Development of the new ACCESS 4-H Internet Platform has begun after months of in-depth research and analysis.
More than a website, greater than an online portal, ACCESS 4-H will offer a comprehensive set of integrated online applications, services and tools. The goal is to provide the 4-H community with a one-stop Internet home for information, instruction and interaction.
Through the posts on this blog, we will strive to keep you informed on ACCESS 4-H progress and invite you to share comments, ideas and recommendations. Please read these posts and then click on the link for comments to share your thoughts.
February 20, 2008
Collegiate 4-H'ers and Alumni - Sign Up as Beta Users!
Fellow Collegiate 4-H'ers and 4-H Alumni!
As 4-H'ers we have had the wonderful opportunity of experiencing all that is great about 4-H. Of course, that starts with the 4-H community. We have made friends all over the country, in every state, in many cities. We've had the chance to be a part of something as volunteers and leaders, and for many of us, even as kids. We are all part of the machine that makes things happen in 4-H.
Well, what if "making it all happen" could get easier for every volunteer, every club, every kid in the country? ACCESS 4-H is going to get us someplace we never thought we could get to. What if we could talk to anyone in 4-H at the click of a mouse? Volunteer to mentor kids five states away? Find old friends who have long since moved away? Promote collegiate 4-H and recruit new members without having to put flyers out all over campus?
ACCESS 4-H is putting all these tools online in one place for the first time in 4-H history.
Find and connect with others in the 4-H community, and invite graduating 4-H members to join your clubs.
- Volunteer online and share your expertise with 4-H members across the country.
- Stay in touch with community-generated, up-to-the-minute information about 4-H events, opportunities, grants, and news.
- Find, review, and help develop online resources for club projects and activities.
Whether you are a 4-H alum or you just started this semester, as a Collegiate 4-H'er you know how important it is to give back to the system that gives so much to so many. Join the ACCESS 4-H team and help 4-H become the online leader in Positive Youth Development.
In order to sign up as an ACCESS 4-H beta user, please email us at access4h@4-h.org with your name, state, county, school/club (if a Collegiate 4-H member), age (if under 18), and preferred contact information.
Unfortunately we are not able to register beta users under the age of 13 or individuals not affiliated with 4-H at this time. We appreciate your patience, and we promise to get you on board as soon as possible!
Posted in category Announcements at 3:14 PM
January 7, 2008
Still interested in participating in an ACCESS 4-H Focus Group?
Happy New Year!
Despite the very short period of recruitment for the ACCESS 4-H Focus Groups, we had a huge turnout! More than 24 states have been represented so far including 4-H teens, volunteers, staff, and parents. We're off to a great start with online discussions and are scheduling 10 calls over the next few weeks to hear everyone's voices.
Missed the December 31 deadline?
You're not too late. Send us an e-mail with 1-2 paragraphs explaining your 4-H background and your interest in bringing 4-H up to speed with what you need online. We'll also need your contact information (name, age, home state/county, phone number, email address) and we'll try to get you in. Hurry as we're filling up new focus groups really fast!
Read more at Call out for 4-H Teens, Recent 4-H Alumni, Volunteers, and Staff: Creating the Future. Together.
| Comments (0)Posted in category Announcements at 4:58 PM
December 21, 2007
Call out for 4-H Teens, Recent 4-H Alumni, Volunteers, and Staff: Creating the Future. Together. Online.
Hello everyone!
I'm Cindy and I'm absolutely thrilled to be working with the ACCESS 4-H team. Nearly four years ago I had the chance to work with the 4-HUSA.org WebCrew alongside Jess, and it's definitely great to be back in the 4-H web network. It's my hope that this endeavor will completely revitalize 4-H - not only in webspace, but in the real world as well!
Part of the ACCESS 4-H vision is an online presence that not only includes but actually invites all members of the 4-H community to communicate, collaborate, and celebrate this wonderful program. Our first step in creating that space will involve you - all of you reading this blog right now.
Please share this exciting national opportunity with your 4-H teens, college-age 4-H alumni, volunteers, and staff! The ACCESS 4-H focus groups will provide key guidance for the creation of a new 4-H online environment that provides information, interaction and instruction to all audiences of the 4-H community.
ACCESS 4-H is looking for visionaries to help explore and design the online community that 4-H has been asking for, one that tells the world our stories and our impact while connecting the 4-H community nationwide in ways we've never explored. You are the experts. Having been involved day-to-day with 4-H, you have the insight, wisdom and knowledge to design a whole new way of connecting.
Responsibilities:
We will gather for a short series of telephone and online collaborations (between January 7-18) resulting in a brand new 4-H online community. Following the 2 weeks of focus groups, focus group participants will be offered the chance to be among the first to test and try out the new ACCESS 4-H.
Eligibility/Criteria/Application:
All we need is 1-2 paragraphs explaining your 4-H background and your interest in bringing 4-H up to speed with what you need online. We'll also need your contact information (name, age, home state/county, phone number, email address).
