Using Technology to Enhance Extension Education and Outreach

Abstract

<jats:p>We held a technology session at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science in Atlanta, GA, to provide guidance for technology choices in extension education and an opportunity to learn more about engaging new audiences, including the millennial generation (people born between 1982 and 2000). The use of technology is now an integral part of extension-client interaction. Presenters in the session gave examples of when technologies such as blogs, social media accounts, or web conferencing tools allowed extension personnel to increase engagement with online consumers and ultimately help fulfill extension’s mission of extending knowledge and changing lives. Effective engagement requires both educators and learners to be satisfied with the exchange. It is critical to monitor the quality of these digitally facilitated exchanges as compared with traditional face-to-face interactions. Additionally, it is possible to quantify digital engagement with readily available metrics, such as “retweets” (a reposted or forwarded message) or “likes” (indication an item is appreciated). These allow innovative and substantive reporting to further justify continued use of digital technologies for enhancing client-extension relations.</jats:p>

Combating Horticultural Misinformation through Integrated Online Campaigns Using Social Media, Graphics Interchange Format, and Blogs

“…In contrast, the authors' Facebook followers are typically stakeholders or growers who are more likely to be seeking out new information. This is consistent with the findings in Barton et al (2017) where green industry consumers were more likely to be found on Facebook and professional conversations were more common on Twitter. In the future, the authors will use this information to better target program development efforts for CES clients on Facebook.…”

Enhancing Consumer Horticulture’s Millennial Outreach: Social Media, Retail, and Public Garden Perspectives

“…Social media platforms like YouTube are popular with younger generations; however, due to time constraints, the workshop focused on Instagram. The visually rich nature of horticultural subjects complements this image-based social media platform (Barton et al, 2017).…”

“…However, CH must do more than simply provide shareable content that is suitable for Instagram. In addition, CH must build its social media brand by actively engaging millennials by promptly answering posted questions, responding to comments, and asking for opinions and input (Barton et al, 2017). Millennial plant parents like to feel that they are partners with CH and that their opinions are heard, valued, and ''liked.''…”

“…Finally, millennials want to ''be entertained.'' Humor can be an instrumental tactic for social media (Barton et al, 2017). However, entertainment goes beyond humor to encompass a lifestyle that focuses on collecting meaningful experiences rather than expensive possessions (Morgan, 2019; Yue et al, 2016).…”

Effectiveness of Personal versus Online Extension Methods in Disseminating Knowledge on Household Waste Management

“…But today, with the advancement in technology we have ample online extension methods like video conferencing, social networking applications, digital messages, etc. available for information dissemination (Barton et al, 2017;Capila & Sachdev, 2010). These methods contribute to a great extent not only in increasing knowledge of the people but also in meeting the developmental goals of communities (O'Donnell, 2009).…”