Project Summary:

Title of Project:	Cooperative Extension Curriculum Project-SR
Project Director:	Ronald A. Brown
Applicant Organization:	Mississippi State University

Summary:

This project will develop an Extension Electronic 
Curriculum Guide to facilitate formulation of 
consensus mechanisms that will enable the 
development, on a regional basis, of 
competency-based, multimedia instructional 
modules and learning objects, along with a 
learning management system, for a comprehensive 
Extension curriculum in the southern region 
of the US. 

It will promote efficiency by providing a way for 
all 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions in the 
southern region to cooperate in multimedia, web-
based curriculum development designed for the 
next generation of Extension users, rather than 
the development of duplicative materials by 
each institution and state. 

Authorized Organizational Representative:

Name:	James E. Peterson
Email:	mlatham@spa.msstate.edu
Phone Number:	662-325-2490
FAX Number:	662-325-3803
Address:	Director, Sponsored Program Administration P.O. Box 6156 Mississippi State, MS 39762

Principal Investigator / Project Director #1:

Name:	Ronald A. Brown
Email:	brown@ext.msstate.edu
Phone Number:	662-325-0644
FAX Number:	662-325-8915
Address:	Box 9656 410 Bost Bldg Mississippi State, MS 39762

Curriculum Vitae:

RONALD A. BROWN

P.O. Box 2264, Mississippi State, MS 39762
(662) 325 0644 (Office)

EDUCATION
Ed.D.	Agricultural Education, University of 
Illinois, 1974
M.Ed. 	Agricultural Education, Mississippi State 
University, 1972
B.S. 	Agricultural Education, Mississippi State 
University, 1968

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES (selected)
2001 û present	Executive Director, Association 
of Southern Region Extension Directors

1996 - 2001	Director, Mississippi State 
University Extension Service

1989 - 1996	Associate Vice President, 
Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary 
Medicine, Mississippi State University, 
Mississippi State, MS

1993 - 1994	Head, Office of Agricultural 
Communications, Division of Agriculture, Forestry 
and Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi State 
University, Mississippi State, MS (one year 
interim assignment to organize and stabilize 
departmental structure and budget, and hire 
permanent head)

1985 - 1996	Director, Office of International 
Programs, Mississippi State University, 
Mississippi State, MS

1982 - 2001	Professor, Agricultural and 
Extension Education (now Agricultural Information 
Sciences), College of Agriculture and Home 
Economics (now Agriculture and Life Sciences), 
Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, 
MS

1968 - 1972	Teacher of Vocational 
Agriculture, Quitman County Schools, MS

PUBLICATIONS (Articles, Papers, Manuscripts, 
Books)
Written more than 50 books, articles and 
manuscripts dealing with agricultural and 
extension education; international agriculture; 
teaching and learning; program and curriculum 
development; and related topics.

RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND TRAINING CONTRACTS
Directed more than 45 
research/development/training contracts ranging 
in size up to $2M.

MASTER'S THESES AND DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS
Directed more than 20 masterÆs theses and 
doctoral dissertations; served as committee 
member on others.

OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES (Presented numerous 
speeches and papers, including)
ôA Vision for Extension in the 21st Centuryö 
presented to the faculty and staff of the 
Division of Agriculture, Texas A&M University, 
College Station, TX, January 10, 2002.

"Globalizing the College of Agriculture 
Curricula" presented to the College of 
Agriculture Department Heads and Faculty 
Representatives, Louisiana State University, 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 26, 1994.

"Principles of Extension" presented to the 
Community Forestry Development Conference, Royal 
Forestry Department, Government of Thailand, 
Bangkok, Thailand, January 14, 1994.

"Planning in University Agricultural Research and 
Education" presented to Academic Department Heads 
at the Southern Association of Agricultural 
Scientists, Tulsa, OK, February 2, 1993.

"Capitalizing On Our Strengths" presented as 1991 
AATEA Distinguished Lecturer Series, Los Angeles, 
California, December 9, 1991.


MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES, HONORS AND RECOGNITIONS
2001 û 2002	Extension Committee on Programs 
and Policy (ECOP) Committee on A Vision for 
Extension in the 21st Century

1996 - 2000	Legislative Committee, Extension 
Committee on Policy, National Association of 
State Universities and Land Grant Colleges

1991 - 1994	Secretary, Vice Chair, Chair, and 
Past Chair of Executive Committee, International 
Committee on Organization and Policy, NASULGC

1982 - 1985	Member, Editorial Board, The 
Journal of Vocational Education Research.

1982	Served as consultant for developing 
undergraduate and graduate education programs at 
Chiangmai University and Maejo Institute of 
Agricultural Technology, Thailand, August 1983

	1981		Recipient, Mississippi 
State University Alumni Award for Excellence in 
Teaching and Research

1980 - 1982	Editor, The Journal of The 
American Association of Teacher Educators in 
Agriculture

1979	Chair, National Agricultural Education 
Research Conference; Chair, National Innovations 
in Agriculture Committee; and Chair, Southern 
Region Agricultural Education Research Conference

1978 - 1979	Served as editorial consultant 
for McGraw-Hill Book Company

NOTE: ALTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT CO-PI's, ADDITIONAL 
INDIVIDUALS ARE LISTED AS FOLLOWS TO SHOW 
EXPERTISE FOR THIS PROJECT. THERE ARE FIVE 
TEAM/WORKGROUP LEADERS WHO WILL DEVOTE 
SIGNIFICANT TIME TO THIS PROJECT. THEIR EXPERTISE 
PROVIDES A GOOD BALANCE OF TECHNICAL SUBJECT 
MATTER, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNICATIONS, 
PEDAGOGY, AND OTHER NEEDED AREAS OF EXPERTISE.

