Agricultural Extension Education and Development

CHAPTER ONE
THE CONCEPT OF EXTENSION EDUCATION

Introduction There are certain questions, which naturally come to the minds of students regarding the concept of Extension Education. They are: (i) What is Extension Education? (ii) When, how and where did it originate? (iii) What were the circumstances responsible for it development? (iv) Why extension education (v) What are the principles of extension education? (vi) of what relevant its to agricultural and rural development? This chapter which is divided into two units provides sought to answer the above questions. UNIT ONE: EXTENSION EDUCATION DEFINED Objective At the end of this unit, students are expected to: Learn about the various definitions of extension education Understand the difference between formal and extension education Appreciate the objective and principle of extension education Definition of Extension Education By a way of definition, various scholars, professionals and practitioners have put forward many definitions regarding the concept of Extension Education. As a matter of fact, there are as many definitions of Extension Education as there are scholars, professionals and practitioners in the field of knowledge generation, its utilization and rural development. Below are some collections of various definitions of Extension Education: 1. Extension Education is an applied science consisting of content derived from research, accumulated field experiences and relevant principles drawn from the behavioural science synthesised with useful technology into a body of philosophy, principles, content and methods focused on the problems of out of school education for adults and youth. J.P. Leagans (1961) 2. Extension Education is the process of teaching rural people how to live better by learning ways that improve their farm, home and community institutions J.P. Leagans (1961) 3. Extension Education is an out of school system of education in which adult and young people learn by doing. It is partnership between the Government and the people, which provides service and education designed to meet the needs of the Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 1
people. Its fundamental objective is the development of the people. Kelsey and Harne (1963) 4. Extension Education is a programme and a process of helping village people to help themselves, increase their production and to raise their general standard of living. D. Ensminger (1961) 5. We can define Extension Education as the increased dissemination of useful knowledge for improving rural life. H.W. Butt (1961)
6. Extension Education is a two-way channel; it brings scientific information to the village people, and also takes the problems of the village people to the scientific institution for solution. It is a continuous educational process, in which both learner and teacher contribute and receive. B. Rambhai (1958) 7. Extension Education is defined as an educational process to provide knowledge to the rural people about the improved practices in a convincing manner and help them to take decision within their specific local conditions. O. P. Dahama (1973) 8. Agricultural Extension is a professional method of non-formal education aimed at inducing behavioural changes in the farmers for increasing their income through increased production and productivity by establishing firm linkages with research for solving farmers problems ensuring adequate and timely supply of inputs and using proven methods of communication for speeding of the process of diffusion and adoption of innovations." Y. C. Sanoria (1986) From the above definitions, it can be asserted that Extension Education for that matter, Agricultural Extension Education is an out of school educational programme or activity which brings about a desirable change in behaviour (knowledge, attitude, practice and skills KAPS) of rural people to help improve their social, economic and psychological status. Extension education is an applied behavioural science, the knowledge of which is applied to bring about desirable changes in the behavioural complex of human beings usually through various strategies and programmes of change and by applying the latest scientific and technological innovations. Principles and Objectives of Extension Extension education has now developed as a full-fledged discipline, having its own philosophy, objectives, principles, methods and techniques which must be understood by every extension worker and others connected with the rural development. It might be mentioned here that extension education, its principles, methods and techniques are applicable not only to agriculture but also to veterinary and animal husbandry, dairying, home science, health, family planning, etc. Based upon its application and use, various nomenclatures have been given to it, such as agricultural extension, veterinary and animal husbandry extension, dairy extension, home science extension, public health extension, and family planning extension. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 2
Objectives of Extension Education: The objectives of extension education are the expressions of the ends towards which our efforts are directed. In other words, an objective means a direction of movement. Before starting any programme, its objectives must be clearly stated, so that one knows where to go and what is to be achieved. The fundamental objective of extension education is the development of the people. Extension is concerned with three basic tasks: 1. The dissemination of useful and practical information relating to agriculture and home economics; 2. Practical application of such knowledge to help farmers/farm families and rural people analyse their problems. These are carried out in an informal atmosphere, with adults as main clientele and 3. Assisting farmers/farm families and rural people in using the technical knowledge gained to better solve their own problems. Thus helping people to in order to help themselves. Agricultural extension in Ghana is primarily concerned with the following main objectives: 1. The dissemination of useful and practical information relating to agriculture to enable farmers farm more efficiently to increase incomes. 2. The practical application of useful knowledge to farm and home 3. Encourage farmers to grow their own food, eat well and live well 4. Help rural, people appreciate opportunities, beauties, and privileges of rural life and the world around them 5. Promote better social, cultural recreational, intellectual and spiritual life among rural people 6. Develop citizens proud of their occupation, independent in thinking constructive in outlook, capable, efficient self-reliant and patriotic. 7. To improve all aspects of the life of the rural people within the framework of the nations socio-economic policies. Principles of extension education: The extension work is based upon some working principles and the knowledge of these principles is necessary for an extension worker. Some of these principles, as related to agricultural extension, are mentioned below. 1. Principle of interest and need. Extension work must be based on the needs and interests of the people. These needs and interests differ from individual to individual, from village to village, from block to block, and from district to district and, therefore, there cannot be one programme for all people. 2. Principle of cultural difference. Extension work is based on the cultural background of the people with whom the work is done. Improvement can only begin from the level of the people where they are. This means that the extension worker has to know the level of the knowledge, and the skills of the people, methods and tools used by them, their customs, traditions, beliefs, values etc. 3. Principle of participation. Extension helps people to help themselves. Good extension work is directed towards assisting rural families to work out their own problems rather than giving them ready-made solutions. Actual participation and Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 3
experience of people in these programmes creates self-confidence in them and also they learn more by doing. 4. Principle of adaptability. People differ from each other, one group differs from another group and conditions also differ from place to place. An extension programme should be flexible, so that necessary changes can be made whenever needed, to meet the varying conditions. 5. The grass roots principle of organisation. A group of rural people in local community should show ownership of extension work. The programme should fit in with the local conditions. The aim of organising the local group is to demonstrate the value of the new practices or programmes so that more and more people would participate. 6. The leadership principle. Extension work is based on the full utilisation of local leadership. The selection and training of local leaders to enable them to help carry out extension work is essential to the success of the programme. People have more faith in local leaders and they should be used to put across a new idea so as to gain acceptance with the least resistance. 7. The whole-family principle. Extension work will have a better chance of success if the extension workers have a whole-family approach instead of piecemeal approach or separate and unintegrated approach. Extension work is, therefore, for the whole family, i.e. for male, female and the youth. 8. Principle of co-operation. Extension is a co-operative venture. It is a joint democratic enterprise in which rural people co-operate with their village, block and district officials to pursue a common cause. 9. Principle of satisfaction. The end-product of the effort of extension teaching is the satisfaction that comes to the farmer, his wife or youngsters as the result of solving a problem, meeting a need, acquiring a new skill or some other changes in behaviour. Satisfaction is the key to success in extension work. "A satisfied customer is the best advisements. 10. The evaluation principle. Extension is based upon the methods of science, and it needs constant evaluation. The effectiveness of the work is measured in terms of the changes brought about in the knowledge, skill, and attitude and adoption behaviour of the people but not merely in terms of achievement of physical targets.