Submit your application to us at access4h@4-h.org by December 30. Please get your applications in soon - we'll be accepting participants on a first-come first-serve basis, with preference given to applications received before December 30.
| Comments (4)Posted in category Announcements at 5:31 PM
December 18, 2007
Thoughts from Cindy
One of the most fascinating things about 4-H is its multifaceted nature. Yes, we are several million strong, but those several million are literally all over the country, in all walks of life. I’ve often heard that “4-H is your first class at __ University.” It’s true. Through 4-H we're connected to the land grant university system, which is where a great deal of innovation takes place. But rather than simply receiving a class, what would happen if we were the ones teaching each other?
I tend to get excited over academic and technological things. A bit of news that came up this week involved Google’s “cloud computing” approach.
Google's approach suggests, rather than build a single supercomputer to calculate an impossible number, why not take just a fraction of a percent of computing power from thousands of computers to calculate the number in the same amount of time? You’d get far more functionality from those computers, and the user at each one wouldn’t experience any change in processing speed. Most importantly, you can accomplish more things with less effort through this kind of technological teamwork.
Now apply that to 4-H.
Each of us is completely immersed in our 4-H experience. If we could spend just a tiny fraction of our daily 4-H time in a comprehensive online environment like the one ACCESS envisions, we could share the best practices, the tools, the activities, and the joy of our 4-H work... and contribute to an EXTREMELY effective youth development program.
Imagine being able to reach out with just a keystroke or two to a fellow 4-Her doing a project that you’re interested in trying. To a university’s library search systems for your class research project. To a 4-H friend from a conference that took place years ago. The only real obligation would be to join this network. To make yourself available to others who could benefit from your help.
There wouldn’t be much required from each of us – just a minute or two a day, if that. But in that minute, we could help one another and create a powerful new paradigm for 4-H in the digital age.
| Comments (0)Posted in category Our Thoughts at 5:18 PM
December 5, 2007
And we're back!
What a crazy past few months! There's been a whirlwind of activity happening. When the people who advocate blogs stop blogging, you have to think that there's a crazy amount of work taking place within the ACCESS 4-H Team that we get that busy! I'm teeming with information to share. I promise you'll be seeing much more frequent updates from the ACCESS 4-H Team.
So what's up?
You're going to hear a lot between December and February, because we're finally to the stage where I have exciting information that can be shared with you
1. If you're not already on the ACCESS 4-H Facebook Community or the ACCESS 4-H Myspace Community, and providing feedback, get there! We want your input.
2. We have some exciting Focus Groups coming up at the beginning of January, which have deadlines of December 30th. So if you have opinions about anything in this blog, ACCESS 4-H, or how we can better communicate within 4-H, check out the next blog post!
3. If you haven't noticed, we have a new address http://www.4-h.org/access4-h/ for our blog.
4. I'd also like to welcome our newest team member, Cindy Sperry to the ACCESS 4-H Team. You'll hear more from Cindy in upcoming posts.
I'll catch you later this week! You'll hear about focus groups, 4-H.org, being a test user for ACCESS 4-H, upcoming features to ACCESS 4-H, and more!
| Comments (0)Posted in category Announcements at 10:50 AM
August 22, 2007
Thoughts from Jessica - August 22
Three years ago, I arrived in St. Louis, Missouri as a member of the 4-H USA Web Crew, a group of fourteen 4-H members and young alumni from across the nation developing the new 4husa.org website to serve as the web portal for all things 4-H. It was my opportunity to share my two greatest passions: 4-H and technology. Three years of work have gone into 4husa.org to continue our efforts in sharing 4-H news and links nationwide while allowing 4-H youth to collaborate online via message boards, post 4-H blogs, and interact. The opportunity was created for the 4-H community to communicate across city, county and state lines and start thinking about their identity in a nationwide program. This was only the beginning…
Five weeks ago, I came onboard at National 4-H Council and the Access 4-H Team with youthful enthusiasm, ready to engage in this large and ambitious goal of creating a stronger and unified web presence for 4-H which builds off of the existing efforts in this area. Ambitious? Perhaps. Doable? Of course. Necessary? Absolutely! We are redefining what it means to be “4-H Online.” Most importantly we are not recreating the wheel, but expanding on our existing web presence. 4-H’s past efforts in creating a national website or web presence will be incorporated into Access 4-H and enhance the opportunities for the 4-H community to communicate and share with each other.
In the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to see the passion, excitement, and enthusiasm from people from many different areas of the 4-H system regarding Access 4-H. It is refreshing to see everyone coming together to support one unified presence. I have also seen the conviction of the Access Team members as we move forward in developing this infrastructure for everyone to use. We are bursting with information to share with you in coming weeks and months as we move forward in the development. Stay tuned!
| Comments (0)Posted in category Our Thoughts at 5:27 PM
August 10, 2007
Calling all Online Teens and Young 4-H Alumni!
Are you currently involved in social media or social networking? Do you have opinions about 4-H's visibility online? What are your opinions about technology use in the 4-H program?
