1. Project Name: "Advanced Web Delivery of Rangelands and Natural Resources Information"
Web Site: http://rangelandswest.org/
Lead Institution: University of Arizona
Collaborating Institutions: Colorado State University; Kansas State University; Montana State University; New Mexico State University; Oregon State University; Texas A&M University; University of California, Davis; University of Idaho; University of Nevada; University of Wyoming; Utah State University; Washington State University
Project Director: Carla Long Casler
Co-PIs: Barbara Hutchinson, Marianne Stowell Bracke, Robert MacArthur, Sheila Merrigan, Jeanne Pfander, George Ruyle
Abstract: Thirteen Western land-grant universities will develop an advanced technical foundation for improved delivery of rangelands and natural resources information and programming via the web. The program targets small-scale landholders, agency and other private land managers, researchers, and students. The University of Arizona will develop and maintain a metadata database which accommodates data entry from western partners and interfaces with the main AgNIC gateway database. Partner institutions will identify and develop rangelands and natural resources information and programming which will be made available through the regional rangelands website and AgNIC database, and developed into established extension programming. The final web product will be demonstrated at Cooperative Extension and library meetings throughout the Western U.S.

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2. Project Name: "Tri-State Aquaculture Outreach Using Technology"
Web Site: http://www.fishschool.tv
Lead Institution: Kentucky State University
Collaborating Institutions: West Virginia University; The Ohio State University
Project Director: Gordon Mengel
Co-PIs: Kenneth Semmens, Laura Tiu, Tod Porter, Alan Escovitz, Siddhartha Dasgupta, James Connors
Abstract: The tri-state aquaculture outreach team will support and train secondary teachers in remote locations. The project will develop a semester-long aquaculture program using existing curriculum developed by the National Council on Agriculture Education. Each month different modules will be taught to participating teachers via video technology. The project will also develop a website with resources for teachers and students. Constant virtual contact with aquaculture specialists through monthly videoconferencing and website access will give teachers support needed to utilize the curriculum. Exposure to aquaculture in the classroom will enhance students' knowledge of agriculture and the scientific method, and help identify career opportunities in the food and agriculture sector.

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3. Project Name: "Education Outreach Online"
Lead Institution: Texas A&M University
Collaborating Institutions: USDA/ARS Southern Plains Area
Project Director: Robert K. James
Co-PIs: Charles Onstad, William Rubink, Herbert Wilson
Abstract: The project will reach out to communities and schools nationwide with hands-on, inquiry-based science activities for grades 5-9 and online science teaching resources informing students about career opportunities in agri-science. Project staff include science educators and a webmaster. Internet-based material will be disseminated through the web site, presentations at national educational and scientific conferences, USDA/ARS labs, and FIRST STEP teachers.

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4. Project Name: "Southern Region Equine Knowledge Base"
Lead Institution: University of Kentucky
Collaborating Institutions: Louisiana State University; University of Georgia; University of Tennessee
Project Director: Craig H. Wood
Co-PIs: Ashley Griffin, Clint Depew
Abstract: Southern Regional Equine Specialists from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia will contribute to development of an online Equine Knowledge Base to address areas of Animal Sciences, Environmental and Natural Resources and Veterinary Medicine. The knowledge base will include live chat functions, fact sheets, frequently asked questions, audio files, movie files, proceedings, presentations and other sources of accurate and relevant information. It will have features allowing easy access by knowledge base users including keyword, natural language, and fuzzy search capabilities, and content ranking which places commonly sought items first. The project will provide specialists with improved professional time management by sharing effective and efficient answers over the internet, and will empower extension professionals and others to find information in a "just-in-time" manner. Target audience includes women, the general public, county extension agents, young people, veterinarians, professors, farm workers, horse owners and equine professionals.

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5. Project Name: "Linking Growers and Soil Health Researchers through Advanced Internet Technology"
Lead Institution: Cornell University
Project Director: Laurie Drinkwater
Co-PI: Erick Fernandes
Abstract: The project will enhance the Worldwide Soil Health Information portal's capacity to deliver relevant information by forging direct, field level links to underserved organic growers in New York State and women's horticultural cooperatives in Latin America. New institutional partnerships will be created in the United States, Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, and southern/eastern Africa. The portal will explore next-generation portal technologies including allowing computers to "understand" user needs, user customization "channels", and distributed database deployment with access to partners' databases. It will also provide expanded "online experts" service, monthly soil health current awareness service for researchers, and off-line extension material for farmers.

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6. Project Name: "Cooperative Extension Curriculum Project"
Lead Institution: Southern Regional Extension / Mississippi State University
Collaborating Institutions: North Carolina State University; Virginia Tech; University of Florida; University of Georgia; Texas A&M University; South Carolina State University; Louisiana State University; University of Arkansas; Clemson University; University of Kentucky; Oklahoma State University; Florida A&M University
Project Director: Ronald A. Brown
Co-PIs: Mitchell Owen, Jerry Gibson, Joan Dusky, Robert Hamilton
Abstract: This project will develop a comprehensive Extension Electronic Curriculum Guide consisting of competency-based multimedia instructional modules, learning objects, and a learning management system. It will provide a way for 1862 and 1890 land-grant institutions in the southern region to cooperate in multimedia web-based curriculum development and increase efficiency by avoiding duplicate materials.