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Differences between Formal Education and Extension Education Extension work is considered as an aspect of adult education which differs from formal or classroom education in that it prepares its clientele to tackle the problems of today and helps them to live here and now. Formal education on the other hand, prepares its students for life after school years. It may, however, be mentioned here that when extension education is put into action for educating the rural people, it does not remain formal education. In that sense, there are several differences between the two. Some of these differences are:
Extension Education 1. The teacher (extension worker) starts with practical and may take up theory later on. 2. Farmers study problems. 3. It has no fixed curriculum or course of study and the farmers help to formulate the curriculum 4. Authority rests with the farmers. 5. Participation is voluntary. 6. Teacher teaches and also learns from the farmers. 7. Teaching is only through instructors. 7. Teaching is also through local leaders. 8. Teaching is mainly vertical 8. Teaching is mainly horizontal. 9. The teacher has more or less homogeneous 9. The teacher has a large and heterogeneous audience. audience. 10. It is rigid. 10. It is flexible. 11. It has all pre-planned and pre-decided 11. It has freedom to develop programmes locally programmes and they are based on the needs and expressed desires of the people. 12. It is more theoretical. 12. It is more practical and intended for immediate application in the solution of problems. Formal Education 1. The teacher starts with theory and works up to practical. 2. Students study subjects 3. Students must adapt themselves to the fixed curriculum offered 4. Authority rests with the teacher. 5. Class attendance is compulsory. 6. Teacher instructs the students.
Why Extension? Society they say is dynamic, in reality it is seen that what was applicable in the past may be obsolete at present and likewise it can be said that techniques and methods prevalent at present may not be applied in future. The nature of problem is changing day by day, therefore, in order to scientifically tackle new problems, it is necessary that there should be such an institution, which should act as a bridge between scientists and farmers to ensure a continue transmission of technology or new techniques and method to the farmers and on the other hand address the problems of farmers to the scientists. Research Centre Extension Personnel Problems of People Such an institution, which mediates between farmers and scientists was established and is called Extension system. The people working in this institution are called Extension personnel Why Study Extension? It is more important to lay emphasis on How to teach instead of on What to teach so that the people can be encouraged to adopt new research techniques easily. In other words, if a person is very knowledgeable of various methods and techniques but does not know how to explain them Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 5
or express them, then his knowledge has no meaning. Therefore, the power to express knowledge and viewpoint also plays a crucial role. Extension Personnel should not only be aware of objectives the programmes but should also be aware of prevalent conditions, problems, requirements and circumstances. After analyzing, the situation then extension personnel should give information about scientific techniques, to their clients according to their needs and requirements. Therefore, the study of extension education is necessary for extension personnel, so that they can encourage the adoption of new techniques.
UNIT TWO: HISTORICAL ANTECEDENT OF EXTENSION EDUCATION Objectives: By studying this unit, students are expected to: Understand the development of extension education in the world Learn about the factors or antecedents of extension education Appreciated the development of extension services in Ghana History of Extension Education in the World The word Extension was first time used to describe the concept of taking teaching and learning outside the walls of university in the form of University Extension or Extension of the University in Britain in 1840. Many scholars and academics in Europe and elsewhere used the word Extension to describe the concept of extending university education to the working masses, who by the virtue of their work could not be on university campus to obtain university education. In his report entitled suggestions for the Extension of the university in 1850, William Sewell of Britain used the word Extension in calling for the need to take teaching and learning outside the boundaries of university campus so as to provide opportunity for the working population to obtain university education and benefit from knowledge generated in the various universities and other educational institutions of higher learning. Also, James Stuart of Trinity College, Cambridge University in 1867-68, used the word extension when he was addressing Women Association and Working Mens Clubs of North England. Again in 1871, he appealed to the officials of the Cambridge University to establish Extension centres under the supervision of university, so that these centres can be used as a platform to deliver lecture to the people. His effort in this field earned him the aculeate Father of University Extension. In a formal way, Cambridge University in 1873, London University in 1876 and Oxford University in 1878 developed Extension system, which worked among people. In 1880, James Stuart work came to be known as Extension movement. According to Websters dictionary the term Extension means Branch of a university for student who cannot attend the University properly. In other words, the word Extension is used in the context which signifies an out of school system of education. In the eighth decade of the 19th century, the word Extension was used in the form of Extension education in U.S.A. This was to respond to the problem of rural people migration to urban areas which characterized labour mobility in the latter half of the 19th century. This phenomenon created two major problems in U.S.A.: (i) The migration of rural people to cities created labour constraint in the rural area and Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 6
