Informing Innovations Through Deeper Insight on Strategic Priorities and Expansive Ideas

Recent national Extension initiatives and reports provide insight into innovation trends and issues. In response to questions from participants in eXtension Impact Collaborative events, we adapted two business frameworks to provide deeper insight about innovation. The adapted frameworks are helpful for identifying strategic areas of focus for innovation and prompting expanded thinking about potential types of innovation

INTRODUCTION TO THE SPECIAL ISSUE ON OER AND ONLINE FOR INTERNATIONAL, RURAL, AND HARD-TO-REACH POPULATIONS

This special issue of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks on Online Learning and Open Educational Resources (OER) for International, Rural & Hard-to-Reach Populations is a compilation of projects spurred by global changes and needs in education. Extending knowledge and education to masses through internet technologies has flourished for the last 15 years. The reach of online education is just beginning to penetrate international and rural populations. OER plus online learning are a powerful set of tools that extend reach and lower costs [1]. This special issue showcases projects and trends which, when combined, are changing the scope and reach of education

A cost analysis of instructional treatments for discussion -based activities

This cost effectiveness study compared two instructional treatments to support case study assignments in a quasi-experimental design of eight sections of undergraduate educational psychology courses. One treatment group used Web-based threaded discussions within a standard learning management system; the other treatment group used Web-based software to support structured engagement. The study combined qualitative interview data, instructor time logs, and activity-based costing using the Flashlight Cost Model. Secondary analysis of pretest and posttest results was used for the measures of effectiveness. The relationship between enrollment, fixed and variable costs, and outcomes were analyzed using the theoretical framework of the mini-BRIDGE model. Results indicated that the threaded discussions within the learning management system were the most cost-effective

Peer-To-Peer Recognition of Learning in Open Education

Recognition in education is the acknowledgment of learning achievements. Accreditation is certification of such recognition by an institution, an organization, a government, a community, etc. There are a number of assessment methods by which learning can be evaluated (exam, practicum, etc.) for the purpose of recognition and accreditation, and there are a number of different purposes for the accreditation itself (i.e., job, social recognition, membership in a group, etc). As our world moves from an industrial to a knowledge society, new skills are needed. Social web technologies offer opportunities for learning, which build these skills and allow new ways to assess them. This paper makes the case for a peer-based method of assessment and recognition as a feasible option for accreditation purposes. The peer-based method would leverage online communities and tools, for example digital portfolios, digital trails, and aggregations of individual opinions and ratings into a reliable assessment of quality. Recognition by peers can have a similar function as formal accreditation, and pathways to turn peer recognition into formal credits are outlined. The authors conclude by presenting an open education assessment and accreditation scenario, which draws upon the attributes of open source software communities: trust, relevance, scalability, and transparency

Eight Areas of Competency in Decision Making for Sustainability in Metro Food Systems

<p>Michigan State University (MSU) held a focus group in Detroit, Michigan, USA in 2012 with members of the urban agriculture movement. The session included business persons involved in growing and selling food, members of the health system, community group members and city government. The purpose was to identify the full range of sectors of society involved in the food system, to identify the perceptions of the food system among the city population, test eight sustainability competency areas developed by MSU faculty as concepts and as they related to urban food systems, and to discover what kinds of decision support tools were needed to foster sustainable food systems in Detroit. The focus group session was video and audio recorded, the tapes transcribed and coded to identify common themes and responses to the competency area concepts. The competency areas presented were: ecological integrity, community well-being/social justice, economic vitality, aesthetic quality, civic responsibility, systems interdependence, critical thinking, and personal growth. Participants indicated that they considered sustainability a value that people in urban agriculture shared, but that people struggled with how to move forward toward sustainability. Focus group participants were able to identify some aspect of each of the eight competency areas that they perceived people in urban agriculture, and the broader city resident population already recognized, or engaged in without recognizing that they were doing something that could lead to more sustainable outcomes. However, participants perceived that a sustainable metropolitan food system remains a somewhat elusive goal to achieve for people engaged in pursuing urban agriculture in Detroit due to a negative perception they expressed that many of the city’s population holds for growing food in the city, and in general for goods produced in the city. Information gained from the focus group and subsequent focus groups with members of the different urban agriculture sectors will be used to help develop university and partner organization education programs, to identify other research needs, and to help people developing school and other youth education programs in sustainability.</p

AgShare : Building Community and Content with Multiple Partners

Michigan State University and OER Africa are creating a win-win collaboration of existing organizations for African publishing, localizing, and sharing of teaching and learning materials that fill critical resource gaps in African MSc agriculture curriculum. By the end of the 18-month planning and pilot initiative, African agriculture universities, faculty, students, researchers, NGO leaders, extension staff, and farmers will participate in building AgShare by demonstrating its benefits and outcomes and by building momentum and support for growth

AgShare : Building Community and Content with Multiple Partners

Michigan State University and OER Africa are creating a win-win collaboration of existing organizations for African publishing, localizing, and sharing of teaching and learning materials that fill critical resource gaps in African MSc agriculture curriculum. By the end of the 18-month planning and pilot initiative, African agriculture universities, faculty, students, researchers, NGO leaders, extension staff, and farmers will participate in building AgShare by demonstrating its benefits and outcomes and by building momentum and support for growth