Principal Investigator / Project Director #2:

Name:	Mitchell B. Owen
Email:	mitch_owen@ncsu.edu
Phone Number:	919-515-2819
FAX Number:	919-515-1242
Address:	(note: not a co-PI, but one of 5 team leaders) North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27695

Curriculum Vitae:

 Curriculum Vitae
MITCHELL B. OWEN
EDUCATION            
North Carolina State University, Ed.D., Adult 
Education.  Dissertation: Factors Related to Use 
of Internet by North Carolina Cooperative 
Extension Service Field Faculty. May 1999.
Clemson University, M.Ag., Agricultural 
Mechanization and Business, Minor in Agricultural 
Economics. Research: Modeling Tractor Traction 
and Economics for Tillage Operations. December 
1983.
Clemson University, B.S. Ornamental Horticulture, 
Minor in Business. May 1982.
CURRENT POSITION
Innovation and Organization Development Leader, 
Personal & Organizational Development, North 
Carolina Cooperative Extension, North Carolina 
State University. Serves with a team of personal 
& organization development leaders to ensure 
excellence in North Carolina Cooperative 
Extension through enhancing individual & 
organization growth. The position:  develops 
educational programs designed to develop the 
leadership capacity of North Carolina Cooperative 
Extension; provides leadership to the 
implementation of administrative training, 
provides leadership to the implementation of new 
educational technologies; serves with other 
organizational development leaders in providing 
programs designed to enhance the overall 
effectiveness of the organization and sub-units 
of the organization, provides leadership for the 
development and evaluation of innovative 
educational methods and technologies; & provides 
instructional design support to colleagues in the 
selection and use of educational methods & 
technologies. October 2000 to present.
SELECTED HONORS
State Award of Visionary Leadership; Epsilon 
Sigma Phi, National Honorary Extension 
Fraternity, XI, 1998
Outstanding Service Award; North Carolina State 
University SupervisorsÆ Management School, 1997.
Gold Award for Information Technology; 
Agricultural Communicators in Education, 1995.
Extension Agent Award of Excellence; RJR Nabisco 
Inc. & North Carolina Agricultural Extension 
Service, 1987.
Best Paper; Southern Agricultural Engineers 
Association Meeting, 1984.
LEADERSHIP ACTIVITIES
Southern Region, Cooperative Extension Curriculum 
Project, Leadership Team and Working Group 
Leader, 2002
Southern Region, E-extension Working Group, 2002
Agricultural Telecommunications Program, USDA, 
Grant Proposal Reviewer, 2000.
NC State University, Teaching and Learning Round 
Table, Student Committee, Assessment Committee, 
2000.
NC State University, Team 2, Distance Learning, 
1998-1999.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service 
Organizational Renewal Team, 1997-1999.
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service Blue 
Ribbon Commission on Training and Development, 
1997-1999.
North Carolina Extension Specialist's 
Association; Board, 1993-94; President-Elect, 
1996; President, 1997-98.
Lead Facilitator; North Carolina State University 
ChancellorÆs Retreat on Distance Education, 1996.
Technology Task Force, Wake Partnership, 
Technology and K-12 Education, 1995, 1996.
Epsilon Sigma Phi, National Futures Committee, 
1994;National Technology Committee, 1995.
SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS         
Built a shared vision for multi-state personal 
and organizational development. Developed 
workgroup process for and then helped build 
collaborative effort to develop Extension 
learning content standards for the Southern 
Region. Continues to provide the visionary 
leadership for building multi-state collaborative 
curriculum based on these emerging standards.
Developed and led the online course ôE-Mail: 
Beyond the Basics,ö a national collaborative 
project considered among the first of courses 
taught via the Internet. Taught over three years, 
the course reached faculty and staff across the 
nation and led to the creation of the Land Grant 
Training Alliance. Building on the success of 
this effort, co-lead the development of the web 
course ôTeach through the Webö 
[http://www.lgta.org:8080] for Cooperative 
Extension.
Selected and negotiated pricing for all office 
automation software.  Obtained Re-seller status 
for North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service 
resulting in up to 80% savings. Negotiated with 
the North Carolina Community College System to 
provide free computer training for 600 county 
staff members gratis, a value of $120,000.
Pioneered the concept of Area Farm Management 
Agents in one of the first positions created in 
Eastern North Carolina. Later pioneered the 
concept of Area Information Management agents 
nationally.
SELECTED PUBLISHED WORKS
Owen, M. (2002) Choosing Technology Mediated 
Approaches to Instruction. UNC Teaching and 
Learning with Technology Conference, Greensboro, 
N.C.
Owen, M. (2002). Sub-Competencies Study: 
Administrative County Leaders. North Carolina 
Cooperative Extension, North Carolina State 
University. Raleigh, NC [Available Online: 
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/pods/reports/subcomp_study
.htm]
Owen, M., Liles R. & Stone, B. (2001). Multistate 
Curriculum: A Systems Approach. Southern Region 
Directors Conference, Roanoke, Va. [Available 
Online: 
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/pods/whitepapers/Multistat
e/multistate.html] [Presentation online: 
available 
at:http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/pods/whitepapers/Multis
tate/pp/frame.htm]
Owen, M. (2001). Personal and Organizational 
Development: Learning Management System. North 
Carolina Cooperative Extension, North Carolina 
State University, Raleigh NC [Available Online: 
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/pods/whitepapers/Multistat
e/lmswhitepaper.html]
Owen, M. & Dorner, J. (2001). E-Teaming, Building 
a Portal to Multiple Departments/County Centers, 
Agricultural Communicators in Education/National 
Technology Conference, Toronto, Ontario.
Owen, M., Mustian, D., & Liles, R.T. (2000) 
Keynote: Integrating ICT into Education Systems: 
A Criterion-Based Framework for Decision Making, 
Proceedings of the International Educational 
Conference: Education and ICT in the New 
Millennium, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, 
Malaysia.
Owen, M. & Liles, R. (2000) How to Introduce 
Change to a Large Organization: Technology and 
Organizational Development Case Studies, 
Proceedings of the Association of Psychological 
Type South East Regional Conference, Chapel Hill, 
North Carolina. (August)
Owen, M. (2000). Internet Use, Personality and 
North Carolina Cooperative Extension, Paper 
presented at the National Extension Technology 
Conference, College Park, Texas. (May) 
Owen, M. (2000). A Framework for Choosing 
Mediated Approaches to Instruction, Proceeding of 
the Southern Association of Agricultural 
Scientists, Agricultural Communication Section, 
Lexington, KY.  Available Online: 
http://agnews.tamu.edu/saas/
Blue Ribbon Commission on Staff Development and 
Training. (1999). Strategic Analysis and 
Recommendations. North Carolina Cooperative 
Extension. Raleigh, North Carolina.
Owen, M. (1999).  Factors Related to the Use of 
Internet by North Carolina Cooperative Extension 
Field Faculty.     Dissertation. North Carolina 
State University, Raleigh, North 
Carolina.           
Owen M, & Kirby, B. (1995). Adult Education Goes 
On Line, The Agricultural Education Magazine, 67 
(11), 8-9.
Taylor, M., Hoag, D., and Owen, M. (1991). ExCEL 
Examines Computer Literacy and Use, Journal of 
Extension, XXIX, 11-12.
Selected Grants and Contracts 
Building non-formal Teaching Capacity via the 
World Wide Web, Agriculture Telecommunications 
Program;  CSREES-USDA. ($26,657) 

