The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
(Vol. 17 No. 39)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
A couple weeks back I used a QR code in my Tuesday message to hopefully stir some interest in what that is all about. I did receive some widely differing view points from you, all the way from cheering loudly and let's get this moving, to reminding that we’ve got clientele who are left behind already, to “I can’t afford to own a smart phone,” to phones and tablet are the future in digital technology and we’ve got to pursue. Smart phones and tablets are rapidly becoming as common as having a Facebook page. I’m convinced they also offer great opportunity in conveying Extension education. Creativity is all that is needed.
I know many of you have already begun using smart phone and tablet technologies. And, yet, there is much to learn and many more possibilities that would be of interest in delivering education to current and new clientele.
Did you know you can obtain the digitized soil survey through a smart phone? http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/drupal/node/886.
Did you know you could get to videos, websites, publications, or nearly any web-based application through a simple QR code? A QR code on the back of the Discovery Day t-shirts took you to a promotional video on the discovery days experience.
This QR takes you to the following website:
Did you know K-State Research and Extension has a YouTube site?
This one goes to:
North Carolina State University is beginning to release mobile application websites for clientele. http://m.ces.ncsu.edu/
Kansas State University has an application for visitors to our campus to help them navigate the campus.
An article about it can be found at http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/sept10/powercatenhanced91410.html.
And, the Chronicle had a recent article on Smart phones. http://chronicle.com/article/Smartphones-on-Campus-the/127397/.
Whether it is directing folks to a video through a QR code on a t-shirt, sharing information on a research project, directing folks to information about some demonstration site you’ve got in the county, providing decision aides on health, diet, irrigation, variety selection, parenting, or whatever it might be as an educational / informational resource, or simply giving them a simple way to gain access to a publication, Extension has got to be seeking new and exciting ways to connect with our clientele in ways they want to learn and receive information or decision aides.
Stay cool and have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
LAST CALL FOR KYLF WORKSHOPS
We are accepting proposals for
workshop session instructors/presenters for Saturday, November 19, for the 12th
Annual Kansas Youth Leadership Forum. Topics should center on some aspect of
leadership. Some ideas might include, but are not limited to: communications,
conflict management, ethics, decision making, time management, multi-cultural studies, diversity,
business etiquette and career planning. The Kansas State 4-H Youth Council
members hope that you will be interested in sharing your expertise or talent
with this 14-18 year old group of young people.
The letter and proposal submission information are both on the State 4-H
Website, on the KYLFpage. Proposals
are due by Friday, August 5, and will be submitted online. Questions can be
directed to Beth Hinshaw, bhinshaw@ksu.edu. --Beth Hinshaw
VALUE-ADDED PRODUCER GRANT WORKSHOPS OFFERED BY USDA RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND K-STATE EXTENSION
USDA Rural
Development is partnering with K-State Research and Extension to offer three
workshops designed to assist producers in applying for Value-Added Producer
Grants. Workshops will be held from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. on August 9, in Hays; August 10, in Salina; and August 15, in
Lawrence.
USDA Rural Development recently
announced the availability of $37 million in Value-Added Producer Grants. Producers, farmer/rancher cooperatives, ag producer groups and producer-based
business ventures can apply for planning or working capital grants. Applications are due August 29, 2011. Visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/KS_RBS_VAPG.html to
download the grant application.
The grant workshops
will be lead by Dr. Vincent Amanor-Boadu, Associate Professor of Agricultural
Economics at Kansas State University; and Karissa Berks, USDA Business Programs
Director in Kansas.
Registration for the workshop is $20
and includes lunch. Contact Dr. Kara Ross with Kansas State University’s
Department of Agricultural Economics at 785-532-3526
or kross@agecon.ksu.edu to register
for the workshop. Registration is due by August 5, and
the following information is needed to register: mailing address,
phone/email address, organization, project description, interest in planning
or working capital grant and any special needs.
For additional information regarding
the USDA Rural Development Value-Added Producer Grant program call the Agency’s
state office at 785-271-2740 and/or visit Kansas State University’s Department of Agricultural Economics website at http://www.ageconomics.ksu.edu.
USDA, through its Rural Development mission area, administers and
manages housing, business and community infrastructure and facility programs
through a national network of state and local offices. These programs are
designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses,
residents, farmers and ranchers and improve the quality of life in rural
America. Rural Development has an existing portfolio of more than $150 billion
in loans and loan guarantees. --Kara Ross kross@agecon.ksu.edu
ASK THE OEIE EVALUATOR - WHAT ARE SURVEY QUESTIONS?
In the last installment we talked about evaluation questions and how they fit in the evaluation process. In this installment we will talk about survey questions and when and where they come into play. It can be easy to sometimes confuse survey questions with evaluation questions because surveys are a frequently used approach to evaluating an educational program, perhaps especially in extension. Just think about the number of times you have been asked to complete a questionnaire at the end of a workshop, conference or course!