hence, the agricultural sector suffered a setback, and (ii) The increase of urban population created education, employment and housing related problems. Therefore, in curtailing this problem, the Philadelphia Committee was established in 1785. The committee recommended the institutionalization of Out of school education in order to keep rural people in rural areas. Also in 1862 President Roosevelt established a county commission under the chairmanship of Liverty Hydevelle. Its objectives were: (i) How to stop migration of rural people to cities? (ii) How to engage rural people in agricultural and rural development programmes? The above recommendations were arrived at based on the fact that industrial development is not possible without agricultural development for that matter the rural areas must not be deprived of the needed human resource to help in the agricultural development. The implementation of the above recommendation required institutionalization of out of school educational institution to organize extension education. The passage of Smith Leaver Act (1914) provides the legal framework for the establishment of out of school educational institution to organize and manage the dissemination of knowledge and practical skills to the rural population. The passage of the Act also led to the integration of cooperative Extension service by which out of school education was organized. As a result, rural people were able to bring about developments and progress in farming and housing. This type of education comes to be known as Agricultural Extension Education. Historical Perspective of Agricultural Extension in Ghana Agricultural extension activities in Ghana started in the nineteenth century by the early missionaries and foreign owned companies who main focused was in the production of export crops such as coffee, cocoa and rubber. Therefore all extension activities were organized to provide information and inputs on only these export crops to farmers. Little or no extension activities were carried out on food crops and livestock production. Agricultural Extension activities in the immediate post independent period were still tilted to the promotion of cocoa, coffee and other export crops as the new independent administration inherited the colonial institutional structures which were put in place to carry out research and extension activities on export crops. After independence, Ghana tried various approaches and models of organizing extension activities and broadens the scope to include food crops and livestock. But for a few agricultural extension programmes, such as the farmers co-operative movement and the United Ghana Farmers Co-operative Council (UGFCC) which initiated and implemented extension activities for its members with public support, most of the extension projects implemented in Ghana were largely donor-assisted projects. In the 1970s and 1980s, all the departments of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture undertook separate extension services. Agricultural extension was therefore fragmented among the various departments within the ministry. Thus, the crop and livestock departments carried separate and independent extension services. In 1987 however, MOFA established the Department of Agricultural Extension Services (DAES) to bring all splinter MOFA extension services under one umbrella. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 7
The DAES used the World Bank Training and Visit (T & V) extension system which involves regular training and field visits. This system also saw the withdrawal of MOFA from the procurement and distribution of agricultural inputs, including credit. This extension initiative was supported with World Bank funding through the National Agricultural Extension Project (NAEP) which was implemented between 1992 and 1999. This project was set up and implemented to help (i) improve efficiency in the management and delivery of extension services, (ii) improve the relevance of technologies available to farmers, and (iii) strengthen the technical departments of MOFA. In August 1998, the government unified the extension services of MOFA and COCOBOD for the purpose of providing farmers with more cost-effective agricultural extension services. With the merger, MOFA took ministerial responsibility for cocoa extension. The challenge for MOFA is to: (i) develop the capacity for cocoa extension and (ii) collaborate with the relevant agencies and private sector organizations to support the cocoa industry. As part of the unified agricultural extension strategy, Agricultural Extension Agents (AEAs) are trained once a month by Subject Matter Specialists (SMSs) drawn from the subject matter or technical departments of MOFA. The AEAs visit groups of contact farmers on a fortnightly basis. Each contact farmer group has a minimum of 10 farmers and each AEA interacts with between 16 and 24 of such groups in a farming season. Interaction with farmers is done by way of farm demonstrations and discussions with farmer groups. Summary Notwithstanding the various viewpoints regarding the definition of extension education there is a growing agreement that extension education can be defined in a broad terms as an applied behavioural science, the knowledge of which is applied to bring about desirable changes in the behavioural complex of human beings through out of school educational programmes. The main task of extension education is the dissemination of practical information to rural people and assist them applied the information in improving their living standards. Extension operates on the principles of needs and interest, cultural difference, cooperation, leadership among others. Although extension education uses instructional methods and strategies to help influence the behaviour of rural people, it differs from formal education in so many ways. Whiles formal education starts with theory and ends at practicals and extension education start with practicals and may take theory later. Also while formal education is guided by a pre determine curriculum, extension education do not have fixed rigid curriculum its curriculum is farmers problems needs and interest.
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CHAPTER TWO
COMMUNICATION IN EXTENSION
Introduction Communication is an activity much taken for granted. It appears ironic that we sometimes failed to fully appreciate the power of communication in shaping our lives and work when, in reality, we are relentlessly engaged ourselves in various day-to-day forms, means, and problems of communication. Extension education is essentially a process of communication, thus communication of ideas and skills between and among people. Ability to communicate determines to a very large extent the success or failure of an extension worker. Therefore extension educators and practitioners alike must have adequate skills in communication and being capable of initiating and managing communication process in dissemination agricultural information to farmers as well as assist package farmers problems and concerns for research attention. Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: explain clearly the term communication understand communication process identify elements of communication process discuss, vividly the communication models Identify barriers to communication be abreast with ways of communicating effectively be able to apply communication process or model in analyzing communication problems in Extension appreciate the concept of behavioural change communication and its application in extension UNIT ONE: COMMUNICATION PROCESS The Meaning of Communication Communication is the basis for all human interactions and provides the means for individual or group of people to relate reciprocally and hence enable groups to function. When we communicate, it is because we have an idea or a feeling that we want to share with someone. In order to share it, someone has to receive what we are communicating. Effective communication exists between two people when the receiver interprets the senders message in the same way the sender intended. The process of communication is fundamental to extension training of influencing desire behaviour acquisition and change. Thus learning processes, the dissemination of innovations or social reengineering and change cannot be explained without reference to communication.
