See you at Program Conference!
I can't believe Program Conference is already next week! Ready or not!
We're so looking forward to seeing all of you who can make it in St. Paul!
October 1, 2009
September 29, 2009
Welcome Dianne!
A great big PRU welcome to Dianne Sivald, Extension's new Grants Manager!
Dianne has many years of experience finding, writing, and managing grants, most recently with Minnesota Public Radio. She has many exciting ideas for making this new position useful and efficient, and is very enthusiastic about the work we do in Extension. Dianne will be a valuable resource for all Extension staff. If you run into her around campus or at Program Conference next week, please introduce yourself and help us welcome Dianne!
Dianne has many years of experience finding, writing, and managing grants, most recently with Minnesota Public Radio. She has many exciting ideas for making this new position useful and efficient, and is very enthusiastic about the work we do in Extension. Dianne will be a valuable resource for all Extension staff. If you run into her around campus or at Program Conference next week, please introduce yourself and help us welcome Dianne!
September 17, 2009
Informal Learning
OK, raise your hand if you've heard of informal learning.
I just went to a seminar on this, and I had no idea what it was. In fact, I wonder what made me sign up for it in the first place? Anyway. It was a good idea. Although honestly, don't you hate it when something they could have said in an hour takes all day? Geez.
The gist of it was that you can do formal education/training, and people forget 91% of the information within 7 days. Or something like that. I forgot to bring pen and paper. So I forgot 91% of his info. But if you give someone informal learning, which it turns out is usually a JOB AID that you use as a cheat sheet, people remember better. Well DUH! But I say DUH but do I have any job aids for you? Um. Not really.
So the presenter shared a lot of really nice, successful job aids and I am inspired to create them as the need arises in the PRU. I figure the next one we'll probably need is for grants (from the new grants manager). But are there any other ideas?
He also had an example of a successful online training--it used all kinds of little tricks (I mean that in a good way) to help you remember the info. Graphics, tag lines, stuff like that. It was neat.
Perhaps the best part of the seminar was sitting next to a woman from General Mills who does a lot of staff training. She told me about her super cool idea of giving every new employee in her unit (which is humongous) an iPod pre-loaded with podcasts by her and other key people, as well as a grocery store walk-through on there too. I told you it was super cool! And with the Pillsbury Doughboy just walking around and the free yogurt parfaits and granola bars, I have three words for you. Employer. Of. Choice.
September 2, 2009
New Grants Manager Position
Just an update--we are busy in the PR Unit working on filling our new position: Grants Manager. We have several good candidates and are interviewing them now. This new position is better described by people other than me, but a dumbed-down description is that he or she will be working with the overall process and strategy of pulling grants into the organization. It should be very helpful, since that process is a bit muddled right now.
I'll be glad when these interviews are over. I am having to be on my best behavior since I don't want to scare anyone off from working here. Really, we're normal and fun! Just ignore the insane redhead talking into the zucchini!
I'll be glad when these interviews are over. I am having to be on my best behavior since I don't want to scare anyone off from working here. Really, we're normal and fun! Just ignore the insane redhead talking into the zucchini!
August 17, 2009
Blogwell Conference
I know you will all be jealous when I tell you that I got to go to the Blogwell conference in Minneapolis. It had a really interesting line-up of speakers--all about how large organizations use social media, internally and externally. I went to break-outs given by Mayo Clinic, Walmart, McDonald's, and Ford. I came away quite inspired for the direction Extension should be going with some of these things. Like I thought it was interesting how well Mayo Clinic is using twitter and YouTube and FaceBook, and it is all justified by them having identified the ways they get clientele: word of mouth, media stories, and expert referrals. That is not that different than us! Cool! They have also changed their media strategy, using their social media and particularly their website, as the presenter said, "Don't pitch to the media, BE THE MEDIA." Meaning that they write up their stories and distribute directly to potential clientele (via the web).
Another thing I found interesting was that McDonalds had a gazillion twitter and Facebook pages, since many franchises were operating their own. McDonalds corporate eliminated all these accounts (I'm sure that was a popular announcement!) and created a nationally-branded Facebook page and twitter accounts. I think Extension could take some lessons from that too! Very interesting. Also from McDonalds--and this reminded me of Employer of Choice material--they have employee discussion boards ("Mindshare Community") and put 'discuss' buttons on all pages of the corporate McDonalds site. There is also a Station M web site for all employees (it looked like it was geared towards young workers). Both of these efforts have improved the feeling of what they call the "McFamily." They also have a motivation to build what they called [online] Brand Ambassadors out of their 700,000 US employees. I found a lot of this relate-able to Extension.
