Regional IPM Webinars Reach Large Extension Master Gardener Audiences

Two webinars were held to teach Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Extension Educators and Extension Master Gardeners (EMG). With support from the North Central IPM Center, the webinars were promoted through EMG coordinators in the North Central region and online at the national eXtension webinar site where anyone could register for the presentations. Both 90-minute webinars were hosted with umnconnect at the University of Minnesota and included 15–20 minute content sections followed by questions using the chat feature online. Tomato IPM for Gardeners held on August 11, 2012 used 129 online connections, with a minimum attendance of 547 from 5 states: (Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin) with 57 host sites reporting more than 1 person in attendance, usually at Extension offices with EMG. Growing Healthy Shade Trees with IPM webinar, Feb 20, 2013, involved 156 online connections, with 56 host sites signing in on the chat feature indicating 521 participants. Although 107 host sites in 18 states registered (Colorado 2; Georgia 1; Iowa 6; Illinois 12; Kansas 2; Maine 1; Maryland 6; Michigan 1; Minnesota 25; Nebraska 4; North Carolina 3; Ohio 18; Pennsylvania 3; South Dakota 12; Texas 1; Virginia 1; West Virginia 3; Wisconsin 4) with an estimated audience of 660, on the final evaluation host sites indicated 1,447 participants from 102 sites. The tomato webinar was free to anyone who registered on the online google.doc spread sheet, up to 200 internet connections. For the shade tree webinar, individuals were asked to register and pay $10 through eXtension for having a webinar line to their home or a non-host site; 39 individuals registered as individuals. There was no charge for host sites who registered for shade tree webinar. Pre- and post-test surveys for the tomato IPM webinar showed participants self-ratings changed from high IPM knowledge levels: 3% pre-test rose to 18% post-test; medium: 54% pre-test rose to 70% post-test; and low:  43% pre-test dropped to 12% post-test. Shade tree webinar participants reported high IPM knowledge levels: 1% pre-test rose to 3% post-test; medium: 36% pre-test rose to 69% post-test; and low: 63% dropped to 29% post-test. Shade tree webinar participants indicated they learned a lot 64% (148/233); similar to the tomato webinar participants 70% (127/181). Webinar challenges include: participant’s technical understanding; recording live webinar attendance; gathering accurate pre and post test information; interaction between participants and presenters; and local host site activities to improve the educational experience.