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Communication Defined There is growing disagreement even among communication experts themselves as to which among human behaviours count as acts of communication. Communication may either be verbal (use of spoken word or sound) or non-verbal (use of gestures, facial expressions, etc.). According to Rogers et al. (1981), communication is a process that involves the exchange of ideas between two or more individuals in an attempt to arrive at convergence in meaning. James (1990) opined that communication is a process involving the passing of messages from one person to another through the use of symbols which all parties in the communication process understand. Communication is widely seen as a two-way process in which the sender (source of information/message) and receiver of information are seen as active participants who are involved in an exchange process and therefore, swap roles. Communication can be defined as: 1. The means of sending messages 2. The transmission of information 3. That situation in which a source transmits a message to a receiver with conscious intent to affect the latters behaviours. 4. The verbal interchange of thoughts or ideas 5. The process that links discontinuous parts of the living world together 6. A process that makes common to two or several what was the monopoly of one or some. Communication Process: Communication process starts with a sender/source; who has a message for a receiver. Two or more people are always involved in communication. The sender has the responsibility for the message. The sender's message travels to the receiver through one or more channels chosen by the sender. The channels may be verbal or non-verbal. They may involve only one of the senses, hearing for example, or they may involve all five of the senses: hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste. Non-verbal communication, popularly referred to as body language, relies primarily on seeing rather than hearing. Elements of commendation process The process of communication between two people includes seven basic elements: a) The intentions, ideas, feelings of the sender and the way he/she decides to behave, all of which lead to his/her sending a message that carries some content. b) The sender encoding his/her message by translating his/her ideas, feelings, emotions, and intentions into a message appropriate for sending. c) Sending the message to the receiver. d) The channel through which the message is translated. e) The receiver decoding the message by taking it and interpreting its meaning. His/her interpretation depends on how well the receiver understands the content of the message and the intentions of the sender. f) The receiver responding internally to this interpretation of the message. g) The amount of noise that interferes with communication. The source or sender is the individual or a group working together or an institution responsible for initiating communication and ensuring that the objectives of the exercise are clearly defined and achieved. In addition, the source (extension agent or practitioner) must strive to update his Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 10
knowledge through training, subject matter wise, as well as in the methodologies of communication itself. The message is the stimuli or idea that the source transmits. Messages must be clear, useful to the audience, relevant to the environment and timely with respect to their livelihood activities. Message content should be relevant to the receiver; this implies that the message sent must be technically feasible, economically beneficial and acceptable with respect to the norms and values of the society. Messages in extension communication bear particular characteristics which may enhance or hinder their acceptability by the target audience These characteristics are: 1. Relative advantage- The degree to which an idea or technological innovation is perceived as being better than the one it seeks to replace 2. Compatibility- The extent to which an idea or message is in line or attuned with socio-cultural values and beliefs of a receiver. 3. Complexity-The degree to which an idea or message is perceived as relatively difficult to use and understand. 4. Trial ability/ divisibility- The extent to which an innovation can be experimented with on limited scale. 5. Observability- The degree to which the results of an innovation or message content are visible to others 6. Risk level- The extent to which an idea or message is perceived to expose the receiver to vulnerability due to failure. A channel or medium is the means by which a message travels from the source to the receiver. The human senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste and feeling) make up the most common means of exchanging ideas. The methods include visual and oral, spoken and written. The more senses employed in the communication process, the greater the chance that it is understood. The receiver is the target or audience of communication. The audience is those, whom the source/sender wishes to receive, understand and use the idea. In extension communication it is important that the receiver of each message be clearly defined and segregated into homogenous groups for effective communication. If the audience is to make progress, the extension teacher somehow helps them to change their knowledge, attitude or behaviour. If no change takes place there has been no communication no progress. Good extension teaching requires a thorough study of audience. This means their abilities, backgrounds, interests and previous accomplishments. The more we know about the audience, the better job of teaching we can do. The effect of the communication is felt when the receiver decodes the message (attaches meaning to the symbols) and develops an idea in his mind which he may or may not use. Feedback is the response from the receiver to the source of the message. Feedback is a control device and an important indicator of the success of communication as well as areas requiring modification and further enquiry.
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UNIT TWO: MODELS OF COMMUNICATION In general, a model is a systematic representation of an object or event in idealized and abstract form. The elements of communication explained above provide the building blocks from which all models of communication are drawn. 1. Source/sender 2. Message 3. Channel/medium 4. Receiver 5. Effect, and 6. Feedback Models of communication provide a theoretical conceptual framework depicting and explaining the process of communication. Various models have tried to depict and explain communication process. Some of them include the linear model, interactional model, transactional model among others. Linear model Linear model is a one way model to communicate with others. It consists of the sender encoding a message and channeling it to the receiver in the presence of noise. Draw backs the linear model assumes that there is a clear cut beginning and end to communication. It also displays no feedback from the receiver. This is perhaps the most basic model of communication. Communication involves two people the sender and the receiver of the message. The communication process is relatively unproblematic: one person sends a message, and then another person receives it. In this way, the flow of information is linear: this model failed to illustrate various processes that take place within the key actors of the communication process and it does not also indicate the possibility of interference or barriers. There are several linear models of communication. Some of them include the Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver models which were designed to make electrical signal transmission more efficient. Shannon's Model of Communication Process Shannon's (1948) model of the communication process perhaps is the most important beginning of theoretical modeling in the field communication as a discipline. It provided, for the first time, a general model of the communication process that could be treated as the common ground of such diverse disciplines as journalism, rhetoric, linguistics, and speech and hearing sciences. Part of its success is largely due to its significant role in the reduction of communication process to a set of basic constituents that do not only explain how communication happens, but why communication sometimes fails. Notwithstanding the recent development in the field of communication studies, Shannons model of communication remains one of the first things most students learn about communication when they take an introductory communication class. Indeed, it is one of only a handful of theoretical Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 12
statements about the communication process that can be found in introductory textbooks in both mass communication and interpersonal communication. The model provides an excellent breakdown of elements of communication process into eight discrete components: 1. An information source. Presumably a person who creates a message. 2. The message, which is both sent by the information source and received by the destination. 3. A transmitter. For Shannon's immediate purpose a telephone instrument that captures an audio signal, converts it into an electronic signal, and amplifies it for transmission through the telephone network. 4. The signal, which flows through a channel. There may be multiple parallel signals, as is the case in face-to-face interaction where sound and gesture involve different signal systems that depend on different channels and modes of transmission. There may be multiple serial signals, with sound and/or gesture turned into electronic signals, radio waves, or words and pictures in a book. 5. A carrier or channel, a medium through which information/message are transmitted. The most commonly used channels include air, light, electricity, radio waves, paper, and postal systems. Note that there may be multiple channels associated with the multiple layers of transmission, as described above. 6. Noise, in the form of secondary signals that obscure or confuse the signal carried. 7. A receiver. In Shannon's conception, the receiving telephone instrument. In face to face communication a set of ears (sound) and eyes (gesture). In television, several layers of receiver, including an antenna and a television set. 8. A destination. Presumably a person who consumes and processes the message.