The Ford guy was possibly the most inspiring. The social media efforts coming out of Ford (which are sizable--they have 34 twitter accounts, for example) are all run by one guy. He is a communications guy, not a sales guy, and he uses online media tools to better Ford's communication goals, not necessarily their sales. His big pitch was that all companies need their senior leadership to GET IT and to BE ON BOARD with it. Awesome point.
The last break-out I went to was by Walmart and their message was so relevant for us. They did a bunch of research (or whatever) and found that 78% of their employees wanted to connect with each other online--even though they aren't allowed to do social media stuff from work! That means most of their employees wanted to use a Walmart employee site from home. holy cow! They found that engaged employees were more loyal and stayed with the company longer. They originally were worried about control. What if employees get on the employee chat board and just bitch about Walmart? They finally decided they couldn't control it so why worry. They built a big employee website with exactly what the employees said they wanted (top requests: forms, friending, chat) as well as some info that is important from the business side of things, and 90,000 employees joined the site since it launched three months ago and (this part shocked me) 90% of these employees return at least every 10 days!!
There was a lot interesting at this conference. It was also fun to visit General Mills Headquarters, who hosted it. I got tons of free samples, which is probably an ethics violation, but how can I resist free yogurt parfaits and granola bars?? I CAN'T!
And, the best for last, I GOT TO MEET THE PILLSBURY DOUGHBOY! Best professional development ever.
Another thing I found interesting was that McDonalds had a gazillion twitter and Facebook pages, since many franchises were operating their own. McDonalds corporate eliminated all these accounts (I'm sure that was a popular announcement!) and created a nationally-branded Facebook page and twitter accounts. I think Extension could take some lessons from that too! Very interesting. Also from McDonalds--and this reminded me of Employer of Choice material--they have employee discussion boards ("Mindshare Community") and put 'discuss' buttons on all pages of the corporate McDonalds site. There is also a Station M web site for all employees (it looked like it was geared towards young workers). Both of these efforts have improved the feeling of what they call the "McFamily." They also have a motivation to build what they called [online] Brand Ambassadors out of their 700,000 US employees. I found a lot of this relate-able to Extension.
The Ford guy was possibly the most inspiring. The social media efforts coming out of Ford (which are sizable--they have 34 twitter accounts, for example) are all run by one guy. He is a communications guy, not a sales guy, and he uses online media tools to better Ford's communication goals, not necessarily their sales. His big pitch was that all companies need their senior leadership to GET IT and to BE ON BOARD with it. Awesome point.
The last break-out I went to was by Walmart and their message was so relevant for us. They did a bunch of research (or whatever) and found that 78% of their employees wanted to connect with each other online--even though they aren't allowed to do social media stuff from work! That means most of their employees wanted to use a Walmart employee site from home. holy cow! They found that engaged employees were more loyal and stayed with the company longer. They originally were worried about control. What if employees get on the employee chat board and just bitch about Walmart? They finally decided they couldn't control it so why worry. They built a big employee website with exactly what the employees said they wanted (top requests: forms, friending, chat) as well as some info that is important from the business side of things, and 90,000 employees joined the site since it launched three months ago and (this part shocked me) 90% of these employees return at least every 10 days!!
There was a lot interesting at this conference. It was also fun to visit General Mills Headquarters, who hosted it. I got tons of free samples, which is probably an ethics violation, but how can I resist free yogurt parfaits and granola bars?? I CAN'T!
And, the best for last, I GOT TO MEET THE PILLSBURY DOUGHBOY! Best professional development ever.
August 10, 2009
In which I become a program person
So I'm sure it is painfully obvious at times--I am not a program manager/leader like all of you. I can set up a Proxima with the best of them, but when it comes to logistical planning and getting butts in the seats and all that, I am a newbie. But Program Conference changes all that! Luckily, many hands are helping with Conference, so I can learn a lot. Here are a few things I've learned already.
- We are using Basecamp for planning all our tasks. It is very appealing to my (admittedly small) organizer side, since it allows for collaborative to-do lists and timelines and such. The PR Unit didn't pay for it, but I'm assuming we got the Basic plan, which is $24 a month.
- Registration is online and is going to be done by the Extension Store. So far we are very pleased with the system. It allows break-out registration and automatically removes options as they fill up, it allows us to batch send a reminder email(s), and also allows online access to data at all times. The price tag is a bit hefty, at $4.75/registrant or $150 setup plus $3.50/registrant (we are using the latter). But not a lot of alternatives, really.
- And one more thing I have learned: No Listserv is Perfect! My humblest apologies to anyone who is left off. Please let me know if someone you think should be getting Program Conference emails isn't getting them. Thanks!
July 31, 2009
Fall Conference--let the huge amounts of planning begin!
So we have sealed the deal with the Crowne Plaza in St. Paul! It seems like a nice hotel and the saleswoman offered me anything we wanted from the snack bar (I chose lemonade--didn't want to seem greedy with a extra grande mocha frappucino), so I'm pretty much a fan for life. Also, it was Al Franken's venue of choice. If it's good enough for Al.... right?
