The Future of Extension Program Delivery: The Case
for Online Training
Curtis Mahnken, Kevin Klair
April 2, 2014
Future of Training Delivery
• Growth of technology
• Acceptance of technology
• Budgets shrinking
• Level of service expected to be same or better
• Audience: Smaller/More scattered
Future of Training Delivery
• Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers
– National, multi-faceted, different audiences
– Hybrid program delivery
• In-Person workshops
• Online
• One on one consulting
– 9,116 applicants trained
The Melting Pot
Gender %
Male 68.1%
Female 31.9%
Age
< 2020-3030-4040-5050-6060+
Language %
English 82.7%
Spanish 1.2%
Vietnamese 15.4%
Other 0.8%Asparagus
Blueberries
Catfish
Lobster
Shrimp
- 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000
TAA Online Training Setup
• Applicants had own portal
• Selection of commodity specific and national workshops
• After watching online workshops, applicants needed to pass quiz
• Mostly designed specifically for TAA
Initial Training
http://taaforfarmers.org/Courses.aspx
Online Training
• Results
– Number completed online
– Applicant thoughts
– Knowledge gain
• Moving forward
RESULTS2014 Women In Agriculture National Conference
Online Training
In-Person Online Combination0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
25%
38% 37%
Training Method Preference-Prior to Training
Online Training
<20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60 +0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Prior to Training-Preference to Receive Training by Age
In-PersonOnlineCombination
Online Training
17,370, 41%
24,777, 59%
Mode of Intensive Training
In Person
Online
ONLINE EFFECTIVENESS2014 Women In Agriculture National Conference
Online Effectiveness
• Evaluate Knowledge Gain
– Online (More) vs In-Person (Less)
• Question
– How to evaluate your business and plan for change
– Asked before and after intensive training
• Applicants rated themselves
– None to Complete Knowledge(1-5 point scale)
Online Effectiveness
Pre-Assessment After Training Pre-Assessment After TrainingLess than 50% Online More than 50% Online
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
Evaluating Your Business & Planning For Change
Online Effectiveness
Less More Less More Less More Less More Less More Less More<20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60+
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
Evaluating Your Business & Planning For Changeby Age
Pre-Assessment After Training
Online Effectiveness
• Online training gets us to the same result
• Increase in knowledge
MOVING FORWARD2014 Women In Agriculture National Conference
More training?
Yes57%
No43%
Are you interested in additional intensive business management training?
More training?
<20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60+0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
How would you prefer to take additional training? By Age
1on1
Small Group
Online
More training?
<20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60+ Total0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Lobster-Training Mode Desired by Age
One-on-One
Small-Group
Online
Online Training
• Advantages
– It’s a YouTube world
– Always available
– Convenience
– Inexpensive in long run
– Longer shelf life
Online Training
• Disadvantages
– Startup costs higher
• Equipment, Time
– Educator learning curve
– Different workshop design
– Getting eyeballs
How to do it yourself
• Types of online training (
– Webinar (Ag In Uncertain Times)
– Class recording
– Khan Academy
– Lynda.com (How-to)
• Short clips
– Workshop design-not just recording an in-person workshop
• 2-5 minutes
How to do it yourself
• High energy
– More engagement
• Software
– Camtasia, pre-existing programs
• After training engagement
– Learners like interaction with instructors
Quotes
• The workshops were very informative. I intend to take more courses online.
• I think the workshops are very beneficial. I was really surprised to find that people were using their smartphones as a tool for their business. It shows how technology is finding its place in all facets of our lives.
Concluding thoughts
• Online training is successful
– Nearly 60% of applicants took training online
• Online interaction works well
– Same result as in-person training
– How to create the “interactiveness” with online workshops
Concluding thoughts
• There is a desire for more training
• Applicants preferred to access training online as opposed to traditional methods
• Overall-hybrid method of delivery achieved highly regarded results amongst participants
Give us your thoughts
• Let me know on twitter @CurtisMahnken
• Or on Flipgrid (90 second video response)
– http://z.umn.edu/WIAFlipgrid