Channel
Figure 2.1: Shannon's (1948) linear model of communication
Interactive Model An interactional view of communication assumes that the sender who encodes a message also receives feedback from the receiver who decodes the message. This view also includes channel or medium of communication, as well as the physical environment (noise, seating arrangement, etc.). The interactive model can also liken to a two linear models stacked on top of each other. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 13
The sender channels a message to the receiver and the receiver having received the message, then becomes the sender and channels a message to the original sender in the form of feedback. The concept of feedback mechanism portrayed by this model, indicates that communication is not a one way as viewed by the linear model, but a two way process. The interactive communication model is a way to represent how two people communicate. One person, the sender, wants to send a piece of information, the message. The sender uses a communication channel, such as email or face-to-face conversation, to a second person, the receiver. Sometimes noise, a term referring to any distractions, will compromise the message. Once the receiver has the message, he or she will send feedback, letting the sender know whether the message was transmitted well and how the receiver feels about it. The communication of both people, the sender and receiver, is influenced by their individual experiences, culture, and knowledge. This is called their field of experience. The field of experience also includes communicators cultural background, ethnicity geographic location, extend of travel, and general personal experiences accumulated over the course of their lifetime. Draw backs there is feedback but it is not simultaneous.
Immediate physical environment
Sender
Encoding
Channel or medium Feedback
Decoding
Receiver
Immediate physical environment
Figure 2.2: Interactive model of communication
Transactional model The main drawback of the interactive model is that it does not indicate that communicators can both send and receive messages simultaneously. This model also fails to show that communication is a dynamic process which changes over time. The transactional model suggests that both the receiver and sender of the message change roles most of the time. The receiver is also a sender of the message, while the sender is also a receiver of the message. This model shows that the elements in communication are interdependent. Each person in the communication act is both a speaker and a listener, and can be simultaneously sending and receiving messages. This model acknowledges neither creators nor consumers of messages, preferring to label the people associated with the model as communicators who both create and consume messages. There are three implications in the transactional model: i. Transactional means that communication is an ongoing and continuously changing process. You are changing, the people with whom you are communicating are changing, and your environment is also continually changing as well. Page 14
ii.
In any transactional process, each element exists in relation to all the other elements. There is this interdependence where there can be no source without a receiver and no message without a source. Each person in the communication process reacts depending on factors such as their background, prior experiences, attitudes, cultural beliefs and self-esteem.
iii.
Figure 2.3 shows a transactional model of communication that takes into account noise or interference in communication as well as the time factor. The outer lines of the model indicate that communication happens within systems that both communicators share (e.g., a common campus, hometown, and culture) or personal systems (e.g., family, religion, friends, etc). It also takes into account changes that happen in the communicators fields of personal and common experiences. The model also labels each communicator as both sender as well as receiver simultaneously.
Figure 2.3: A transactional model of communication Source: Wood, J. T. (2009). Communication in our lives (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth.
Other models of communication include the power-in-communication model and cultural model. Power-in-communication model: Simply put, this model of communication stresses the importance of power relations in any form of communication. Not only does power influence communication; it is part of any communication situation. This is, in fact, especially so in business communication where a variety of dominant/subordinate roles are prevalent. Cultural model: Clearly, this model puts culture at the centre of the communication process. Communication happens because of culture, so there is no adequate understanding of the nature Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 15
and process of communication without recognizing the central role of culture in it. Communication involves language and other non-verbal modes of interaction; all these are culturally-shaped. Communication also involves the transmission and negotiation of meaning; these are also cultural practices. Why does communication happen? There are at least five general reasons why we communicate. These are: (1) to influence people, (2) to establish or maintain interpersonal relationships, (3) to acquire different kinds of knowledge, (4) to help people, and (5) to play .Out of these general purposes of communication emerge both some motivations for communication, as well as results which we hope to achieve by communication. UNIT THREE: SKILLS NEEDED IN COMMUNICATION Introduction Good communication skills are skills that facilitate people to communicate effectively with one another. Effectual communication engages the choice of the best communications channel, the technical know-how to use the channel, the presentation of information to the target audience, and the skill to understand responses received from others. Self development, interpersonal skills, mutual understanding, mutual cooperation and trust is also important to set a complete channel of most effective and winning communication skills Objectives: At the end this unit, students are expected to: Know what is mean by good communication skills Understand the various types of communication skills What constitute a good communication skills The role of listening in developing effective communication skills Identify barriers to communication Understand skills require to overcome the barriers of communication Types of communication skills There are mainly three types of communication skills, expressive skills, listening skills and skills for managing the overall process of communication. Expressive skills are required to convey message to others through words, facial expressions and body language. Listening skills are skills that are used to obtain messages or information from others. These help to clearly understand what a person feels and thinks about you or understand the other person closely. Skills for managing the overall process of communication help to recognize the required information and develop a strong hold on the existing rules of communication and interaction Sending Effective Messages You must be able to send messages effectively as well as receive the information that is sent to you. There are eight basic skills in making sure your ideas and feelings are effectively communicated: Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 16
