255 President Oral Presentation Pick: Exposing Undergraduate Students to Extension: Delivering Producer Education Presentations

Recent communications with livestock industry employers suggest that students seem to be prepared to publicly deliver scientific information to peers, but struggle to present comprehensible science-based information to lay audiences. Based on this premise, a producer education presentation at local Extension offices was incorporated into the Beef Cattle Science Course. The course has four core areas (health, nutrition, reproduction and genetics) with supporting instructors from meat science, forages, agricultural economics and biosystems/agricultural engineering. Students are presented a case study in each of the four focus areas and are required to submit a written report addressing the issues in the case study. At midterm, students are divided into groups of four or five and assigned to a local county. Students are required to contact the county agent and develop an educational program, with one student presenting on each of the core areas, with environmental stewardship as a fifth option. Each student must first prepare an outline and send it to the corresponding faculty member for feedback prior to developing a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation. Each student is required to deliver their presentation to instructors to receive feedback prior to the Extension meeting. Each student group must develop a promotional flyer for the agent’s use. The producer educational programs are delivered in the evening to 15–50 producers, followed by audience questions. Additionally, students are tasked with developing, administering and summarizing an assessment tool. On the last day of class we have an informal discussion of this experience. For the five years that we have incorporated this into the course, the consensus is that students initially hate the concept but love the experience and appreciate the value after presenting. Agent and producer feedback have been positive.

Interactive Web-based Technology Has Wide Applications for Extension Programs

The Internet has become a valuable tool in education in the traditional classroom. Although electronic publications and other visual information in the form of PowerPoint presentations, with or without streaming video, have proven very effective in disseminating information, these forms lack interaction with clientele. Horizon Wimba software circumvents this limitation by allowing interaction between presenter and remote audience as well as between individual students while the lecture is in progress. This Web-based tool was evaluated in two Extension programs, Master Gardener and county agent trainings. With both types of audience, evaluations showed high satisfaction and effectiveness of the delivery of information. Evaluations also showed that Master Gardeners who use the Internet on a regular basis considered the Web-delivered interactive lecture format similar to face-to-face interaction. Master Gardeners who do not use the Internet on a regular basis listed that Web-delivered interactive training could be used as a supplement to traditional face-to-face interaction. County agents were very comfortable with the format and indicated high interest in participating in future trainings via the Internet.

HANK KEMBLE DOESN'T WORK HERE ANYMORE

Hank Kemble is the only county agent role ever cast in a network television series. On Green Acres, Mr. Kemble always had advice for novice farmer Oliver Douglas. Unfortunately, Mr. Kemble's advice was usually vague and uncertain. More unfortunate is that this is the only image many people have regarding Cooperative Extension. As the last segment of the land-grant system established, Extension personnel were the last recognized as equals among faculty. The mistaken image of the county agent as a book-trained farm boy with no common sense and a government job has been reinforced by declining respect for the farming community. In reality, county agents today deal with social and agricultural issues in urban and rural communities. Agents work with reduced staffs while being educators, scientists, and administrators in addition to routine duties. Extension specialists routinely teach and conduct research. National and international recognition and peer-reviewed publications are necessary for promotion while conducting traditional duties, too. As educational requirements of agents and specialists increased, numbers of undergraduates entering Extension dropped (<1% of Univ. of Georgia horticulture graduates in the last 5 years). Georgia specialists with a PhD increased from 60% (1979) to 89% (1996). Agents with MS degrees increased from 36% (1987) to 45% (1996). Image, salary, and job security determine if Extension can attract qualified personnel. Extension was never a Hank Kemble organization and graduates must be convinced that Extension is a viable and respectable career and Hank Kemble doesn't work here anymore.