The Google Earth Pro Pilot

The Google Earth Pro Pilot

The Google Earth Pro Pilot

A Model for Creating Innovative Extension Curriculum

By: Dr. Sergio Arispe, Associate Professor, Livestock & Rangeland Field Faculty, Malheur County, Oregon State University Photo provided by: Sergio Arispe, PhD, Oregon State University

A T T R I B U T I ON

The Google Earth Pro Pilot: A Model for Creating Innovative Extension Curriculum

Copyright © Arispe, S., 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Published by Extension Foundation.

e-pub: 978-1-955687-06-5

Publish Date: 9/21/2021

Citations for this publication may be made using the following:

Arispe, S. (2021). The Google Earth Pro Pilot: A Model for Creating Innovative Extension Curriculum

(1 st ed). Kansas City: Extension Foundation. ISBN: 978-1-955687-06-5

Producer: Ashley S. Griffin

Peer Review Coordinator: Rose Hayden-Smith

Editorial Assistants: Rose Hayden-Smith and Heather Martin

Technical Implementer: Rose Hayden-Smith

Welcome to The Google Earth Pro Pilot: A Model for Creating Innovative Extension Curriculum, a resource created for the Cooperative Extension Service and published by the Extension Foundation. We welcome feedback and suggested resources for this publication, which could be included in any subsequent versions. This work is supported by New Technologies for Agriculture Extension grant no. 2020-41595-30123 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

For more information please contact:

Extension c/o Bryan Cave LLP One Kansas City Place

1200 Main Street, Suite 3800 Kansas City, MO 64105-2122 https://impact.extension.org/

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T A B L E O F CON T E N T S

Attribution ............................................................................................................................................. 2

Meet the Author..................................................................................................................................... 4

Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................................. 5

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................ 5

Part 1: Introduction........................................................................................................................ 6

Innovating Extension Curriculum ....................................................................................................................6

Google Earth Pro Pilot History.........................................................................................................................7

Rationale to Remake the GEP Course as Innovative Online Curriculum ........................................................8

Part 2: Innovating the GEP Online Extension Curriculum ................................................................. 9

The Process of Innovation ...............................................................................................................................9

Tools to Create Innovative Content for the GEP Online Extension Course ..................................................11

The Phases Leading to Our Innovative GEP Online Extension Course ..........................................................14

Part 3: Partners and Leadership Development .............................................................................. 15

Partners .........................................................................................................................................................15

Leadership Development ..............................................................................................................................16

Part 4: Impact and Reflection ....................................................................................................... 16

Results and Outcomes Related to the GEP Online Extension Course...........................................................17

Lessons Learned ............................................................................................................................................17

Assumptions Going into the GEP Online Extension Curriculum Project .......................................................18

Important Things to Know Before You Begin................................................................................................18

Part 4: Next Steps......................................................................................................................... 19

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M E E T TH E AU THO R

Sergio Arispe

Sergio Arispe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Animal & Rangeland Sciences at Oregon State University. He is a Livestock & Rangeland Field Faculty with an Extension Service appointment in the high desert of Malheur County. Sergio integrates land manager needs with the most appropriate technologies supporting functionally health sagebrush ecosystems on public and private lands. He prioritizes building transdisciplinary partnerships that includes bringing together land managers, academics, researchers, policymakers, and the general public to solve complex ecosystem challenges for rural and urban centers. Sergio Arispe, Ph.D., PAS, (he, him, his) Associate Professor Department of Animal & Rangeland Sciences OSU Extension Service — Malheur County | Livestock and Rangeland Oregon State University (541) 881-1417

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A C K NOWL E D GM E N T S

Our thanks to the many individuals for input that guided our thinking, and for supporting our efforts throughout the course of this project, including the following Extension professionals who contributed to the development of the course described in this ePublication:

Dustin Johnson, Professor of Practice, Rangeland Outreach Specialist, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center-Burns, Oregon State University

Vanessa Schroeder, Faculty Research Assistant, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center-Burns, Oregon State University

Ian McGregor, Assistant Professor of Practice, Livestock & Irrigation Field Faculty — Klamath County, Klamath Basin Research and Extension Center, Oregon State University

