Article by Laina Schneider

Connecting to one another is a basic human instinct that fulfills our need to learn, teach, share and grow. It is how we get feedback on big decisions, share the joy of a promotion, or give advice to an employee. Online social networking has made connecting with others faster than ever, but the explosion of social media outlets has also made it harder to find like-minded people with specific interests or resources.

To cut through the noise, InnovATE is launching an online community of practice to connect professionals working in agricultural education and training. A community of practice is a group that forms around shared knowledge and experiences. The site will house agricultural education-specific networking spaces, traditionally limited to physical places like conferences, into a user-friendly web interface.

Like a physical community, the online community will provide a place to discuss, ask questions, and share resources. “With an electronic environment, we are now able to create these communities across the borders of distance and time that once prevented people from easily having conversations,” explained InnovATE community manager Donna Westfall-Rudd, who is also an assistant professor in Agricultural Extension and Education at Virginia Tech.

As is true of most networking sites, users can customize profiles and follow their contacts. The InnovATE community however, also adds opportunities for professional collaboration, like working on a project, starting a discussion about an upcoming proposal, or responding to a question about a paper. “Instead of having an expert teaching a group, we have a group of professionals – each with their own expertise – who are exchanging ideas and creating new knowledge or ideas from those discussions and exchanges,” said Westfall-Rudd.

“The InnovATE community is special,” Westfall-Rudd emphasized. “It is the only global community that has the potential to bring together agricultural education and training professionals at all levels, from local communities to upper government representatives, and across all locations into one space. It has the potential to be an amazing resource for agricultural education.”