"Communicate!" is our communication training newsletter that offers tips and techniques for improving your communication skills. Topics include writing, public speaking, photography, videography, desktop and electronic publishing, radio, satellite teleconferencing, streaming video, marketing, multimedia, Web writing, and Web design.
Each issue also includes the "Status Report," a listing of publications and videos available in the Corvallis warehouse and/or on our Web site (eesc.oregonstate.edu).
If you have questions about "Communicate!" or the "Status Report," please e-mail Evie Engel.
By Andy Duncan, department head
Since joining Extension as Web communications designer in August 2001,
Dwight Owens has been helping develop Extension’s Web site and Web-based
services. Earlier this year, the fruits of his labor were unveiled (see
Field guide). We’re sorry to say
that Dwight left the Extension Service on April 30 to develop multi media
and instructional design for University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
in Boulder, Colorado. We’ll miss Dwight’s vision, humor, and knowledge,
but we wish him well in his new endeavor!
In December, Extension and Experiment Station Communications started planning
how to address Extension's growing need statewide for Web design and support.
The budget reduction process, and Dwight’s departure, have complicated
that planning.
One thing is clear. We are going to shift more resources into Web design and support, which of course means other kinds of support will shrink, or go away entirely. We hope to provide more information on the specifics in the next issue of “Communicate!”
By Andy Duncan, department head
Many of you know LouAnne Greig from her years in the Extension Stockroom.
When the Stockroom closed in January 2002, LouAnne joined our department
as the distribution coordinator. She regularly added publications and videos
to the warehouse shelves and filled and shipped orders throughout the world.
After 30 years with Extension, LouAnne retired on April 30. She will continue
working half time at the warehouse through June 30. Because of Extension’s
budget reduction challenges, we don’t know yet how we will distribute
Extension educational materials after June 30. We’re exploring several
possibilities.
Congratulations on your well-deserved retirement, LouAnne!
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By Peg Herring, Web writer
OSU Extension’s new Web Home
page has been running for several months. Developed by Extension Web
designers Dwight Owens, Scott Gilpin, and Tom Weeks, it offers a streamlined
entry into Extension news and programs. Here’s how to explore the new
features:
• The new look and feel matches the features on the redesigned OSU Home page, so users recognize the relationship between OSU Extension and OSU.
• Buttons along the top of the page link to the OSU Home page, to a menu of Extension’s resources, to a directory of people within Extension and the Experiment Station, and to a directory of Extension county offices. Pages are still being developed, with layouts and graphics that will unify all the layers of information.
• “Extension At Work” rotates photos and profiles of Extension’s faculty and staff with links to their projects and more information.
• “Learn About” connects you with Web sites from a wide variety of Extension and OSU programs such as Spanish-language parenting, watershed stewardship, and gardening without pesticides. Let us know if you have a Web site that should be included.
• Photo buttons take you to several rotating features including a “News Story of the Week,” interactive sites to pique your interest, to weekly Lawn and Garden Notes, and a monthly electronic gardening magazine “eNews.”
• On the far right, “News” posts recent press releases, feature stories, and announcements from Extension and the Agricultural Experiment Station.
• Scroll through “News” and click on the latest issue of “Oregon’s Agricultural Progress” magazine. Extended video clips accompany several stories--swooping terns and spawning salmon are just a click away.
• Keep scrolling to featured “Publications” where you can access some of the vast collection of Extension’s online and printed materials, as well as tabloids that explore public issues.
• Some of Extension’s best videos are online and accessible from the Extension page. Check out “Rethinking the American Dream” and “After the Rain,” both of which are available in their full length along with their complete scripts.
• If you have comments and questions, send them to us from the link at the bottom of the Home page.
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By Andrea Dailey, electronic publishing editor
Extension authors planning to publish through EESC will need to follow a
new protocol designed to improve planning, efficiency, and publishing impacts.
As of June 1, a new online form and protocol replace the “blue sheet,”
formally known as the “OSU Extension Publications Approval Form,”
which has been in use many years. View the new protocol, “OSU
Extension Publishing Planning,” online.
