eXtension.org Offers Free Expert Advice
Imagine a Web site that provided free access to thousands of unbiased experts on all sorts of life’s little questions – from parenting, to saving and investing, entrepreneurship and vegetable gardens.
That’s what eXtension.org offers. Think of it as sort of “next-gen Google,” where curious minds can find a range of information including how to calculate their retirement readiness score, tips to easing credit card debt, how to grow the best tomatoes on the block or ways to set a schedule for a newborn baby. Even better, if the consumer can’t find the information he or she is looking for, real live authorities in their area of interest monitor and answer questions through the Web site. And all of eXtension’s resources are available to knowledge-seekers at no cost.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension is part of the national extension partnership that’s created eXtension. The idea is to pull together the “best of the best” educational resources from the nation’s land-grant universities and make them easily available to the public.
The Web site is currently supported by national teams, or Communities of Practice, supporting 16 areas of interest. Information on additional areas of interest will come online as new Communities of Practice complete their work. Consumers can easily navigate the site to find exactly the answers they need. A Community of Practice is typically multi-institutional, multi-state and multi-disciplinary. In addition to providing credible eXtension experts to answer knowledge-seekers’ questions, eXtension.org also allows consumers to interact with each other to grow their knowledge in a particular field. Drawing on the popularity of online social networking, individuals interested in a specific topic or subject matter area can “gather” to form a Community of Interest. As that Community of Interest grows, professional educators with expertise in that topic or subject matter area join together and form a Community of Practice.
Not only does eXtension.org bring consumers the best knowledge from the sharpest minds in higher education, it also uses the most innovative and advanced features available on the Web to enhance the learning experience. Users can rate eXtension.org articles based on their usefulness, with the “most useful” articles ranking the highest on searches. If an article does not answer a user’s question, he or she has the option to “Ask an Expert.”
Also, articles receive tags showing what users are searching for most often.
Users who register with eXtension.org can really personalize their experience by subscribing to RSS feeds that will allow eXtension to automatically send updates on topics of interest.
SOURCE: Rick Koelsch, UNL Extension
