ACCEPTANCE OF WEB-BASED EXTENSION AGRITOURISM PROGRAM DELIVERY
Extension Education
Stephen Komar
Agricultural Agent
newton
Abstract
\r\n In recent years, distance education has become an important outreach tool in some areas of cooperative extension. This tool allows educators the ability to host what would traditionally be viewed as face-to-face educational programs over the internet using specialized software. In 2010, a series of educational webinars were conducted. The program entitled, The East Coast Agritourism Webinar Series was developed to introduce participants to the fundamentals of establishing an agritourism venture on-farm. The objectives of this study were to evaluate participant’s acceptance of web-based technologies and to quantify the impact of web-based programs on Extension clientele. Two hundred fourteen (214) individuals participated in five webinars hosted during 2010. Participants were surveyed to quantify the educational impact of these programs and to determine the effectiveness of the program. Most respondents (92.4%) were satisfied or very satisfied with the program with 100% reporting that they would recommend the program to others. The majority of respondents (80.3%) reported learning strategies that would improve their operation with 59.7% reporting that they would implement at least one strategy on their farm. Most respondents (75%) reported having little to no problem utilizing the technology. Among respondents, >76% reported attending traditional extension programming. However, 23.7 % reported never attending any Extension programs. Webinars appear to be a viable alternative to traditional classroom extension programming and may increase efficiency for certain programs while attracting new participants to Extension programming.
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Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC
This poster is being submitted for judging. It will be displayed at the AM/PIC if not selected as a State winner. The abstract will be published in the proceedings.
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Authors: S.J. Komar, S.R. Rich, B. Schilling, Tomas Stacy, Carleo Jenny, Colucci Susan
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Komar, S. Agricultural Agent, Rutgers University, New Jersey, 07860
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Rich, S. Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University, North Carolina, 27695
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Schilling, B. Assistant Professor, Rutgers University, New Jersey, 08901
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Stacy, T. Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University, North Carolina, 27695
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Jenny, C. Agricultural Agent, Rutgers University, New Jersey, 08210
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Susan, C. Agricultural Agent, North Carolina State University, North Carolina, 28739