The Access 4-H Platform is designed to bring together members of the 4-H family as never before. And, as such, we need and invite your feedback now and in the weeks and months ahead.
We are looking for members to join the Access 4-H Facebook or Myspace Communities. This is an online community of 4-H members and young alumni who are already partaking in social media. We will be engaging in discussion and asking your opinions on topics such as social media, 4-H online, what is cool online, and overall serve as a think tank for Access 4-H. Take the next step and become a member of the discussions that are moving 4-H into utilizing next-generation technology.
Interested people should join the discussion in one of our online communities:
(Are we missing your social network? Let me know in a reply!)
In weeks ahead, we shall choose some of the most active Access 4-H Community participants to join Team Access, which will have the opportunity to provide further insight into the direction of our changing 4-H web presence. Get involved by participating in discussion now!
For more information, please contact Jessica Falkenthal at jfalkenthal@fourhcouncil.edu
Posted in category Announcements at 5:17 PM
August 8, 2007
Thoughts from Eric - August 8
Whether it be MP3, Internet radio or software programs like Garageband, computers, and more specifically the Internet itself, has revolutionized how people create and listen to music. 20 years ago, the only way to hear about a new band was to read about them in one of only a handful of print publications, or to go to a record store and take a chance on a store employee’s suggestion. And if you created your own music, the only chance anyone had of hearing you was to catch you at the local bar during the 30 minute set you were allowed to play on the third Monday of every second month.
Times have changed. In a matter of hours -- or even minutes -- you can record a song, create a Myspace page, upload your music and share it immediately with millions of people. Music fans have the ability to read about bands all over the country, just by turning on their computer.
This is the world I come from, and this is why I am a part of the Access 4-H team.
We are quite literally sitting on an un-tapped resource at 4-H. The ability to communicate across all geographical barriers is at our fingertips. How great will it be when for the first time a 4-Her in Cobb County, GA can reach out to a volunteer in Seattle regarding a project he or she is working on? And what if all the tools they needed to collaborate on this project were at their disposal online? And what if this project is so great, National 4-H Council wanted to put it up on their web page for everyone to see, with video and pictures?
I am personally and professionally excited to see Access 4-H move into the future, and I am looking forward to the community coming together to help make this happen.
| Comments (0)Posted in category Our Thoughts at 5:15 PM
June 18, 2007
Thoughts from Jon - June 18
I want to start off by thanking those of you who have taken an interest in this project and left comments. I think it is truly amazing that those who are working and interested in this project all have the same goal in mind, to make the best better! After all that is what we do here in the 4-H program so why not take what we have and make it better. Better for today’s youth and the volunteers and staff that serve them here in this great program.
I recently ran across a survey that was preformed by Amanda Lenhart and Mary Madden with Pew Internet and American Life Project. The entire survey was focused on social networking websites and teens. It was found that 55% of youth ages 12-17 use online social networking sites and that 55% have created online profiles. This comes as no surprise to me in this time of online social craze!
Here are some interesting quick facts from the Pew/Internet survey:
- 66% of teens who have created a profile say it is not visible to everyone
- 48% visit their sites daily or more often
- 91% say they use the sites to stay in touch with friends they commonly see
- 82% say they use the sites to stay in touch with friends they don’t see often
- In ages 12 and 13, 41% say they have created a online social profile
- In ages 14-17, 61% of teens report creating an online profile
I think it is important to note that recently Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook (one of the largest social networking websites), gave a speech on May 24, 2007. He stated in that speech that they were growing at a rate of 100,000 users a day, coming out to 3% a week. This survey was done Oct. 23 through Nov. 19, 2006, just imagine the growth among teens since that time as a whole not just through Facebook.
Please continue to comment and let us know about your feelings on Access 4-H!
| Comments (0)Posted in category Our Thoughts at 5:10 PM
May 2, 2007
Thoughts from Jon - May 2
What is Access 4-H?...A good question that I hear every day. A question that I believe is better answered not by Bob or me, not by anyone sitting in an office but from the entire 4-H family.
I think that Access 4-H can be a new and exciting tool for the 4-H program, a way for us as youth, volunteers, and staff to connect in a way that has never before been possible. Today technology makes so much possible and in a nut shell Access 4-H aims to bring that new technology, in combination with some of the old, up to the plate changing the way we communicate with each other within the 4-H family.
I recently attended the 2007 National 4-H Conference in Washington D.C. and there was a line in U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns speech that has stuck with me. He said how amazing is this once in a lifetime opportunity for 4-Hers from all across the nation to come together and share ideas and stories about 4-H. I think Access 4-H can make that interaction a once in a day opportunity. Giving participants of 4-H, no matter what their age, a tool to better reach their potential through interaction with people outside their club, community and state.
So what do YOU think? What do YOU want to happen in 4-H regarding online technology?
This is the start to something new and exciting. It could be the start to something great but only with your help. Thanks in advance and I can’t wait to hear from you!
| Comments (0)Posted in category Our Thoughts at 7:28 PM