The new form and procedures require authors to submit publishing proposals
to EESC well in advance of preparing full manuscripts. EESC, in concert
with Extension program leaders, will evaluate proposals quarterly in light
of Extension and program priorities and available resources. It also will
help us help authors plan the educational design early in the planning stages
to enhance the effectiveness of the publication.
Publications currently under way are not subject to the new protocol.
Another change is that we no longer require an approval form to replenish
items--instead, you can expect an e-mail or a phone call asking about currency
of information before we handle the reprint for you.
Questions? Contact editors Teresa
Welch (541-737-0812) or Andrea
Dailey (541-737-0808) or the publishing specialist, Evie
Engel (541-737-0807).
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By Teresa Welch, publications editor
Everyone is stretching dollars these days, and EESC is no exception.
One way to help Extension publishing dollars go farther is to augment them
with grant funds. As you develop grant proposals, we encourage you to include
a request for publishing funds. Our publishing staff can give you a rough
estimate of illustration, printing, and related publishing costs while your
project is still in the planning stage. Contact Evie
Engel (541-737-0807), Teresa
Welch (541-737-0812), or
Andrea Dailey (541-737-0808) for assistance.
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By Steve Dodrill, multimedia specialist
It is hard to miss America’s love affair with DVD-Video--the fastest
growing consumer electronics technology to date. The DVD Entertainment Group
reports sales of DVD set-top players, DVD-ROM computer drives, and DVD-capable
video games topped 25 million in 2002. Industry officials say there are
now more than 40 million DVD households in the United States and estimate
more than half our nation’s homes will own a DVD player by the end
of 2003.
There are many reasons for this trend. Educators and the general public
seem to enjoy features such as high-quality audio and video, multiple audio
and video tracks, interactivity, subtitling, and instant access to any point
on the disc. Users can view content on a television or a computer. When
DVDs are designed to take advantage of a computer’s capabilities, users
can access interactive documents or link to related information on the Internet.
Educators realize that DVD has the potential to revolutionize the way teachers
teach and learners learn. It adds new dimensions to both online and classroom-delivered
instruction, but it also is especially powerful when integrated with lectures,
one-on-one instruction, collaborative student activities, and interactive
homework or testing.
DVD eliminates the need for broadband Internet connections and streaming
media. It adds flexibility to instructional presentations with access to
a variety of disc-based educational resources, links to current Web-based
materials, and access to interactive tools such as databases, chat rooms,
and online testing. DVD also offers new opportunities to engage students
with different learning styles.
The entertainment industry has laid much of the groundwork for DVD to be
successful in education. In an upcoming article, I will explore the pros
and cons of purchasing a DVD that enhances curriculum versus developing
a DVD that meets specific needs.
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By Evie Engel, publishing specialist
You located the perfect pruning illustration to use in a handout at next
week’s workshop and it's in a copyrighted book. Can you use it without
obtaining permission? Legally, no. You should obtain written permission
from the copyright holder--usually the publisher.
The Extension publication you’re writing would benefit from information
in another publication, but the book carries a copyright. It’s your
responsibility as author to obtain written permission before including other
people's material in your manuscript. Be sure to cite the appropriate sources
in the manuscript and share a copy of the permission letter when submitting
the manuscript to EESC.
An Extension publication carries an Oregon State University copyright. As
an OSU faculty member, can you make photocopies because the university holds
the copyright? Yes, even on those Extension publications that do not grant
reprint permission on them (reprint permission is granted explicitly to
anyone on items with a $1.00 or under sales price).
Why does OSU Extension copyright its publications? The University advised
the OSU Extension Service to copyright its materials to ensure appropriate
credit is given to the university and organization when material is reprinted
and distributed. The intent is not to restrict distribution, but to provide
accurate recognition for the source of the information.
Who has the authority to grant reprint permission for OSU Extension publications?
As a representative of the publisher, EESC routinely evaluates reprint requests
both for print and digital delivery. Send copyright requests to Evie
Engel.
If you include material in a manuscript or handout, how long will it take
to obtain permission from other publishers? Although most commercial publishers
have copyright staff, written permission often takes up to 6 months because
your request is one of hundreds (or thousands) received. In comparison,
EESC receives anywhere from zero to 10 or more requests a month and can
turn them around more rapidly.
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