Great use of video

Here's an excellent example of using video / YouTube within Extension (from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture YouTube channel)

Blueberry Growers Information Portal

This is from North Carolina, but the information may be more generally useful: Blueberry Growers Information Portal

Note also how their Extension Specialist is using a blog: http://ncblueberryjournal.blogspot.com/

Growing Wisdom YouTube Channel

Have any of you checked out the Growing Wisdom Gardening channel on YouTube?

It would be great if educators and specialists took a look and identified some of the most accurate and useful ones, and shared them with the Ed Center and clientele.

NRCS Contract Funds

Just wanted to thank all of you for submitting updated NRCS contract work.  We just submitted an invoice to NRCS for more than $17,000 for this work!  Given the tough budget times, every little bit (not that this is little) counts so thanks again!  Lisa

Instruction does not cause learning

Nuts and Bolts: The 10-Minute Instructional Design Degree (Learning Solutions Magazine, 9/6/2011)

Etienne Wenger: “Instruction does not cause learning; it creates a context in which learning takes place, as do other contexts. Learning and teaching are not inherently linked. Much learning takes place without teaching, and indeed much teaching takes place without learning.” In other words, knowledge acquisition doesn’t cause behavior change. People learn through experience, through making mistakes, through trying things out, through talking things through with others. Don’t just deliver facts and “content,” but provide meaningful exercises and activities that can help to “cause” learning. Provide performance support tools. Insinuate the learning into the social spaces in which the workers operate. Help the instruction become part of that context in which the learner can learn.

The article is about instructional design, but has broader applicability for our endeavors.

Interesting article on how students are using technology

This is link to a blog posting I follow for university professors and grad students.  This post is an interesting one about how students (and maybe our audience?) is using technology in ways that never occurred to me.

Timeslicing in the Classroom

http://cgi.stanford.edu/~dept-ctl/tomprof/posting.php?ID=1114

Harvesting Flood Ravaged Foragaes

From Pete Erickson:

Due to the recent floods, dairy producers could be in for some further problems with their cows in the upcoming months. Because mud is coating many of the forages, clostridial contamination of the cropcan occur. This along with the potential of mold development can become problematic for many producers.  Here are some tips to help get through this situation:

• Vaccinate your cattle against clostridia, this bacteria strikes fast and kills cows.
•  Pack your silages very well, use an inoculant to help lower pH
•  Try putting plain white salt (50 pounds/400 sq.feet of top surface) this will help reduce spoilage
•  Make sure you cover the silo
•  Feed a mycotoxin binder such as bentonite or MTB 100 to the cattle
•  Don’t feed any non-fermented (green silages) to your cattle.
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