1. Clearly own your message by using personal pronouns such as I and my. 2. Make your messages are complete and specific. 3. Make your verbal and nonverbal messages congruent with one another. 4. Avoid making your message redundant. 5. Ask for feedback concerning the way your messages are being received. 6. Make the message appropriate to the receiver and frame of reference. 7. Describe your feelings, by name, action or figure of speech. 8. Describe other members behaviour without evaluating or interpreting. Effective Listening Listening can have a very big effect on how people relate to one another. When you focus and really listen to the words, feelings and meanings behind what someone says, it makes it easier to gain an understanding of what that person has communicated. Listening also involves either verbally or nonverbally encouraging the speaker to continue. Listening is often separated into three levels: 1. Hearing - this is the lowest level of listening when you comprehend the spoken word, but do not react to it. It is sometimes known as a half-listen. An example is when you hear your teacher talking, but you dont know what he/she has said. 2. Listening - this is the second level of listening and it is characterized by the listener becoming more aware of the meaning of the sounds they hear. Little response occurs from the receiver of the message. 3. Perceiving - this is the highest level of listening. This level involves being attentive to the sender and processing the message thoroughly by relating it to experiences, ideas and feelings. Perceiving is critical, appreciative, and creative listening. Three things are needed before we can get others to accept the idea of exchange: 1. We should help people to feel free to express their opinions in order to establish channels of two-way communications. 2. We need to help people feel secure enough to be willing to experiment with new ideas. 3. We must be willing to respect the right of the person willing to try change or new ideas to fail, on occasion, without condemnation. Active or Reflective listening is a communication process aimed at helping the speaker to communicate meaning, feeling and intent. Often it is compared to looking in a mirror. The role of the listener is to reflect back to the speaker all the verbal and nonverbal parts of his/her message--to be the mirror of words, feelings, and actions. The speaker, then, can confirm the reflected response or restate his/her message so as to more accurately convey the intended meaning. Active listening can: Promote understanding and acceptance of others. Facilitate problem solving. Promote a relationship interactive between the sender and receiver. Influence people to be more willing to listen to others. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 17
Use of Feedback Feedback is reporting to an individual the kind of impressions he/she is making on you or reporting your reactions to him/her. Feedback is useful when: 1. It is descriptive rather than evaluative. 2. It is specific rather than general. 3. It takes into account the needs of both the receiver and the giver of feedback. 4. It is directed toward behaviour which the receiver can do something about. 5. It is solicited, rather than imposed. 6. It is well-timed. 7. It is checked to insure clear communication. Barriers to Communication Problems with any one of the components of the communication model can become a barrier to communication. These barriers suggest opportunities for improving communication. According to Bove and Thill (2000), communication barriers are usually due to a number of factors: (1) differences in perception and language, (2) Poor listening, (3) Emotional interference, (4) Cultural differences, (5) Physical distraction. Differences in perception and language Simply put, all of us have different mental images of the world or reality. Even if we experience the same thing, we may still think of it in different ways. We remember details of an experience based on what we think are worth remembering. So a speaker and a listener may not be able to understand what one is talking about because both have different things in mind. Language, too, is arbitrary. The words that we use may mean differently to different people Poor listening Having ears of our own does not necessarily mean we are good listeners. Listening is a skill that needs harnessing. Sometimes, it is a matter of attitude; we are not just interested in what people say because we may be more concerned with the way everyone looks. Focus on the message and the sincerity to understand what another person is saying are crucial elements in good listening. Emotional interference Ones state of mind and psych has direct effect on how he/she communicate effectively and also ones ability to decode or understands and relate to a message being communicated. Emotional and sentimental state of mind such as happiness, madness, excitement, agitation, nervousness, or fearfulness constitutes critical barriers to engaging in effective communication. Emotions affect the shape of communication. It is hard to be able to analyse issues objectively when you are very emotional. You may not be able to think more realistically and truthfully about the content of the message being sent or received.
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Cultural differences Nationality, age, education, social status, economic position, and religion are just some of the sources of cultural differences. If you share very little life experience with your cocommunicator, successful communication may be difficult to achieve. The same difficulty may be experienced in the workplace: even the sight of your boss might create a certain distance that will make communication an agonizing experience. Much worse is when you do not know how to deal with the boss; this is because different cultures deal with power relations differently. Physical distraction Of course, everything around may be cause for some distraction: noise coming from vehicles, faulty phone connection, unclear photocopy, loud music, poor lighting, and health problems, among others.. They may result in loss of concentration and failure to understand what is being communicated by the other party. Physical distractions are the physical things that get in the way of communication. These physical distractions are common on farms. If the phone rings, the tendency is to answer it even if the caller is interrupting a very important or even delicate conversation. Two people talking facing each other without a desk or truck-door between them have a much more open and personal sense of communication. Uncomfortable meeting places may include a place on the farm that is too hot or too cold. Another example is a meeting room with uncomfortable chairs that soon cause people to want to stand even if it means cutting short the discussion. Noise is a physical distraction simply because it is hard to concentrate on a conversation if hearing is difficult. Other factors that also present barrier to effective communication include: 1. Muddled messages - Effective communication starts with a clear message. Contrast these two messages: "Please be here about 7:00 tomorrow morning." "Please be here at 7:00 tomorrow morning." The one word difference makes the first message muddled and the second message clear. Muddled messages are a barrier to communication because the sender leaves the receiver unclear about the intent of the sender. Muddled messages have many causes. The sender may be confused in his or her thinking. The message may be little more than a vague idea. The problem may be semantics, e.g., note this muddled newspaper ad: "Dog for sale. Will eat anything. Especially likes children. Call 888-3599 for more information." Feedback from the receiver is the best way for a sender to be sure that the message is clear rather than muddled. Clarifying muddled messages is the responsibility of the sender. The sender hoping the receiver will figure out the message does little to remove this barrier to communication. 2. Stereotyping - Stereotyping causes us to typify a person, a group, an event or a thing on oversimplified conceptions, beliefs, or opinions. Stereotyping is a barrier to communication when it causes people to act as if they already know the message that is coming from the sender or worse, as if no message is necessary because "everybody already knows." Both senders and listeners should continuously look for and address thinking, conclusions and actions based on stereotypes. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 19
3. Wrong channel - Variation of channels helps the receiver understand the nature and importance of a message. Using a training video on cleaning practices helps new employees grasp the importance placed on herd health. Simple rules for selection of a channel cause more problems than they solve. In choice of a channel, the sender needs to be sensitive to such things as the complexity of the message (good morning versus a construction contract); the consequences of a misunderstanding (medication for a sick animal versus a guess about tomorrow's weather); knowledge, skills and abilities of the receiver (a new employee versus a partner in the business); and immediacy of action to be taken from the message (instructions for this morning's work versus a plan of work for 2015). 