Principal Investigator / Project Director #3:

Name:	Jerry D. Gibson
Email:	gibsonj@vt.edu
Phone Number:	540-231-6941
FAX Number:	540-231-6284
Address:	(note: not a co-PI, but one of 5 team leaders) Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universit Blacksburg , VA 24061

Curriculum Vitae:

Dr. Jerry D. Gibson
Associate Professor and Coordinator of Graduate 
Programs
Extension Specialist, Program and Staff 
Development
Agricultural and Extension Education, Virginia 
Tech

Dr. Gibson serves a dual role of Extension 
Specialist in Program and Staff Development for 
Virginia Cooperative Extension, and Associate 
Professor and Coordinator of Graduate Programs in 
the Department of Agricultural and Extension 
Education in the College of Agriculture and Life 
Sciences.  The six major educational program 
areas in which Dr. Gibson provides leadership 
are: 
            New Extension Agent Training Program 
(NEAT) 
            New Workers Orientation for Extension 
Agents and Extension Specialists 
            VCE Managerial Assessment of 
Proficiencies Training Program 
            Extension Leadership Institute 
            Extension Programming Institute 
            Graduate Education, which includes 
serving as Coordinator, for the
            Department of Agricultural and 
Extension Education


Education Record
B.S. 1979 Virginia Tech Animal Science
M.S. 1984 Virginia Tech Extension Education
CAGS 1984 Virginia Tech Agricultural Education
Ph.D. 1992 Virginia Tech Agricultural Education

Professional Career (Extension Experience)
2000-	Present Virginia Tech, Associate 
Professor and Extension Specialist/ Program and 
Staff  Development, Coordinator of Graduate 
Programs

1996-00	North Carolina State University, 
Associate Graduate Faculty/Western Regional 
Agricultural Education Coordinator

 1995-96	North Carolina Cooperative 
Extension Service, County Extension Director

 1987-94	North Carolina Cooperative 
Extension Service, Area Specialized Agent

 1986-87	North Carolina Cooperative 
Extension Service, Livestock Agent



 Areas of Expertise, Research & Leadership 
Development

Extension Programming, Staff Development and 
Training
Multiple Intelligence; Distance Education
1991, North Carolina Cooperative Extension 
Executive Development Institute 
1997, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, 
Covey Leadership Center, Downlink 
2000, Covey Leadership Training, Herber City, 
Utah 


 Leadership and Honors
2002		Present Virginia TechÆs 
university Intellectual Properties Committee
2002	Present Editorial Board Member, Journal 
of International Agricultural and Extension 
Education 
2001	Present Chair, Southern Extension Region 
Program and Staff 
Development Sub-committee for New Extension Agent 
Training
1996-0	Southern Agricultural Education Research 
Association - Board 
Member 
1996		Qualified Myers Briggs 
Administrator 
1995		Qualified Human Patterns 
Administrator


 Scholarship
15 Refereed journal articles; 4 Textbook/Teachers 
Manuals; 4 Non-refereed journal articles; 11 
National & Regional papers presented; 11 National 
& Regional precedings
4 Electronic publications; $1,102,500 grants 
funded

Selected Works
1.Cooperative Extension Curriculum Project 
Taskforce (CECP) Feb 2002
a.	Description Standards Workgroup
b.	Attended Atlanta Conference in April 2002

2. PLC Subcommittee: New Workers Orientation 
Committee Chair; CECP Pilot, Southern Region New 
Workers Orientation Curriculum Project (Pilot: 
History of Extension).

3.Gibson and Brown (2002). New Extension Agent 
Training. Poster Presentation at the 2002 
Association for International Agricultural and 
Extension Education Research meeting. Durban, 
South Africa. (AIAEE 2002 Proceedings of the 18th 
Annual Conference ôApproaches and Partnerships 
for Sustainable Extension and Rural 
Developmentö).  Available online: 
http://www.aged.tamu.edu/aiaee/

4.Gibson and Brown (2002). New Extension Agent 
Training. Journal of Extension. February 2002.

5.Gibson, J.D. (2001). New extension agent 
training manual. Virginia Cooperative Extension 
publication #490-904, Blacksburg, VA (44 pp).

6.Gibson, J.D. (2001). New extension specialist 
training manual. Virginia Cooperative Extension 
publication #490-905, Blacksburg, VA (45 pp). 

