EFFECTIVENESS OF A 'WEBEX POLLING TUTORIAL' PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEBINAR
Extension Education
Steven Yergeau
Environmental and Resource Management Agent
Rutgers University Cooperative Extension
Toms River
Abstract
At the heart of Rutgers Cooperative Extension’s (RCE) practice is the delivery of educational programs to our clients. To determine the effectiveness of these educational efforts, evaluations are presented to the audience with feedback received through written or verbal responses. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, most programming was conducted as either the traditional lecture style or through hands-on workshops where evaluations could be given to participants in real time. The COVID-19 pandemic suspended in-person instruction within RCE, shifting programs to distance learning. The ‘Webex Polling Tutorial’ professional development webinar was developed and conducted to assist Extension professionals in performing online evaluations and the collection of impact data. The goals of the tutorial were to train RCE professionals in the use of the polling feature within Webex and provide them with resources to conduct online program evaluation. Participants were surveyed with the Qualtrics® survey tool after the tutorial to gauge its effectiveness in relaying polling techniques and determine if those techniques were used by webinar participants. Survey results indicate participants rated the tutorial ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent’ and utilized skills learned in evaluating their online programs. Respondents also indicated that they were conducting online educational programs and incorporating polls into their programs after attending or viewing the ‘Webex Polling Tutorial’ webinar. A previous survey of New Jersey’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension faculty and staff found that 67% had never used video conferencing, and that the remaining 33% used it monthly or rarely. This current survey found that 76% were planning to conduct video conferencing-based webinars or already had. While this increase is most likely attributed to the requirements established for RCE faculty and staff, the timely intervention of this peer-to-peer professional development may have been helpful in increasing one’s knowledge and comfort with online instruction.
Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC
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Authors: S. Yergeau
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Yergeau, S. Environmental & Resource Management Agent, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, New Jersey, 08755-1199