4. Language - Words are not reality. Words as the sender understands them are combined with the perceptions of those words by the receiver. Language represents only part of the whole. We fill in the rest with perceptions. Trying to understand a foreign language easily demonstrates words not being reality. Being "foreign" is not limited to the language of another country. It can be the language of another farm 5. Lack of feedback - Feedback is the mirror of communication. Feedback mirrors what the sender has sent. Feedback is the receiver sending back to the sender the message as perceived. Without feedback, communication is one-way. Feedback happens in a variety of ways. Asking a person to repeat what has been said, e.g., repeat instructions, is a very direct way of getting feedback. Feedback may be as subtle as a stare, a puzzled look, a nod, or failure to ask any questions after complicated instructions have been given. Both sender and receiver can play an active role in using feedback to make communication truly two-way. Feedback should be helpful rather than hurtful. Prompt feedback is more effective that feedback saved up until the "right" moment. Feedback should deal in specifics rather than generalities. 6. Poor listening skills - Listening is difficult. A typical speaker says about 125 words per minute. The typical listener can receive 400-600 words per minute. Thus, about 75 percent of listening time is free time. The free time often sidetracks the listener. The solution is to be an active rather than passive listener. One important listening skill is to be prepared to listen. Tune out thoughts about other people and other problems. Search for meaning in what the person is saying. A mental outline or summary of key thoughts can be very helpful. Avoid interrupting the speaker. "Shut up" is a useful listening guideline. "Shut up some more" is a useful extension of this guideline. Withhold evaluation and judgment until the other person has finished with the message. A listener's premature frown, shaking of the head, or bored look can easily convince the other person there is no reason to elaborate or try again to communicate his or her excellent idea. 7. Interruptions - The interruptions may be due to something more pressing, rudeness, lack of privacy for discussion, a drop-in visitor, an emergency, or even the curiosity of someone else wanting to know what two other people are saying. Regardless of the cause, interruptions are a barrier to communication. In the extreme, there is a reluctance of farmers even to attempt discussion with an extension officer because of the near certainty that the conversation will be interrupted. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 20
Facilitating Communication In addition to removal of specific barriers to communication, the following general guidelines may also facilitate communication. 1. Have a positive attitude about communication. Defensiveness interferes with communication. 2. Work at improving communication skills. It takes knowledge and work. The communication model and discussion of barriers to communication provide the necessary knowledge. This increased awareness of the potential for improving communication is the first step to better communication. 3. Include communication as a skill to be evaluated along with all the other skills in each person's job description. Help other people improve their communication skills by helping them understand their communication problems. 4. Make communication goal oriented. Relational goals come first and pave the way for other goals. When the sender and receiver have a good relationship, they are much more likely to accomplish their communication goals. 5. Approach communication as a creative process rather than simply part of the chore of working with people. Experiment with communication alternatives. What works with one person may not work well with another person. Vary channels, listening techniques, and feedback techniques. 6. Accept the reality of miscommunication. The best communicators fail to have perfect communication. They accept miscommunication and work to minimize its negative UNIT FOUR: INTRODUCTION TO BEHAVIOUR CHANGE COMMUNICATION Introduction Behaviour change communication (BCC) is the strategic use of communication to promote positive practices and actions, based on proven theories and models of behaviour change. BCC employs a systematic process beginning with formative research and behaviour analysis, followed by communication planning, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. Audiences are carefully segmented, messages and materials are pre-tested, and both mass media and interpersonal channels are used to achieve defined behavioural objectives. A clear understanding of behaviour change is critical in the appreciation of the concept of behaviour change communication. For that matter, this unit begins by introducing students to the concept and theories of behaviour change. Objectives After reading this unit, you are expected to: Understand what is mean by Behaviour change communication Appreciate the various theories or models of behaviour change Understand the role of communication in influencing behaviour change Understand the difference between information communication and behaviour change communication Know the factors to consider in designing and BCC program
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Behaviour Change Theory Behavioural change theories and models are attempts to explain the reasons behind alterations in individuals' behavioural patterns. These theories cite environmental, personal, and behavioural characteristics as the major factors in behavioural determination. In recent years, there has been increased interest in the application of these theories in the areas of health, education, agricultural extension and rural development with the hope that understanding behavioural change will improve the services offered in these areas. Each behavioural change theory or model focuses on different factors in attempting to explain behavioural change. Of the many that exist, the most prevalent are the learning theories, Social Cognitive Theory, Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behaviour, Transtheoretical Model and the Health Action Process Approach Self-efficacy Self-efficacy is an individual's impression of their own ability to perform a demanding or challenging task such as applying herbicide or undergoing surgery. This impression is based upon factors like the individual's prior success in the task or in related tasks, the individual's physiological state, and outside sources of persuasion. Self-efficacy is thought to be predictive of the amount of effort an individual will expend in initiating and maintaining a behavioural change, so although self-efficacy is not a behavioural change theory per se, it is an important element of many of the theories, including the Health Belief Model, the Theory of Planned Behaviour and the Health Action Process Approach. Learning theories/behaviour analytic theories of change From behaviourists like Burrhus Frederic Skinner come the learning theories, which state that complex behaviour is learned gradually through the modification of simpler behaviours (learning theory is dealt in entails in the next chapter). Imitation and reinforcement play important roles in these theories, which state that individuals learn by duplicating behaviours they observe in others and that rewards are essential to ensuring the repetition of desirable behaviour. As each simple behaviour is established through imitation and subsequent reinforcement, the complex behaviour develops. When verbal behaviour is established the organism can learn through rule-governed behaviour and thus not all action needs to be contingency shaped. Research had established that imitation play a critical role in the learning of language. Social learning/social cognitive theory According to the social learning theory, which is also known as the social cognitive theory, behavioural change is determined by environmental, personal, and behavioural elements. As shown in the figure 2.4 below, each factor affects each of the others. For example, in congruence with the principles of self-efficacy, an individual's thoughts affect their behaviour and an individual's characteristics elicit certain responses from the social environment. Likewise, an individual's environment affects the development of personal characteristics as well as the person's behaviour, and an individual's behaviour may change their environment as well as the way the individual thinks or feels. Social learning theory focuses on the reciprocal interactions between these factors, which are hypothesised to determine behavioural change. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 22
The theory proposes that people are driven not by inner forces, but by external factors. This model suggests that human functioning can be explained by a triadic interaction of behaviour, personal and environmental factors. This is often known as reciprocal determinism. Environmental factors represent situational influences and environment in which behaviour is preformed while personal factors include instincts, drives, traits, and other individual motivational forces.