Principal Investigator / Project Director #4:

Name:	Joan Dusky
Email:	jadusky@mail.ifas.ufl.edu
Phone Number:	(352) 392-1761
FAX Number:
Address:	(Note: not a co-PI, but one of 5 team leaders) PO Box 110210 Gainesville, FL

Curriculum Vitae:

Joan A. Dusky
University of Florida
Florida Cooperative Extension Service
1038 McCarty Hall
PO Box 110210
(352) 392-1761
jadusky@mail.ifas.ufl.edu

EDUCATION:
Ph.D.		(1978) North Dakota State 
University, Fargo, North Dakota
		Major:			Plant 
Physiology
		Minor:		
	Biochemistry and Weed Science
		Dissertation Title:	Relative 
Importance of Certain Ecologic and Physiologic 
Factors 				
	on Nitrate Reductase

M.S.		(1975) North Dakota State 
University, Fargo, North Dakota
		Major:			Botany
		Thesis Title:	
	Comparison of Nitrate Reductase Activity 
in Selected Grass 				
	Species

B.S.		(1973) Baldwin-Wallace College, 
Berea, Ohio
		Major:			Biology

PROFESSIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE:
University of Florida	    Assistant Dean for 
Extension û				2000 û 
present
			    Agricultural Programs
University of Florida	    Interim Center 
Director				
	1999 - 2000
    Ft. Lauderdale Research & Education Center
University of Florida	    Interim District 
Extension Director			1997 û 
1998
			    District IV
University of Florida	    Professor		
					1995 û 
present
University of Florida	    Associate Professor	
					1986 û 
1995
University of Florida	    Assistant Professor	
					1980 û 
1986
USDA, ARS, Fargo	    Research Fellow	
					1978 û 
1980
N. Dakota State Univ.	    Research Assistant	
					1973 û 
1978

Current Duties and Responsibilities:	
	The Assistant Dean provides overall 
leadership in identifying issues and problems, 
and the development, implementation and 
evaluation of major educational programs to 
address the statewide needs of FloridaÆs diverse 
agricultural and horticultural industries.
¸	Maintains close working relationships 
with State Major Program design teams and design 
team leaders, department chairs, center 
directors, district extension directors, and 
assistant and associate deans in program 
development
¸	Assists in personnel and staffing, 
evaluation, professional development, and 
delivery of interdisciplinary programs for 
agricultural issues
¸	Identifies new and emerging issues and 
trends in order to support, direct/redirect, and 
plan for innovative programs in Florida 
agriculture
 

¸	Interacts with local, state, and federal 
agencies, including state agricultural commodity 
groups, water management districts, the State 
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 
the State Department of Environmental Protection, 
EPA, USDA, Farm Bureau, and various agricultural 
volunteers
¸	Contributes to regional activities and 
develops relationships with other land-grant 
institutions and programs specific to extension
¸	Provides leadership and accountability 
reporting to the USDA relative to extension 
agricultural programs
¸	Collaborates with the Florida 
Agricultural Experiment Station to effectively 
deliver research results to industry and the 
general public
¸	Identifies, procures, and facilitates 
external support in the form of grants, 
contracts, and donations to further the mission 
of extension programs and the agricultural 
industries of Florida.

HONORS:
1996 û Florida Weed Science Society Outstanding 
Weed Scientist
1997 û USDA Honor Team Award for the development 
of glyphosate-resistant lettuce cultivars
1999 û 2001 û National Extension Leadership 
Development Program (Class VII).  This program is 
designed to prepare Cooperative Extension 
personnel for leadership positions in their 
employment and communities.  One of 21 
participants chosen

EXTRAMURAL FUNDING (LAST 10 YEARS) FOR WHICH DR. 
DUSKY WAS A PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR OR CO-
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Summary of grants and contracts (last ten years):
Principal Investigator:			$251,150
Co-Principal Investigator:		$252,635
Total:					$503,785

CURRENT CURRICULUM PROJECTS:
¸	Southern Region Curriculum Task Force 
Committee û Curriculum and Taxonomy Committee 
Chair
¸	Southern Region Agricultural and Natural 
Resource Program Leaders û Chair of subcommittee 
to evaluate the use of multi-state on-line in-
service training for county faculty and the 
development of core competencies in agriculture 
and natural resources.
¸	Oversight of Florida Agricultural Weather 
Network (FAWN) û The system is designed to 
provide accurate and timely weather data to a 
wide variety of users every 15 minutes delivered 
from 30 sites in Florida.  Recent collaborations 
with a predictive climate consortium at three 
universities is developing software as decision 
aids for agricultural commodities and other user 
groups, i.e. golf course superintendents asking 
the question, æconsidering general weather 
events, how many rounds of golf will be able to 
be played?Æ

Principal Investigator / Project Director #5:

Name:	Robert D Hamilton, III
Email:	donhamil@arches.uga.edu
Phone Number:	706-542-5387
FAX Number:
Address:	(Note: not a co-PI, but one of 5 team leaders) University of Georgia Athens, GA

Curriculum Vitae:

Vitae

Name:			Robert Donald Hamilton III

Rank:			Public Service Associate
		

Title:			Director, Office of 
Information Technology

Education:		Bachelor of Business 
Administration
Georgia Southwestern College, 1992

Associate of Science in Business Administration
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, 1991

Employment History:	March 2001 - Present
Director, Office of Information Technology

June 1999 - February 2001
Coordinator, Office of Information Technology

January 1998 - July 1999
Assistant Coordinator, Office of Information 
Technology

June 1996 - December 1997
Head, Extension Computing and Networking Unit

February 1994 - May 1996
Computer Technology Specialist, Overall Extension

July 1987 - January 1994
Data Processing Specialist, Extension Entomology

June 1984 - June 1987
Research Technician, Extension Entomology

Activities Related to Cooperative Extension 
Curriculum Project:

January 2002 - Present. Chair, Cooperative 
Extension Curriculum Project Taskforce 
Information Technology Standards Workgroup.

