Certified Pesticide Application Training

• University of Minnesota
  • Larry Coyle
  • Lori Dickenson
  • Ethan Galstad
  • Dean Herzfeld
  • Krista Johansen
    
    
• University of Arizona
  • Paul Baker
• Virginia Tech
  • Mike Weaver
• Washington State University
  • Carol Ramsay

This achievement is something that the consortium has dreamed about for many years - an Online Pesticide Applicator Training Program that all could share. This is a big step in the direction of quality and consistent programming, as well as creating the ability to eliminate - avoid duplication of resources.

Co-PIs are Dean Herzfeld of the University of Minnesota - Pesticide Applicator Training Coordinator and Larry Coyle, Project Director, University of Minnesota Extension Service.

Program was nominated by David Nelson, Assistant director of the University of Minnesota Extension Service. Lori Dickenson is the Project Manager for Online test and Ethan Galstad of the University of Minnesota is the developer for the Online Test; Krista Johansen is responsible for educational module development.

Cooperators from other institutions include: Paul Baker, State Pesticide Coordinator at the University of Arizona, Carol Ramsay, Pesticide and Environmental Stewardship, Washington State University and Mike Weaver, Director of Virginia Tech Pesticide Programs.

This program has been supported by the Agricultural Telecommunication program. PAT is one of the largest extension programs in the nation. The goal of this project was to design and produce a prototype Web Based PAT training and testing program as a model for a national system of technology-enhanced pesticide training and education certification programs. The team first developed three demonstration modules: Minimizing Pesticide Drift, Use of Equipment and Protecting Groundwater.
(http://www.cpat.umn.edu)

The second phase was developing the Private Pesticide Applicator Online Certification Test. This Web-based certification site enables farmers to obtain certification entirely online. The historical process take 2-3 weeks turn-around. The online system takes less than a day. A person can register, look at the online manual, take the exam and upon passing, receive their temporary certificate in a matter of hours. (http://www.pat.umn.edu)

The third phase was the creation of a Web-based multimedia development tutorial and resource site. (http://www.extension.umn.edu/projects/mentor/) Applicators can register and pay online. The full PPAT manual is available online. The online test provides an easy to use interface. Upon test submission, the applicator receives immediate feedback in the form of a score and a list of sections in the manual corresponding to wrong answers.

The on-line private pesticide applicator certification is now running and can be found at http://www.extension.umn.edu/pesticides/

The response from industry has been high excitement, beyond anything they expected to see.

Feeding Young Children in Group Settings

• University of Idaho
  • Erik Anderson
  • Brad Beckman
  • Laurel Branen
  • Mark Brown
  • Janice Fletcher
  • Becky Schwarzkopf
  • Ben Troka

Feeding Young Children in Group Settings was originally offered by the UI in 1994 as a satellite video course. With financial support from ADEC and the USDA Agricultural Telecommunications program, the course was completely redesigned during 1999 and 2000. Four, two-hour video sessions are the foundation for the hybrid course. Each video session includes seven to eight field-produced, real-life video segments. The targeted audiences include teachers, center and family care providers, extension educators, nutrition educators, food service workers, and others who train staff and parents on issues related to feeding children. The project team continues to be innovative in their design, development and delivery of instruction. The team recently produced CD-ROM and DVD versions of the materials and they are currently in the process of adapting their web sites for people with disabilities.

Entomology Master's Degree

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  • John Foster
  • Leon Higley
  • Blair Siegfried
  • David Stanley
  • Stephen Danielson
  • Tiffany Heng-Moss
  • Connie Reimers-Hild
  • W. Wyatt Hoback

The Department of Entomology began its distance education program in the spring of 1997 with one course, an advanced undergraduate/gradate course in entomology and pest management. From that beginning, the team developed and now offers 31 credit hours in distance entomology courses. Three more courses are currently under construction and will be offered by the Fall Semester 2002. Today there are 71 students enrolled in the distance M.S. program with 6 applications pending and something in excess of 100 inquires. This level of interest is noteworthy in that the program was only advertised beginning in January 1999. As of December 2001, six students have graduated with the M.S. degree and a number of other individual have taken the courses to meet other degree or continuing education needs. Two of these courses received awards as Telly finalists (national awards for non-broadcast television, which typically evaluate in excess of 10,000 entries), the degree program was recognized with the 1998
Entomology Educational Project Award of the Board Certified Entomologists of Mid-America and a number of the faculty involved have received teaching awards. Of the 71 distance students, 10 are from Nebraska. Other students come from 25 states and five countries. Approximately 50 percent of the students are in science education at either the middle school or high school level and approximately 40 percent are associated with agriculture or public health. Science teachers are the fastest growing audience for
the program. The distance students are 45 percent women. This is also noteworthy in terms of increasing the number of women in Entomology graduate programs.

Water and Nutrient Management Planning for the Nursery and Greenhouse Industry

• University of Maryland - College Park
  • John D. Lea-Cox
  • David Ross
  • K. Marc Teffeau
  • Ellen Varley

The objective of this award winning course is to teach students to
successfully write and implement water and nutrient plans for individual
nursery or greenhouse operations, thus fulfilling the regulatory
requirement for this important sector of agriculture. This was the first
online credit course approved through the university curriculum process at
the University of Maryland-College Park and it was approved with a
unanimous vote. The learners in this course are both credit and non-credit
students, including nursery and greenhouse professionals, private
consultants, and Extension faculty. The learners are diverse and widely
dispersed throughout Maryland, the Northeast and Canada. The course has
influenced the legislative and regulatory process in Maryland by involving
stakeholders from the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the nursery
and greenhouse industries.

The team members have been invited to speak at over 40 regional, national
and international conferences and organizations over the past three
years. The share information about the risk management process, the
scientific content of the course, the instructional design and pedagogical
strengths of the course, the peer review process used in course
evaluation. More information on the development and impacts can be found
at http://www.nursery.umd.edu/extension.html. This team has received the
WebCT Exemplary Course Award in 2001, (one of 16 courses from the US,
Canada and Australia to be so honored)the Agricultural Communicator in
Education (ACE) Outstanding Professional Skill Award for DE and
Instructional Design in 2000 and the ACE Gold Award for DE and
Instructional Design for an educational program. In 2001 this team
received the prestigious University of Maryland Innovative Teaching with
Technology Award. The team has also published in a number of scholarly
journals, including the Journal of Environmental Horticulture.