Q: What are survey questions?
When we think about “survey questions” we are usually thinking of the specific questions or items of a questionnaire. (The technical term for the set of questions is questionnaire, while survey technically refers to the process of obtaining responses from a group of respondents.) These are the questions that you ask participants to gain feedback about specific aspects of the program.
There are a variety of ways you may design the survey (e.g., an end-of-session survey, a pre-then-post survey, a post-then-pre reflective survey) and methods of delivery (e.g., by telephone, handout, electronic), and these variations may influence the questions you include. One particular authority on survey design for research and evaluation is Don Dillman, whose books OEIE refers to often (for one such resource see below).
Questionnaire items you write for a program evaluation will often:
• relate to the learning objectives for the program
• ask about change in knowledge, attitudes or behavior relative to your intended outcomes
• ask about ideas to improve the program
• gather information about participants’ backgrounds
• seek contact information for a follow-up evaluation
For example, you may ask a closed-ended question like, “After participating in this program, how confident do you feel in your ability to lead an effective meeting?” and provide a scale for participants to select a rating from “Not confident at all” to “Very confident.”
You could ask open-ended questions like, “What is one thing you learned from this program that you did not know before participating?” and ask participants to articulate their response in writing or verbally.
Keep in mind that there are various ways to collect evaluation data besides a survey, and depending on your purposes or the particulars of the program, you may choose another approach. Alternative methods of data collection include observations; accessing existing data, records or documentation; ability tests; and case studies. We will consider these other methods and when to use them in future installments of “Ask the OEIE Evaluator.”
Questions about evaluation? Contact Amy Hilgendorf at OEIE, aehilgen@k-state.edu, 785-532-5538).
Resource for survey design:
Dillman, D. A., Smyth, J. D., & Christian L. M. (2009). Internet, mail, and mixed mode surveys: The tailored design model. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. --Amy Hilgendorf
MARIE'S PICKS . . .
My picks
this week include evidence of short- and medium-term outcomes from Matt Clark,
Kingman County; and Jim Shroyer, Agronomy:
**A
crop rotation school held in February had 11 participants representing several
thousand acres each. In informal conversations, each producer noted that they
learned something about a crop that they are planning to grow or considering
growing other than wheat (rotation). No formal surveys were taken as this
program included only one farmer who has totally continuous wheat (about 1,500
acres). This farmer does plan to rotate following his 2010-2011 wheat crop (i.e.,
he will fallow his field for the 2011-2012 winter and plant a summer crop in
2012).
**In 2009, one producer saw first hand what striped rust
could do to a wheat crop, when the disease hit the acreage he farms with his
dad. So, when a K-State Research and Extension webinar about the disease was
advertised, he was interested, not only from the producer standpoint, but also
for his crop insurance and agricultural loan clients.
Producers
learned that a new strain of striped rust was emerging in Texas. This new
strain was able to overcome the disease-resistance of Jagger wheat, making the
many acres planted to Jagger susceptible to the disease. The webinar provided a
step-by-step decision making tool to help farmers determine whether it was
worth it to spray their crop, from a financial and an environmental standpoint.
Another producer said the decision to use a fungicide on 3,000 acres was in the
top three most important decisions of 2010. He experienced a 15-bushels per
acre yield increase due to the fungicide application and at $5 per bushel selling
price it was worth more than $225,000 to the farming operation. –-Marie Blythe mblythe@ksu.edu
VOLUNTEERS REQUESTED TO HELP IN OUR BOOTHS AT THE KANSAS STATE FAIR
The College of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension will once again have booths in the Pride of Kansas building at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson. The Kansas State Fair runs from Friday, September 9, through Sunday, September 18, 2011.
We would appreciate faculty and staff from campus, area offices, counties/districts, Agronomy Fields, and Research-Extension Centers coming to the fair and working a few hours in one or both of the booths. Also, we would really appreciate agents and/or faculty, who are coming to the fair anyway, signing up to work a couple of hours in the booth before or after your activities.
Days and times that our KSRE/COA fair booths are open are:
Friday, September 9 - 11 a.m.-9 p.m.Saturday, September 10 (KFMA taking this entire day)
Sunday, September 11 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Monday, September 12 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Tuesday, September 13 – 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Wednesday, September 14 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m
Thursday, September 15 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Friday, September 16 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Saturday, September 17 - 9 a.m.-9 p.m.
Sunday, September 18 - 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
If you would like to work in the K-State Research and Extension booth, please contact Maria Sweet, marswe@ksu.edu, by August 26.
If you would like to work in the College of Agriculture booth, please contact Sandy Klein, sandy@ksu.edu, by August 26.
We will be in touch in late August/early September to finalize days, times, entrance tickets, etc. --Sandy Klein and Steven Graham sgraham@k-state.edu
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