August 2001 - Present. Member, Agriculture and 
Natural Resources Learning Modules Committee. 
Southeast Region Program Leadership Committee.

March 2001 - Present.  Oversight of College video 
teleconferencing system upgrade to include H.323 
capability.

January 2000 - April 2002. Co-Principal 
Investigator, Internet Imaging System including 
LandGrantMediaûInternet based digital media 
library.
 
July 2000 - August 2001. Oversight of Extension 
learning module development for Horticulture and 
Agricultural Services Laboratory projects.

Description of the Agricultural Communication Network Project:

1. Project Objectives:
   • Make optimal use of available resources for agricultural extension, resident education, and research by sharing resources between participating institutions.
   • Train learners for careers in agriculture, natural resource management, environmental science, human sciences and the food industries.
   Explain how the Project relates to the Program Objective(s) and how the Projgect will contribute to achieving these over-all Program Objective(s).

   This proposed project is designed explicitly to 
   address the objective of "making optimal use of 
   available resources for agricultural 
   extension ... by sharing resources between 
   participating states." 
   
   This project will develop an Extension Electronic 
   Curriculum Guide for use by all the Extension 
   Services of 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions 
   in the southern region of the US. The Guide 
   will be based on a consensus planning effort by 
   representatives of all these institutions in the 
   southern region and will include input from the 
   perspectives of administration, information 
   technology, communications, personnel and staff 
   development, subject matter specialists and 
   agents, and middle management. Every institution 
   will be represented. The Guide will provide 
   the framework for a cooperative learning 
   management system, and will include agreed upon 
   protocols for development of multimedia modules 
   and learning objects with metadata tags that 
   allow sharing across the region. It will also 
   include protocols for prioritizing content area 
   needs, soliciting and forming teams of experts 
   across the region for development of multimedia 
   modules for the Internet, and a peer review and 
   recognition process. It will also include a 
   prototype module. 
   
   The southern region directors of 1862 and 
   administrators of 1890 institutions have 
   recognized the need to make optimal use of 
   available resources. The Association of Southern 
   Region Extension Directors, at their own expense, 
   decided to hire an Executive Director to provide 
   leadership in cooperative programming in the 
   southern region based upon the belief that it is 
   necessary to optimize resources through 
   cooperation. Directors and Administrators have 
   also approved this Cooperative Extension 
   Curriculum Project and have selected teams from 
   each institution to participate. In other words, 
   there is demonstrated commitment to do exactly 
   what the first objective seeks to do. Instead of 
   each institution developing duplicative 
   educational materials, teams of experts will 
   cooperate in the development of modules that will 
   be shared across the region. This will result in 
   efficient use of our most costly resource--
   personnel. By involving teams of experts in the 
   development of materials, quality willalso be 
   improved.
   
   This project will also contribute to 
   accomplishment of the objective to "train 
   learners for careers in agriculture...and the 
   food sciences" by including an inservice 
   education component for the development of 
   Extension employees. The same model, protocols, 
   and activities will be utilized for development 
   of multimedia modules of instruction for 
   inservice training of current Extension 
   employees. These, too, will be done on a regional 
   basis by teams of experts. 
   
   Although only one additional objective can be 
   selected in this form, this project will 
   contribute to each of the other objectives by 
   providing a more efficient mechanism for 
   developing and sharing instructional materials 
   for users of Extension information. Learners 
   today expect to be able to access information 
   anywhere-anytime. Development of educational 
   materials that meet the expectation of these 
   learners is more expensive to develop than 
   printed materials. Although there is significant 
   duplication of printed materials from institution 
   to institution in Extension, this will not be 
   possible considering the cost of developing high 
   quality multimedia modules, particularly in 
   today's economy. This project will develop the 
   infrastructure for a new, more efficient way of 
   meeting the educational needs of tomorrow's 
   learners. 

2. Description of Agricultural Communication Network to be Developed or Utilized.

   The output of this proposed project is a 
   consensus-based model/guide for development of a 
   regional learning management system with 
   competency-based learning objects and multimedia 
   modules of instruction. It will be developed
   and used by all 1862 and 1890 land-grant 
   institutions in the southern region, and will 
   form the basis for a comprehensive Extension 
   curriculum of high quality Internet-based learner 
   modules in the southern region. Consensus 
   guidelines will be placed in an Extension 
   Electronic Curriculum Guide for use and sharing 
   among the institutions of the southern region. 
   For current status, see 
   http://asred.msstate.edu/curriculum/curriculum.htm
   and for a status report of connectivity 
   capability in the southern region, see 
   http://fp1.ca.uky.edu/rfehr/cecpreport/
   
   This network of instructional materials will meet 
   the needs of the next generation of Extension 
   users. It also offers the potential of being 
   useful in portions of resident instruction 
   programs, and in the other regions of the land-
   grant system. 
   
   Ideally, instead of each institution developing 
   duplicative instructional materials, as is often 
   the case now with printed materials, this project 
   will lead to cooperative development of high 
   quality modules developed by teams of experts in 
   the region. Sharing will be enabled by use of 
   agreed upon educational and information 
   technology standards for learning objects and 
   modules. 
   
   A prototype module, with metadata tags, will be 
   developed in accord with agreed upon learning 
   and information technology standards. It will 
   include consistent standards for 1) defining the 
   nature of information accessible from the system 
   so that information quality can be ensured, 
   and 2) defining the digital tagging and format so 
   that flexibility and interactivity among partner 
   information sources can be maintained, and to 
   accommodate as-yet-unforeseen technologies.
   There will also be developed a protocol for 
   selecting subject/interest areas that are high 
   priority and can serve as starting points for 
   subject matter inclusion, and can ensure early 
   demonstrations of quality. A protocol will be 
   developed for content solicitation, review, and 
   acceptance such that quality is ensured, 
   duplication is reduced, and appropriate 
   recognition is provided.
   
