Normally I write this feature based on observations from an AgrowKnowledge point of view.  However, today I will be starting with a reference to my Kirkwood teaching assignment.  At the May AgrowKnowledge conference, I talked briefly to Paul Cutting about the number of students entering agriculture programs.  He said based on discussions with other community college educators it appears that enrollments have been increasing.  I agreed, in that I am registering more students for Kirkwood’s Ag GPS/GIS Technology program than the previous year. This spring 12 students graduated. There are 13 returning students and I was looking to add 15 new students.

The word must be getting out about precision agriculture. The latest number of incoming GPS/GIS students is 25.  Most of these students are enrolling with a specific goal of working on the home farm with their precision farming equipment or for the local implement dealership or cooperative.  

The influx of students is happening at the right time, since demand for students with a strong background in geospatial technologies and agriculture is very robust.  A Trimble executive asked how many students I had. When told that I had 25, he said that he would take them all!  Deere dealerships are also calling on a regular basis asking for graduates.  

The lesson here is that community colleges and secondary institutions who are a part of AgrowKnowledge are prepared to meet this demand by integrating technology into their programs, increasing the science and math rigor, utilizing the equipment provided by industry (such as the Deere Greenstar AMS systems) and making sure that students have the troubleshooting and critical thinking skills needed by industry.  

This is a primary focus for AgrowKnowledge to listen our membership, to collaborate with industry and to equip faculty with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to prepare students for the world of work. AgrowKnowledge is positioned in the right place at the right time!

Terry Brase

Principal Investigator

AgrowKnowledge, the National Center for Agriscience and Technology Education has demonstrated vision and leadership, using ESRI's geographic information system (GIS) technology to better serve the world. To recognize this passionate approach to applying GIS solutions, ESRI presented the organization with the Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award on August 6, 2008, at the 28th Annual ESRI International User Conference (ESRI UC) in San Diego, California. 

Agricultural industries are in a need for graduates with geospatial skills after experiencing an exponential growth in the use of geospatial tools by farmers. The demand for automated guidance systems, application control technology, and basic mapping and recordkeeping systems has created a demand for employees to install, update and provide technical support for these systems.
 

AgrowKnowledge has published a Model Ag Geospatial Program of Study, which provides a list of courses recommended by AgrowKnowledge for use in building a new geospatial program or enhancing a current program and allowing students to work toward a specific geospatial career in the agriculture industry.  To promote geospatial technology as an instructional tool, materials that use GPS and GIS to teach math, science, and technical concepts are offered through the AgrowKnowledge clearinghouse.  AgrowKnowledge’s resources provide a means by which community colleges can create the graduate and employee that these companies need.

"At ESRI, we are always deeply impressed by the innovation of our users," says Jack Dangermond, ESRI president. "We want to recognize the efforts of these individuals with our Special Achievement in GIS Award. This recognition is well deserved for how they've applied geospatial technology to address the needs of their industries and communities. They are defining GIS best practices." 

The award was accepted on behalf of AgrowKnowledge by Carmel Miller, chair of the AgrowKnowledge Geospatial Resource Team and an instructor at Bismarck State College in North Dakota.

Last year Terri Rogers, Professor at Hawkeye Community College, Waterloo, IA, received an AgrowKnowledge Technology grant to for “Telemetry in Natural Resources.” The grant allowed the college to purchase some telemetry equipment and develop some new curricula. Students were involved in helping to determine the type of equipment to be purchased and learning how to use the equipment. During the grant the faculty and students had the fortune of working alongside a professional biologist who was actually using this equipment in his study. He allowed the Hawkeye faculty and students to use their equipment to parallel and supplement his study.  The curricula developed during the project included:

 Two more pieces of the curriculum will be developed in the coming year: Lab 2:  Radio Telemetry:  Receiving a Signal and Lab 3:  Mapping Animal Movements.

 

According to Terri Rogers, “The Telemetry in Natural Resources project at Hawkeye Community College has allowed us to integrate math, science, and technology into our wildlife classrooms and has promoted the development of critical thinking skills for our students.”

 

Contact Terri Rogers at 319-296-2320 ext.1311 or TRogers@hawkeyecollege.edu with any questions.

AgrowKnowledge is accepting proposals for 2008-2009 Faculty Development Grants. Your proposal should fit in one of three categories, a workshop:

 

(1)  That integrates math, science, and/ critical thinking skills into a new or existing agricultural course,

 

(2)  To develop agricultural instructional materials that reflect the use of technology, and/or

 

(3)  A collaborative that aligns with the AgrowKnowledge initiatives and involves a secondary school, university, or another community college.

 

If you want to hold a workshop and it fits within one of the categories listed above we encourage you to complete and RFP. For more details use the link provided below. http://www.agrowknow.org/documents/nationl_fdw_09_rfp.pdf

AgrowKnowledge is accepting proposals for 2008-2009 Technology Grants. Your proposal should fit in one of three categories, a project:

 

(1)  That integrates math, science, and/ critical thinking skills into a new or existing agricultural course,

 

(2)  To develop agricultural instructional materials that reflect the use of technology, and/or

 

(3)  A collaborative that aligns with the AgrowKnowledge initiatives and involves a secondary school, university, or another community college.

If you are interested in an AgrowKnowledge technology grant and it fits within one of the categories listed above we encourage you to complete and RFP. For more details use the link provided below.

Do you have or know someone else who has a unique or just a great photograph that represents the “Future of Agriculture?” Do you want to display your photography skills on a nationally distributed calendar and get paid for it?

This year’s AgrowKnowledge’s photo contest is entitled “The Future of Agriculture” and we are looking for talented photographers who are willing to share their photographs and make a few dollars for their skills.  AgrowKnowledge will be giving away eight $50 prizes that best represent “The Future of Agriculture” and four $150 prizes to photos that capture “The Future of Agriculture” as well as each individual category that our resource technology teams represent:  Ag Environment, Natural Resources and Security; Agricultural Biotechnology; Agricultural Geospatial Technology; Alternative Energy for Agriculture.   Winners will be announced in October and all winners will receive their cash prize as well as five extra calendars to give to their friends and or family.

Read more about the photo contest online at www.AgrowKnow.org/photo/

With small and declining travel budgets and with no end in sight to increasing travel costs, time and inconvenience, the time is right to look at toward other ways of engaging in professional development activities.  Advances in the Internet and communication software provide new opportunities for professional development such a Webinars. Webinar is short for Web-based seminar, a presentation, lecture, workshop or seminar that is transmitted over the Web. In contrast to a Webcast, a key feature of a Webinar is its interactive elements -- the ability to give, receive and discuss information. Webcasts are the transmission of information one way and do not allow interaction between the presenter and the audience –like watching TV. Webinars are typically an hour or less and they feature very well-defined nuggets of information or training.

 

For years professional development entailed attending a conference, convention, seminar, or class. These are still and will be used for professional development. Webinars will represent a “cultural change” in how faculty engage in professional development. Typical of all changes, early adopters are already there; the mainstream is catching on now and there will be laggards!

 

Using and distributing technology represents an integral feature of AgrowKnowledge. Regional and national workshops will continue on some level at various locations. But if AgrowKnowledge is to reach out to more educators Webinars provide that ability. In the coming school year, AgrowKnowledge will focus on using Webinars to interactively deliver professional development to faculty members in agriculture, food and natural resource programs across the U.S. Webinar content will focus on that from the faculty development workshops.

 

If you are interested in developing and conducting a Webinar contact us.

 

Rick Parker, PhD

AgrowKnowledge Director