eXtension

Learn, explore, and grow at the accurate and timely site    http://www.extension.org 

With eXtension, you get research-based answers from industry experts in America's largest and oldest university system, land-grant universities.

eXtension is built on the first hand knowledge and practice of experts in a partidular field of study.  The information they gather from  real-life research is transferred into the eXtension knowledge base within their community of practive. Then customized user tools help you locate timely information and commentary on subjects including:

• Animal Manure Management
• Beef Cattle
• Caregivers
• Corn
• Cotton Industry
• Dairy Cattle
• Disasters
• Diversity
• Entrepreneurship
• Gardens, Lawns, and Landscapes
• Geographic Information Systems
• Horses
• Imported Fire Ants
• Organic Production
• Parenting
• Personal Finance
• Soybeans
• Wildlife Damage Management
• Youth Science, Engineering, and Technology
  

And, you can benefit from the best available information on topics important to you.  With eXtension you get:

• Credible expertise and reliable answers based upon sound research and field-tested  data
• Up to date, 24-hour service availible from any Internet connection
• Connections to the best, most innovative minds in American universities
• Customized answers to your specific needs
• Searchable knowledge base and "Ask the Experts" options
• Contact to over 3,000 local Cooperative Extension offices with professionals who can help you in your own neighborhood
• Community building features including blogs, online chats, content evaluation and rating, and much more

********************************************

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The nation's 94-year-old Cooperative Extension System reaches millions of people every year through the efforts of more than 100 land-grant colleges and universities and thousands of county Extension offices dotting the U.S. landscape.

But that number will likely multiply exponentially now that Extension has a national online consumer-oriented presence, http://www.extension.org.

The effort, called eXtension (pronounced "e-Extension") officially launched on Feb. 21 and is designed to give users "the best of the best," said Keith Smith, director of Ohio State University Extension and associate vice president for agricultural administration in Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

"People want information quickly -- they want it now, and they want assurance that it's reliable," Smith said. eXtension gives all that and more, he added. "This use of technology is bringing us into the modern age, and Ohio is in the forefront." Not only have Ohio State faculty members participated in preparing content for the site, especially in the area of personal finance, but Ohio is currently among the top five states in the country with the number of eXtension IDs. Having an eXtension ID allows Extension-affiliated faculty and staff to comment on the site and provide new content.

When Congress created the Extension system in 1914 to assist land-grant universities "extend" research-based information and educational programs throughout their home states, more than half the U.S. population lived in rural areas and nearly a third were engaged in farming. At that time, Extension focused exclusively on agricultural and rural issues. Over the years, Extension has branched out to reflect the changing needs of farmers, business-owners, families and communities. Although local Extension offices remain in or near most of the nation's 3,000 counties, eXtension.org will expand Extension's reach, Smith said.

The seed of eXtension was planted in 2004, when Smith was chair of the national Extension Committee on Policy. Although most, if not all, statewide Extension services operate Web sites where consumers could find useful information, Extension had no national presence that brought together know-how from faculty members across the country in specific areas of expertise. When such an idea came before Extension leaders, Smith influenced his counterparts across the country to pledge a small portion of their federal funding to pay for the effort.

"It took some legwork, but when Extension directors voted their approval, we were thrilled," he said.

From the beginning, eXtension was designed to be more than just a collection of web pages with static information. Teams of professionals from land-grant universities identified the most user-friendly materials available from Extension services across the country, vetted them to ensure the information was reliable and credible, and created new materials on the topics for use on eXtension. The site has thousands of frequently asked questions, searchable by keyword browsable by category. Users also can Ask the Experts if they can't find the answer to their specific question.

"If someone is interested in equine matters, for example, they can go to one place and get the best guidance not only from Ohio, but from Tennessee, Michigan and Kentucky," Smith said.

In addition, users who register with the site are guided to their local Extension offices and their state's land-grant institution for additional information and local professionals.

Initially, eXtension's topic areas include:

Personal Finance

Family Caregiving

Parenting

Gardens, Lawns and Landscapes

Farm, including Beef Cattle; Dairy; Horses; and Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Centers

Wildlife Damage Management

Floods

Science, Engineering, and Technology for Youth

Entrepreneurs and Their Communities

Additional topics are also online, and more will be added in upcoming months and years, Smith said.

Besides the funding from state Extension directors, eXtension has received $1.5 million in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service. In the 2009 budget proposal from the White House, that amount is suggested to increase to $2.97 million, Smith said.

Writer:
Martha Filipic
filipic.3@cfaes.osu.edu
(614) 292-9833

Source:
Keith Smith
smith.150@osu.edu
(614) 292-4607