   

3. Agricultural Communication Network Programming:
   • Agricultural Communications and Education
   Describe the Programming and how it will contribute to achieving the Objective(s).

   This project will develop an Extension Electronic 
   Curriculum Guide based upon consensus-determined
   mechanisms that will enable the cooperative
   development, on a regional basis, of 
   competency-based, multimedia instructional 
   modules and learning objects, along with a 
   learning management system, for a comprehensive 
   Extension curriculum in the southern region 
   of the US. 
   
   It will promote efficiency by providing a way for 
   all 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions in the 
   southern region to cooperate in multimedia, web-
   based curriculum development designed for the 
   next generation of Extension users, rather than 
   to develop duplicative materials at each 
   institution and state. 

   Detailed description of methods to be used in producing and/or delivering the programming.

   A Cooperative Extension Curriculum Project (CECP) 
   Taskforce has been organized with 
   representation from each 1862 and each 1890 land-
   grant institution in the southern region. This 
   group has agreed upon a general plan of work, and 
   has met with and charged four multi-state 
   workgroups (see 
   http://asred.msstate.edu/curriculum/curriculum.htm
    for current status and description).
   
   These four workgroups (Inventory and 
   Demonstration, Curriculum Taxonomy, Description 
   Standards, and Information Technology Standards) 
   have representatives from the different 
   land-grantinstitutions in the region, and each 
   group has a plan of work that contributes to the 
   objectives of the project. From each workgroup, 
   this project will select representatives to form 
   a project design/writing team. This team will 
   develop the guidebook and prototpye module, which 
   will be the primary outputs of the project.
   
   The methods being used in the work of the project 
   include face to face meetings, web-based 
   discussions, and telephone conference calls. Each 
   Workgroup develops draft plans which are 
   submitted for review and critique to the entire 
   group. Consensus decisions will then be made 
   and incorportated into the Extension Electronic 
   Curriculum Guide by the Design/Writing team.
   
   Methods to be used include face to face meetings, 
   teleconferences, presentations submitted for 
   review and critique by committee members, 
   document drafts developed and submitted for 
   review, data collection through the Internet, 
   group discussion, and consensus decision making.
   The Guide to be developed will be a digital guide 
   that is presented on the Internet. It will also 
   be presented at the 2003 southern region Program 
   Leadership Conference, as well as other 
   appropriate venues. 

4. Population to be Served and Target Audience(s):

   Ultimately, the population that will be served by 
   this project will be all Extension "customers" in 
   the US. Initially, however, it will address the 
   1862 and 1890 Extension organizations in the 
   southern region, and secondarily, their 
   constituents. In this fast paced, anywhere-
   anytime society, Extension still cannot be "all 
   things to all people" but it can be some things 
   to about everyone, especially considering the 
   increase in use of the internet. The percentage 
   of users of the Internet continues to increase 
   and data from the Department of Commerce 
   indicate that almost all of our "next generation 
   of users," i.e., those youth aged 9-16, have 
   access to the Internet. Therefore, a coordinated 
   system for development of educational modules 
   and learning objects that makes available the 
   entire land-grant system to a broader and more 
   diverse public is an achievable goal. Cooperation 
   will be critical in achieving this goal, and the 
   southern region land-grant insititutions are 
   committed to optimizing resource use in this way. 

5. Collaborating Institutions and Other Partners:

   Each 1862 and 1890 Extension organizaton in the 
   southern region has already selected 
   representatives for this effort and agreed to 
   their participation. In addition to 
   administrative participation, there is 
   representation in the areas of information 
   technology, personnel and organizational 
   development, communications, evaluation, distance 
   education, and the common subject matter areas of 
   Extension. 
   
   There is already formed, and approved by 
   Extension Directors and Administrators, a 
   Cooperative Extension Curriculum Project 
   Taskforce, a steering committee and four 
   Workgroups. Each 1862 and 1890 institution in the 
   southern region is representated. (There is 
   also active participation by one other Extension 
   region). For a list of all participants by 
   institution and by Taskforce/Workgroup, see 
   http://asred.msstate.edu/curriculum/curriculum.htm
   

6. Rationale for Project:

   Our next generation of learners will expect 
   anytime-anywhere, multimedia information that is 
   in ôsmall piecesö and is Internet based. 
   Providing information for users through the 
   Internet is not difficult; providing the high 
   quality, organized, and interactive information 
   that our users will expect is more of a challenge 
   and will be more expensive. Because of the 
   educational role of Extension, it seems incumbent 
   on the system to develop and implement a plan for 
   cooperating in the development and maintenance of 
   web-based multimedia modules of instruction. 
   
   The increasing availability and use of the 
   Internet offers the Cooperative Extension System 
   and its partners a great opportunity to redefine 
   the way it provides information to and interacts 
   with customers. The Internet is not just a new 
   tool for information dissemination; it is 
   changing the very culture of societyÆs 
   information-seeking behavior. And Extension must 
   change, too.  This cultural change opens the door 
   for Extension to serve a more diverse 
   audience, build a broader constituency, and make 
   research-based information available from the 
   entirety of the land-grant system. 
   
   The expectation of efficiency and quality will 
   drive us to cooperate, e.g.,
   1. Our new generation of customers and employees 
   will expect multi-media learning opportunities.
   2. Development of these types of instructional 
   materials are expensive; cooperation can 
   substantially reduce cost.
   3. Several of our employees are doing this kind 
   of development independentlyùsome duplicative; 
   they are using different protocols and different 
   standards, which makes cooperation at a later 
   time more difficult, if not impossible.
   4. We can increase quality, reduce duplication, 
   and manage resources more efficiently through
   systematic cooperation.
   5. Partnering with resident instruction in 
   agriculture and in other parts of the university 
   can open the doors of the total land-grant system 
   to a broader population of users. 
   
