Blog

2020 brought many challenges to Juntos 4-H, but we stayed strong and innovative and used virtual experiences to continue the work that could not afford to take a break. In September, NC State Juntos hosted the first National Juntos Convening. We celebrated Why Juntos Matters and Why Juntos is Here to Stay. We invite you to check out a series of short theme videos from the National Juntos Convening. We personally love the short presentations from all the states as they share their Juntos 4-H...

Master Gardeners are a vital part of Extension, and they are an invaluable connector to local communities. In this unprecedented year, their hard-work and dedication had a big impact and they provided a needed human connection for many folks who were suffering from isolation during quarantine. This video is dedicated to them.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Cooperative Extension professionals are branching out to add simple video production to their skillset. In our virtual chat “Video Production in Cooperative Extension,” participants across institutions and job roles helped us understand more about training resources and needs related to video production in Extension.

Are you or would you like to be using data in your work to understand and improve the communities you serve? Do you want to know more about about the opportunities you have to make data-driven decisions for your constituents' well-being, and to monitor your community's progress? Are you interested in sharing your experiences and needs with other Extension professionals? If so, join us for a virtual chat on Thursday, December 10, 2020, from 1pm to 2pm EST . Our team is preparing an eFieldBook...

Yesterday we had a fabulous panel from the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion talk to us about MyPlate and the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines. 500 Cooperative Extension professionals joined us and brought some great questions with them for the 30 minute Q&A portion! If you didn't get a chance to catch it, the recording is now available . Additionally, @Barbara Jirka was kind enough to provide a copy of the slides and a handout - I've attached those to this post!

"Leader is a position. Leadership is a behavior." While there are many versions of this out in the world it remains a great distinction. To the originator of this, we thank you, whoever you are! Leader is likely in your job description somewhere. It's in our leadership behaviors where we most often find problems. It's inevitable...we're going to make mistakes. We're human after all. The only real failure is not learning from failure. Here are some mistakes we (humans) can make when leading...

Ask Extension (formerly Ask an Expert) has been an important national digital service and content asset since 2006. During the peak summer season this year, over 1100 experts handled about 11,000 questions per month. This year, eXtension launched two new projects with funding from its USDA-NIFA New Technologies for Ag Extension Cooperative Agreement: Building an artificial intelligence platform that provides information from a wide range of Extension educational resources Modernizing the...

We all endure difficulties in life. The thing we can lose sight of is that people are watching. People are being influenced by the way we show up to deal with challenges. They're curious about...How we stay centered? How we keep perspective? Do we remain kind to others on the journey? Adopting a role model mindset changes our behaviors because we want to be proud of how we got through the difficulties. This requires intention of how we want deal with the chaos. Are we getting better or just...

Have you ever worked with or been around someone who constantly apologized for almost everything? They offer great suggestions. They offer great ideas. They offer great advice. But " sorry " seems to come along with everything. If you're a bit confused (like me!) in these situations...deep breath...that's totally natural. This was an issue for one of my colleagues. The barrage of apologies would disrupt the whole flow of work when they happened...and they happened a lot! Several of us tried...

eXtension Foundation is pleased to announce open registration for several 2021 events in our Impact Collaborative program. This includes registrations for the Innovation Skill-Building Experience and the Impact Collaborative Innovation Facilitator Training. These events are for everyone inside eXtension Foundation member institution s . The eXtension Foundation invites all members to participate in the Impact Collaborative program to build skills in innovation, hone project & program...

We always show up for what we believe in. Life is a journey & we're always on the way. Are you headed in the direction you want? In reflection... Are you showing up for others in line with your values? Are you worrying about things you can't change but aren't willing to put effort into changing them? Are you caring, collaborating, coaching? What behaviors do you tolerate? We all get what we tolerate. Who have you helped recently? 6 Thoughts from Marshall Goldsmith 1. How smart or right...

Our team at University of Connecticut (UConn) Extension is developing a game to help consumers understand food labels. The Connect Extension chat included questions about food labels and gamification in Extension programs. You can access the chat archive at: https://connect.extension.org/chat-event/connect-extension-virtual-chat-gamifying-food-labels . Chat participants agreed that there is confusion with labels and terms among the consumer audiences. They don't know what is healthy and what...