Sessions about Application Support

NC Cooperative Extension is in the business of generating and sharing knowledge and information for both internal and public consumption. Our previous computing infrastructure, a Linux terminal-server based solution, limited our county extension offices’ ability to “do the business” of the organization. It was time for a change. This session explores the methods and processes that were implemented to drive the transition of the county computing infrastructure from a Linux platform to a Macintosh platform. Changing computer platforms is always a challenge, even more so when budget constraints require a drastic deviation from the primary working model. This session also explores a shift in focus from a technology-driven solution to a problem-driven solution. We discuss how addressing the problem, as opposed to the technology, helps to clarify the real purpose of a project. By answering the question, “What problem are we trying to solve?” we were able to rethink the situation and provide our users with a computing solution that fit. In addition, we were able to overcome obstacles created from the budget constraints, overcome our tradition model mindsets, and eliminate some of our traditional tedious tasks.

Podcasting (netcasting) is certainly riding a wave of popularity right now. OSU Extension is using podcasts (digital audio recording stored as a mp3 file) in conjunction with a web log (blog) as a technology update for Extension professionals. Podcasts were used as an instrumental educational tool during an extensive domain consolidation in the College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. Podcasts are also satisfying a demand for technical update information for our county Technical Coordinators. As we become more familiar with podcasting, Extension Educators are seeing the benefit of digital audio recording as a time saver, not having to schedule recording time at the local radio station. Podcasts are a very flexible medium as well; an Educator can send the mp3 file to local radio for broadcast or post it to the web for download. This presentation will describe how Ohio State University Extension is using podcasts, a blog and associated RSS feeds, as educational tools for professional development, technology training, and as a pilot project to show Educators the benefits of the technology.