   In effect, the public's increasing demand for 
   anywhere-anytime information and the increasing 
   use of the Internet offer the land-grant system 
   an opportunity to redefine how it behaves and how 
   it is perceived by its publics. The essential key 
   is to learn how to work in a coordinated and 
   cooperative way so that resources are optimized 
   and quality is assured. The 1862 and 1890 land-
   grant universities in the southern region are 
   committed to collaborating to maximize resources, 
   but current budget restraints are limiting 
   efforts. This project will provide the stimulus 
   needed to move this effort forward.
   

7. Describe the potential for significant impact on the Agricultural Communication Network development and/or integration:

   Subject matter specialists, program and staff 
   development specialists, program leaders, and 
   academic professors currently develop a wealth of 
   education and training resources across the 
   land-grant system. Although these resources exist 
   in fragments, there is no central location where 
   researchers and educators can go to find the 
   appropriate resources to address the needs of 
   Extension learners, and others.  Collaboration is 
   taking place on a limited basis but only after 
   significant effort by the collaborating 
   individuals. Even when this occurs, different 
   and non-compatible standards are being used, 
   which hamper, if not make impossible, the 
   efficient sharing of materials.
   	 
   There is a need to reduce the barriers that 
   inhibit multi-state collaboration, increase 
   communication, and provide incentives to 
   individuals and groups that will contribute to a 
   comprehensive learning system for Extension 
   educators. 
   
   Yet while a growing number of resources are being 
   developed, there is little coordination in 
   sharing these learning resources across 
   institutions and among program areas.  A combined 
   effort will enhance the ability of land-grant 
   universities to collaborate and expand the 
   already growing resources available.
   	 
   A consensus agreement about standards in learning 
   and information technology will ensure that 
   multi-state collaborations are effective and that 
   consistent, high quality curriculum that can be 
   shared is the output. Curriculum development is 
   an important part of Extension work, and 
   occupies a significant part of budgets. Extension 
   curricula (some, if not most) for future users 
   must be more sophisticated, more interactive, and 
   more digital. This type of curriculum will be 
   more expensive to develop individually, but less 
   expensive on a multistate basis. 
   
   Significant "pieces" of curriculum can be used in 
   any southern region state (and some other 
   states outside the region). If curriculum 
   materials are developed in "pieces" (modules, and 
   learning objects) and appropriately tagged and 
   catalogued, states can "pick and choose" to 
   customize for programs in their locations that 
   meet their conditions. 
   
   Development of a model with associated protocols 
   for accomplishing the preceding will have 
   tremendous impact on the system. If the land-
   grant university system can agree to cooperate in 
   such an effort, no other entity can compete in 
   terms of quality or quantity of objective, 
   science-based information that can be provided 
   for the public. The Directors and Administrators 
   of Extension in the southern region are committed 
   to doing this. If this system can be adapted 
   and grow into a national system, it can 
   significantly redefine how the public views the 
   land-grant system nationwide.
   

8. Describe the plans for research, assessment, evaluation and dissemination as applicable to the project:

   A multistate evaluation team will be formed to 
   conduct both a process and product evaluation of 
   this effort. The process evaluation will assess 
   composition and behavior/performance of the 
   teams and will provide input for making 
   corrective adjustments in conduct of the project. 
   Since this is a project that depends on reaching 
   consensus decisions, the evaluation of process 
   will be critical. 
   
   An external evaluation team will be asked to 
   review the Guidebook and the prototype module, 
   and will provide feedback to the developers. 
   Judgments will be made based on pedagogical 
   and information technology standards and 
   principles of the Guidebook and module.  
   
   A final report, a copy of the Guidebook, and the 
   protoype module will be made available to the 
   entire land-grant system through the Internet and 
   through appropriate meetings of interested 
   professionals. For example, this and related 
   topics will comprise most of the program of the 
   southern region Program Leadership Conference 
   this year. It is anticipated that similar 
   conferences will be available for dissemination 
   of the outputs of the project. 

9. Broader Impacts:

   Although this project is proposed as a southern 
   region effort, it is reasonable that significant 
   commonality exists in the need for high quality 
   educational materials in other regions of the 
   U.S. High quality educational modules and 
   learning objects on, for example, human 
   nutrition, HACCP, Pesticide Applicator Training, 
   or Sport Fishing for Youth should serve 
   audiences in North Dakota and in North Carolina, 
   Minnesota, Montana, Missouri or Mississippi--
   to a large extent. Moreover, here is the value of 
   modularized instruction. If a course or program 
   on one of the topics above, or some other topic, 
   is broken into "pieces" or modules, then some 
   significant percentage of the modules will apply 
   to almost any state. Other modules can then be 
   developed to be state/locale specific. For 
   example, if we assume that a program or course on 
   HACCP includes 20 modules of instruction, 
   perhaps 17 of the 20 might be common, the 3 
   remaining modules could be developed by a state 
   to be state-specific, or they could be state- and 
   industry-specific. It is also conceivable that 
   some of these modules would be of value to 
   undergraduate instructional programs in food 
   science or meat science programs. Therefore, 
   there is considerable potential for this effort 
   to impact other Extension regions as well as 
   academic programs across the country.
   
   Following this example, Extension curriculum 
   materials could be developed by teams on a 
   national basis, just as on a regional basis. Some 
   modules could serve all states; others could 
   be made state-specific. The critical question is 
   not whether this is logical or efficient or 
   possible. The critical question is are we willing 
   to organize ourselves and do it. 
   
   The southern region has decided to optimize 
   resources in this way and will seek participation 
   from other regions and from resident instruction 
   and other partners. This project can serve as a 
   draft model for the entire land-grant system. 
   