Dr. Christy Tanner, Assistant Professor of Practice, Field Crops Field Faculty — Linn, Benton, Land Counties, Oregon State University

Dr. April Hulet, Assistant Professor, Extension Rangeland Specialist, University of Idaho

Chris Schachtschneider, Assistant Professor of Practice, Livestock & Rangeland Field Faculty — Umatilla and Morrow Counties, Oregon State University

E X E CU T I V E S UMMA R Y

This ePublication, The Google Earth Pro Pilot: A Model for Creating Innovative Extension Curriculum, provides an integrative model that Extension professionals can use to restructure existing curriculum or create new curriculum that is technologically innovative and can serve audiences online, face to face (FTF), or in a format that combines virtual and in-person learning.

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Part 1: Introduction

In this part , we’ll explore the project’s history , goals, and rationale.

Innovating Extension Curr iculum

The primary goal of our project was to restructure an existing Extension curriculum for teaching land managers to use the geographic information system (GIS) Google Earth Pro (GEP) to create land management plans. We wanted to create a technologically innovative, non-credit course that could reach a broad and diverse audience. We also wanted to create a course that we could deliver online, in person, or in a format that combines virtual and F2F learning. Our project had several needs and challenges: a natural resource need, a technology opportunity (for online instruction), the potential to reach a wider audience than a traditional delivery method might allow, the constraints of the COVID- 19 global pandemic, and the public’s desire for information that is trustworthy and easy to understand.

The COVID-19 pandemic created challenges but also provided opportunities for Extension professionals to develop new strategies by using new tools to adapt existing F2F curriculum.

In March 2020, many public institutions adopted a remote work policy that halted traditional, F2F Extension programming. These bastions of science-based information were tasked with modeling precaution and mitigating a public health crisis. No one could have predicted how long the distancing policies would last. Over the last year, Extension professionals have had countless opportunities to learn about alternatives to traditional F2F programming. Many of them became proficient at using videoconferencing platforms, such as WebEx and Zoom. Some universities adopted integrated communication platforms, such as Microsoft Teams to enable university personnel to collaborate and communicate with ease. Professional associations and non- profit entities, such as the Extension Foundation, purposefully provided opportunities to help Extension personnel gain the vision, skills, and momentum to innovatively adapt F2F Extension curriculum.

Our account is only one of countless stories across the Extension Service that demonstrates our commitment to serve the public with high-quality, science-based instruction.

In this ePublication, we review how our multi-state team used technology to adapt existing curriculum for online delivery. We augmented previously available content by using 360-degree images, with high-quality video and audio, moving from PowerPoints to predominantly narrated presentations featuring dynamic images and videos. We learned many things, including that collaborating with a fun, interdisciplinary group of committed colleagues through the New Technologies in Agricultural Extension Fellowship produced a unique experience and maximized impact for broader Extension programming. We hope that others can learn from our experience.

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Google Earth Pro Pi lot History

We use maps every day. We use them to get directions, visualize predicted rainfall, and even follow temperature gradients across a region to anticipate a spike or drop in temperature. Ultimately, maps equip us to make efficient and important decisions. The public has access to a wealth of freely available information and online platforms, such as GEP (an online GIS software), that enable them to create aesthetically appealing and useful maps.

In 2016, Oregon State University began developing a F2F and an online-F2F hybrid course to teach land managers how to use GEP to map land. The need for this course came — as traditional Extension programming typically does — began with a critical problem from a concerned group. In 2015, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) consideration to list the greater sage-grouse as a threatened or endangered

The greater sage-grouse

species, created a challenge for land managers in Oregon, Idaho, and other western states. Since the mid-20th century, the habitat for greater sage-grouse has decreased by nearly 50%, due to increased surface disturbance and landscape fragmentation (Crawford et al. 2004). Public and private rangeland managers in the region began inquiring if lands they managed were considered greater sage-grouse habitat, which could have potential regulatory implications. In response to a need for maps and land management planning, two Oregon State University Extension Service personnel conceived the idea of developing a F2F and a hybrid GEP course incorporating synchronous and asynchronous learning. The initial endeavor received $20,000 of funding for curriculum development and hardware for rangeland monitoring kits. From 2016 through 2019, our team strategically expanded to include personnel from Oregon State University and the University of Idaho Extension services. During that GEP pilot, our team consisted of four county-based faculty and one Extension specialist. Pilot impacts included the following:

one Extension course consisting of eight modules with supporting handouts, videos, and presentations