We are hammering out the mini-tours and concurrent sessions. The survey we just did asking your opinions on these items was helpful. Except I did have to laugh when I first prepared the results and the average for EVERYTHING was "May or May not attend." You guys don't like to commit, I take it. Or maybe it was the options given. As one commenter said:
"Anything more interesting than fees, grantwriting, reporting and evaluation would be great. These are the four worst/most boring aspects of our jobs. Could there be any sessions that deal with some of the positive aspects of our work?"
That is such an excellent point. I wonder how many educators/faculty share this point of view? Probably lots! We need to do our very best to make this conference positive and energizing, and not drudgery. Any ideas how best this can be accomplished? Specifically?
Thanks!
July 22, 2009
Workforce Investment Act
Last month Mike and I went to a meeting with Amanda Rondeau and Bob Rubinyi to discuss the Workforce Investment Act (or "WIA"). I had never heard of this and maybe you haven't either. It is a program where people can obtain tuition vouchers as part of a federal act to improve the workforce. Here's a page that explains it better than me: http://iseek.org/education/wia.html
WIA could be important to Extension because the U has recently been approved to be able to accept these tuition vouchers on eligible programs. Each program must apply individually, though, to be accepted as WIA Certified. The U would like all these applications to originate and funnel through Amanda. As you can read from the page above, the best candidates for acceptance as WIA Certified are programs that end in some type of certificate or licensure.
I am really unsure what this means for Extension programs. Is it a huge opportunity? Or a lot of unnecessary paperwork? What do you think? Any takers?
July 9, 2009
Fall Conference
The PRU is busy helping out with Fall Program Conference planning. We've been to a few hotels and I think we are going to sign the contract with the Crowne Plaza in St. Paul. It is a very nice looking hotel and the staff is great to work with. The only bad part so far is that my rockin' minivan won't fit in the parking ramp! I wonder if that means I can valet? I hope so!
The planning committee is listed below. If you have any suggestions for the conference this year, please pass them along to someone on the committee!
- Mike Schmitt (chair)
- Holli Arp
- Amy Baker
- Sarah Bjorkman
- Greg Cuomo
- Kia Harries
- Krishona Martinson
- Karen Matthes
- Cynthia Messer
- Karen Shirer
- Karen Terry
- Shelly Tschida
- Aimee Viniard-Weideman
What would be the best use of your time at Fall Conference?
June 25, 2009
Extension 2.0 Units Online
The Extension 2.0 blog is back in action. So if you want to walk through the materials on your own or just go back over something you read while taking the course, help yourself!
June 4, 2009
A New Blog!
Welcome to the new Program Resource Unit blog! I love the easy format and quick feedback of a blog, so this seems like a great way to keep connected with Extension program teams. I hope you'll take a second to add this blog to your feedreader to make it easy peasy to remember to read it.
Extension 2.0 Poster at Quality Fair
Extension 2.0 was an idea featured at the U's annual Quality Fair! Here is the poster we presented and received a lot of feedback from: (and bonus--you can see my breakfast on the table too)
Online Grants Course
The Extension Program Resource Unit has developed an online course called Grantsmanship Fundamentals for Extension. Most of Extension's programmatic staff were automatically enrolled in this course in December 2008. If you are an Extension Educator, a Center Associate Dean, or an Area Program Leader, you are required to take the course and can access it by visiting your MyU courses page. Preferably, the course should be completed by July 1, 2009.
Just try it, you'll like it! I wrote it myself (with lots of help from experts!) so it's not even too dry and boring. And it includes my trademark educational tool, video tutorials! It only takes about an hour and a half and you can do it from the comfort of your office. Topics covered include finding grants, writing proposals, and correctly submitting a grant at the University. An archive of the information that is in the course can be found on your MyU website, under Program Resources.
All Extension departmental faculty, Program Coordinators, Regional Directors, and Program Directors were also automatically enrolled in the course. These groups are not required, but are strongly encouraged, to complete the course.
If you were not automatically enrolled but would like to take the course, just email the Grants team at the address below. It was very difficult to enroll all the right people using the U's auto enroll thing. We basically had to build a new tool, because, as we know, Extension is different than the rest of the U.
We very much welcome your questions or feedback about this course. Please email the Extension Grants Team at ExtGrants@umn.edu.
The Program Resource Unit (PRU)
Program Resource Unit Goal: To improve Extension’s ability to design, deliver, and evaluate programs by providing necessary resources and increasing employee skill levels.
This blog is a way to communicate with staff and open dialog on programming-related topics. Please feel free to comment on any post!
PRU Leader: Mike Schmitt, Senior Associate Dean, 612-626-4021
Program Resource Director: Amy Baker, 612-626-2897
