More than 30 professional development workshops were offered to Cornell Cooperative Extension educators during 2008, reaching about 750 participants in total and representing all counties in New York, a far larger number of educators than we have reached in recent years. Conservatively estimating travel costs at only $20 per individual on average indicates more than $20,000 in saved operating costs.
impact statement issue
Continuing professional development for educators is essential to the ability of Cornell Cooperative Extension to deliver high quality, high impact programs for New York communities. At the same time, the tough economic times of the past year have put a strain on the ability of educators to participate in traditional face-to-face professional development experiences. Alternative delivery mechanisms are needed.
impact statement response
Cornell Cooperative Extension has developed strong capabilities to deliver educational programming via video conferences at over 40 sites and Internet-based seminars and courses. During 2008, a concentrated effort was made to employ these distance education technologies in delivering a range of workshops and courses related to program development and evaluation. While such delivery was used occasionally in prior years, this was the first attempt to use technology as the primary instructional mode.
impact statement summary
The Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) professional development team delivered more than 33 professional development opportunities for CCE educators in all NY counties resulting in direct cost savings of more than $20,000.