11 hybrid Extension courses

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the participation of 33 private land managers and public natural resource professionals in Oregon and Idaho, who collectively managed 721,000 acres of private land and 432,060 acres of public lands

50,000 acres of public and private lands improved with course concepts

15,000 acres with land management plans developed after the course

While participants valued accessing information to create maps and land management plans directly related to their goals and objectives, we discussed the possibility of gaining broader impact by converting the F2F and hybrid curriculum to online, asynchronous curriculum. By the beginning of 2020, our multi-state team grew to include five county-based Extension personnel, two Extension specialists, an evaluator, a project director, and an instructional designer.

Rationale to Remake the GEP Course as Innovative Onl ine Curr iculum

While the GEP pilot course was well received, our team realized that we could reach a broader land manager target audience by incorporating innovative technologies and curriculum development tools. For example, we had collected hundreds of short video clips, referred to as b-roll, highlighting general themes within rangeland management. We also acquired the hardware and skills to virtually immerse a course participant in a rangeland ecosystem and explore the site using 360-degree images. We were familiar with using storyboarding as a tool to develop curriculum. Ultimately, we believed that our team could strategically integrate all these resources and skills. We were encouraged that both public and private land managers were empowered by science-based information and a new skill set gained from our course. Our team wanted to produce an innovative online course that would rival the quality of either a F2F or hybrid experience.

Beginning in 2016, our team began to assemble an extensive video repository for rangeland curriculum. We organized the images and short b-roll clips into folders with the intent of incorporating them into more updated

B-roll of invasive annual grasses

VIDEO

modules. For example, one simple b-roll clip — shown above — includes invasive annual grasses blowing in the wind on the sagebrush steppe of southeastern Oregon. We envisioned these videos enhancing traditional narrated PowerPoint presentations. We had the equipment and skills to generate 360-degree images and panning videos that could be integrated into our course. The traditional and hybrid GEP Extension courses provided high-quality images highlighting ecological threats, but we were at a point where we could virtually place land managers at a rangeland site so they could recognize either the presence or absence of important plant functional groups.

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The 360-degree images were created by proprietary software overlaying and stitching approximately thirty images together into one equirectangular panorama. Here is an example of a 360- degree image that places individuals in an ecological state within the sagebrush steppe of southeastern Oregon. Storyboarding was a process we learned early in the development of traditional and hybrid GEP Extension courses. We believed that adding existing content to the pilot GEP Extension course could be accomplished with the assistance of an instructional designer using the storyboarding process.

360-degree image used in the GEP course

Part 2: Innovating the GEP Online Extension Curriculum

The Process of Innovation

By 2020, our team was complete, and we were committed to updating and expanding the pilot curriculum. We began making improvements based on participant feedback. New team members brought different skills and additional content. We agreed upon seven modules that would walk land managers through the land management planning process. Because many private rangeland managers also manage irrigated pastures, two of our new team members developed an irrigation module. Our team also contracted with Oregon State University’s Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) within the Division of Extension & Engagement. This enabled us to access the skills of an instructional designer. The project lead maintained and communicated the broad project vision with the instructional designer. Team leaders for each module were given the autonomy to create content that reflected their expertise. The module themes, leadership, and collaboration are illustrated in Table 1.

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Table 1: GEP Online Content Cohort Involvement

Module

Module Lead

Module Members

Basics of GEP, GIS, and Land Management Planning Introduction to Threat-Based Land Management of Sagebrush Rangelands Applying Threat-Based Land Management within GEP and on Rangelands

Sergio Arispe & Dustin Johnson

April Hulet

Dustin Johnson

Vanessa Schroeder

Dustin Johnson

Vanessa Schroeder

Overview of Irrigated Forage Production Practices

Christy Tanner

Ian McGregor

Using GIS Tools on Public and Private Lands

Sergio Arispe

Importing and Mapping GIS >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19

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