   Concerning participation of women, 
   underrepresented minorities and persons with 
   disabilities, it should be noted that the 
   Association of Extension Administrators (1890s) 
   is a full partner in this effort, and selected 
   participants from each institution for the 
   taskforce and workgroups. See list of 
   participants by institution at 
   http://asred.msstate.edu/curriculum/curriculum.htm
   
   The process being proposed is gender neutral and 
   includes roughly equal numbers of males and 
   females. Two of the four Workgroups are chaired 
   by females; two by males. 
   
   One of the guiding principles of the module 
   development process agreed to thus far is ADA 
   compliance. Futhermore, work sessions of the 
   participants will be held in facilities which 
   accommodate persons with disabilities. 

10. Proposed Timetable:

    Note: Since this proposed project is a consensus 
    decisioning process and since more than 60 
    participants will be actively involved, the 
    following timetable and activities are 
    descriptive and will likely be adjusted by the 
    workgroups. With a taskforce, four workgroups, 
    an evaluation team and a design/writing team, 
    work meetings will be scheduled as needed by each 
    group as there is need for input from others. 
    Within this context, the project will begin 
    October 1, 2002 and end September 30, 2003.
    
    October, December, February, April and June--
    approximately every other month, there will be a 
    meeting of one or more of the workgroups or the 
    Design/Writing team, and/or the overall 
    taskforce. There will be 6-8 meetings of 10-20 
    participants, 3-4 meetings of approximately 60 
    participants, and 6-8 trips by 
    workgroup/evaluation chairs and project 
    personnel.  
    
    Activities during these meetings will be 
    presentation of draft guidelines, practices, 
    protocols, and prototypes followed by discussion 
    by the individual workgroups or the entire 
    group as appropriate. This is an iterative 
    consensus-building process wherein ideas will be 
    presented, critiqued, revised, and presented 
    again until a satisfactory product is developed. 
    
    Work on the project will be continuous, with 
    communications via the internet, e-mail and phone 
    to the extent possible. However, face to face 
    meetings are necessary at critical points in the 
    process. The proposed budget will offset some 
    meeting room, meal, and related costs during 
    these meetings and will provide an honorarium for 
    the design/writing team, which will devote the 
    most time to the project. Participants, except 
    team leaders, will pay their own travel costs. 
    
    Activities include those described elsewhere in 
    this proposal. Workgroups (Inventory and 
    Demonstration, Information Technology Standards, 
    Description Standards, Curriculum Taxonomy, 
    Evaluation, and other if needed) will work 
    concurrently on their part of the project. See 
    http://asred.msstate.edu/curriculum/curriculum.htm
    for copies of draft plans of work for each group. 
    The product of the workgroups will be used by the 
    design/writing team as input for the Guide.
    
    It is proposed that a final product (Guidebook 
    and prototype module) will be finished and 
    presented, at least in near-final form, at a 
    meeting in August, 2003. Final input will be 
    collected during this meeting, and a final report 
    will be issued following the end of September, 
    2003, and the project will be shared external to 
    the southern region.  
    

11. Project Personnel and Time Commitment:

    Dr. Ronald A. Brown -- Project Director -- 25%
    
    Ms. Anna Marie Rasberry (or other suitable 
    individual)--Webmaster/Activities Coordinator--25%
    
    Dr. Mitch Owen, NCSU -- Team Leader -- 15%
    
    Dr. Judith Jones/Dr. Jerry Gibson, VPI&SU -- Team 
    Leader -- 15%
    
    Dr. Joan Dusky, U of FL -- Team Leader -- 15%
    
    Dr. Don Hamilton, U of GA -- Team Leader -- 15%
    
    Dr. Margaret Johnson, SC State University -- Team 
    Leader -- 15%
    
    Larry Lippke, Texas A&M University -- 
    Design/Writing Team -- 10%
    
    Dan Brook, Mississippi State University -- 
    Design/Writing Team -- 10%
    
    Fred Piazza, Louisiana State University -- 
    Design/Writing Team -- 10%
    
    Susan Seal, Mississippi State University -- 
    Design/Writing Team -- 10%
    
    Richard Poling, University of Arkansas -- 
    Design/Writing Team -- 10%
    
    Fran Wolak, Clemson University -- Design/Writing 
    Team -- 10%
    
    Allisen Penn, University of Arkansas -- 
    Design/Writing Team -- 10%
    
    Julie Sexton, Mississippi State University -- 
    Design/Writing Team -- 10%
    
    Roger Rennekamp - University of Kentucky -- 
    Design/Writing Team -- 10%
    
    Michael Newman - Mississippi State University - 
    Design/Writing Team -- 10%
    
    Susanna Coppernall - Texas A&M University -- 
    Design/Writing Team -- 10% 
    
    Dr. David Foster, OK State U -- Administrative 
    Advisor -- 5%
    
    Dr. Lawrence Carter, FL A&M U -- Administrative 
    Advisor -- 5%
    
    ~60 Active Participants representing all 1862 and 
    1890 southern region land-grant 
    institutions--see 
    http://asred.msstate.edu/curriculum/curriculum.htm
     for a list of participants by institution and by 
    workgroup. It is estimated that the participants 
    will average between 5 and 10% commitment to this 
    project over a year's time. 
    
    Student Worker -- to be selected later -- 50% FTE
    
    Of these, only the Webmaster/Activities 
    Coordinator and the student worker will be 
    employed by the project. There will also be 
    honorariums for the design/writing team. 
    
    The remainder of the project personnel are 
    committing time to the project, but not as part 
    of the project budget (from sponsor or match).
    
    Contributions of inkind support will include at 
    least 25% of the PI and 15% of six (or more) team 
    leaders, 5% of two administrative advisors, and 
    between 5% and 10% of about 60 professionals 
    in the southern region. See 
    http://asred.msstate.edu/curriculum/curriculum.htm
     for a list of participants by institution and by 
    workgroup. 
    (Additional workgroups may also be formed).