply recommendation, endorsement nor support by Extension IT.

NCCE Newsletter Templates

Here is a template to use for your newsletters that follow the NCCE style guide in MS Word 2003/2004 format. If you have any questions or need help, please contact your Information Management Agent.

Newsletters: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/admin/wiki/index.php/File:Newsletter.doc

These are on the NCCE Intranet and there only accessible to NCCE faculty and staff.

Thoughts on using the eXtension "Ask an Expert" widget

By: John Dorner, Information Management Agent

Good news - the eXtension Ask an Expert widget now has the ability to follow up questions. If a question has been answered a followup answer can be sent. One way this is useful is if you find some relevant information soon after you've answered a question.

http://about.extension.org/2009/10/14/ask-an-expert-gets-question-follow-up/

While I'm writing about the Ask an Expert widget, I thought I'd share some ideas and observations.

Check your AaE preferences

If you have a widget on your site, please make sure there is at least one person assigned to automatically answer questions from the widget.

If you are willing to answer questions that come in from the AaE widgets or the eXtension web site, please indicate your areas of expertise. Keep in mind that "areas of expertise" is not the same as "area of responsibility". Lots of us are responsible for subject matter areas for which we are not "experts". As a question wranglers, when I'm looking to see who to assign a question, I have my doubts about people who indicate they are experts in 100 different fields. On the other end of the spectrum are the people with no areas of expertise. I realize that not all areas are represented, but try to find one or two that are real close to your area of expertise.

Assign the question to the right person

If you don't have the answer, and are assigned a question, re-assign it to the best person to answer the question.

Make sure the people who are auto-assigned questions from your widget are checking their mail and able to answer or reassign questions within a day. If not, then consider having just a few people who can/will auto-assigned questions.

Make informal agreements with the agents in the surrounding counties to take questions when the agent in your county is busy, out of the office or just have a vacant position. Keep in touch with them so you know when they are available and able to answer a question in a timely manner.

If you have someone in your office who leaves or retires it is important to have them taken out of the Ask The Expert system. Retirees are encouraged to answer questions if they wish but it is not obligatory. To be removed from the eXtension environment email eXtensionHelp@eXtension.org to let them know you are retiring or leaving and they will be happy to update your eXtension account.

Participate

Please try to respond to questions within 48 hours, research has shown that if the person does not receive a response with in 48 hours they will go else where for the information and will probably not use the tool again. If you have to go on leave remind someone in the office to check the questions, it is ok to respond back to a question with the request to call the office for more details or to tell them a specific person is out of the office.

Unless you are doing a great job of marketing the Ask an Expert widget, chances are you will not be overwhelmed with questions. Most will only take a minute or two to answer. Much less than if the person walked into your office and asked the question.

Keep in mind that marketing the widget and your website in general is not a one shot deal. It is a continuous process. Everyone knows Pepsi, but they spend lots of money on advertising every day. The same needs to apply to Extension and what we have to offer. The Ask an Expert is just one of the products we offer.

Soon, your participation will be measured and automatically included in your performance appraisal tool. This is just one indication of the level of importance that administration puts on participating in eXtension and the Ask an Expert is just one simple way to participate.

Questions?

If you have any questions or need help, please contact one of the Information Management Agents.

Information presented here is provided as a general information resource. Any mention of commercial products is for information only; it does not imply recommendation, endorsement nor support by Extension IT.

NCSU Elluminate Live upgraded

Over the weekend (10/10/2009) NCSU DELTA upgraded the version of Elluminate Live! installed and used by NCSU. There are several improvements and bug fixes.

A new and more powerful Elluminate Live Manager (session scheduler)

• A recover/reset your password button
• A search box to find sessions easier (not working at this moment)
• A new "create session" window that is reorganized
• You can search for participants/moderators by name rather than just by unity ID
• Invite guests from the create session window
• The ability to delete your preloaded whiteboard file
• Use of Elluminate Plan!
  

• View a tutorial of the new ELM at http://delta.ncsu.edu/docs/learn/courses/teaching/elluminate/elluminate_session/

• View a handout of the new ELM at http://delta.ncsu.edu/docs/learn/courses/teaching/elluminate/elluminate_live_meeting_creation.pdf

A new way to log in to an Elluminate session after clicking on the session URL

• Moderators will click on "User Authentication -> Elluminate Live! Manager User" and enter your Elluminate username and password if prompted. Also, if prompted enter the meeting password.

• Participants will click on "User Authentication -> Guest" then type in their email address and name. If there is a password for the meeting, they need to enter it here as well. Participants cannot user their Unity ID and password to join a session.

We recommend making your participants aware of the new login screen they will see.

The first time you join a session with the new version it will take a few minutes longer because the new software is being downloaded. When it starts, the first thing you'll notice are the new icons and the polling buttons (green check and red "X") have been moved off the toolbar to the participant box. But those seem to be the biggest changes I've noticed for the participant and moderator.

This upgrade also included changes to

• provide a more robust web server to reduce the number of incidents of the main Elluminate page not working
• provide a more robust and flexible database which will allow DELTA to more easily maintain the server and provide more detailed statistics to users on their meetings

Information presented here is provided as a general information resource. Any mention of commercial products is for information only; it does not imply recommendation, endorsement nor support by Extension IT.