An Overview of the NEW eXtension, and How to Evaluate Your Online Extension Program

eXtension has recently re-evaluated its role and is positioning itself to better respond to the changing needs and priorities of land-grant faculty and staff and the clientele they serve. The NEW eXtension is advancing exceptional, technology-enhanced learning environments while building on the Cooperative Extension System’s content, educator, and leadership resources.  Today, eXtension is an innovative place for Extension educators and strategic partners to marry content with technology that appeals to and attracts new audiences to Cooperative Extension. Online extension programming is an important strategy for many extension specialists, and is utilized to improve clientele access to important information and to provide visual and audio enhancements to the learning environment.

Evaluation is a critical component of extension programming, but evaluating for online programs presents several challenges: spatial and temporal distance from the target audience; difficulty in confirming the program’s impact on participants; and the lack of established methodologies for measuring the value of the program to the public.   Based on the work of the Military Families Learning Network (MFLN) participants will explore options for evaluating online educational programming including social media. The MFLN, initially an eXtension project, provides online professional development for military service professionals.

The objectives of this workshop are to learn about the new opportunities eXtension will be offering to land grant faculty, and to build a toolbox of evaluation strategies for your online extension program. This workshop will be particularly important for members and leaders of eXtension Communities of Practice and Learning Networks and for all faculty with Extension programs online.