Behaviour
Personal factor
Environmental
Figure 2.4: social cognitive model of behaviour change model Theory of Reasoned Action Theory of Reason Action suggests that behaviour is dependent on ones intention to perform the behaviour. Intention is determined by an individuals attitude (beliefs and values about the outcome of the behaviour) and subjective norms (beliefs about what other people think the person should do or general social pressure). Behaviour is also determined by an individuals perceived behavioural control, defined as an individuals perceptions of their ability or feelings of self-efficacy to perform behaviour. This relationship is typically dependent on the type of relationship and the nature of the situation. The Theory of Reasoned Action assumes that individuals consider behaviours consequences before performing the particular behaviour. As a result, intention is an important factor in determining behaviour and behavioural change. According to Icek Ajzen, intentions develop from an individual's perception of a behaviour as positive or negative together with the individual's impression of the way their society perceives the same behaviour. Thus, personal attitude and social pressure shape intention, which is essential to performance of a behaviour and consequently behavioural change.
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Attitude toward the behaviour
Subjective norm
Intention
Behaviour
Perceived behavioral control Figure 2.5: Reasoned Action Model of behaviour change Theory of Planned Behaviour In 1985, Ajzen expanded upon the theory of reasoned action, formulating the Theory of Planned Behaviour, which also emphasises the role of intention in behaviour performance but is intended to cover cases in which a person is not in control of all factors affecting the actual performance of a behaviour. As a result, the new theory states that the incidence of actual behaviour performance is proportional to the amount of control an individual possesses over the behaviour and the strength of the individual's intention in performing the behaviour. In his article, Ajzen further hypothesises that self-efficacy is important in determining the strength of the individual's intention to perform a behaviour. Transtheoretical (Stages of Change) Model According to the Transtheoretical Model, which is also known as the Stages of Change Model, behavioural change is a five-step process. The five stages, between which individuals may oscillate before achieving complete change, are Precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance.
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Precontemplation Contemplation
Preparation
Action
Maintenance
At the Precontemplation stage, an individual may or may not be aware of a problem but has not thought of changing their behaviour. From Precontemplation to contemplation, the individual develops a desire to change a behaviour. Precontemplation is the stage in which people are not intending to make a change in the near future (often defined as the next 6 months). Contemplation is the stage where people intend to change (within the next 6 months). People in this stage are aware of the pros of changing but also can identify the cons. Preparation represents the stage where people have a plan of action and intend to take action in the immediate future (within a month). Action is the stage in which people make the behaviour change and maintenance represents the stage where people work to prevent relapse. Finally, termination represents that stage where individuals have 100 percent efficacy and will maintain their behaviour. This stage is the most difficult to maintain, so many people remain a lifetime in maintenance.
Termination Figure 2.6: Transtheoretical Model How can this theory inform your practice? It is essential to match behaviour change interventions to peoples stages. For example, if an individual is in the Precontemplation stage it is important to raise their awareness about a behaviour in order for them to contemplate making a behaviour change. Without a planned intervention, people will remain stuck in the early stages due to a lack of motivation to move through the stages. Consciousness-Raising increasing awareness of the causes (providing educational materials, confrontation, media campaigns, feedback, etc.) Dramatic Relief producing an emotional experience which is followed by a reduced affect if some action can be taken (personal testimonies, media campaigns, drama) Self-reevaluation inviting individuals to make cognitive and emotional assessments of their self image (clarify values, provide healthy models, using imagery) Environmental reevaluation assessments of how the presence or absence of a behaviour might impact ones social environment (documentaries, personal stories, family interventions) Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) Recent findings in research and development have given a strong indication that, for any impact of research and technology to be felt in the lives of rural people extension and development communication practitioners should move from Information, Education Communication (IEC) to Behaviour Change Communication (BCC). The terms BCC and IEC are commonly used. What exactly do they mean and what is the difference between BCC and IEC? Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 25
Information, Education and Communication: IEC is a process of working with individuals, communities and societies to: - develop communication strategies to promote positive behaviours which are appropriate to their settings. Behaviour Change Communication BCC is a process of working with individuals, communities and societies to: - develop communication strategies to promote positive behaviours which are appropriate to their settings; AND - provide a supportive environment which will enable people to initiate and sustain positive behaviours. What is the difference between BCC and IEC? Experience has shown that providing people with information and telling them how they should behave (teaching them) is not enough to bring about behaviour change. While providing information to help people to make a personal decision is a necessary part of behaviour change, BCC recognizes that behaviour is not only a matter of having information and making a personal choice. Behaviour change also requires a supportive environment. Recalling the behaviour change model, we learned that behaviour is influenced by community and society. Yet community and society provide the supportive environment necessary for behaviour change. IEC is thus part of BCC while BCC builds on IEC. Designing BCC program Before designing a BCC intervention, it is important to be clear about exactly whose behaviour is to be influenced and which aspect of their behaviour should be the focus for change. Communities are made up of different groups with different resource endearment, risk and vulnerability factors. Even within the same broad group, there may be subgroups with distinct socio-economic characteristics. Different target groups will require different approaches. Therefore, when making decisions about which target groups and which factors to address, it is necessary to consider: which target groups are most vulnerable; which risk / vulnerability factors are most important; which target groups and risk / vulnerability factors the community wants to address; what could be motivators for behaviour change; what could be barriers to behaviour change; what type of messages will be meaningful to each target group; which communication media would best reach the target group; which services/resources are accessible to the target group; Which target groups and risk / vulnerability factors are feasible in terms of expertise, resources and time. What be the feedback mechanism How will progress be monitored and evaluated
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A successful BCC program requires careful research and thorough pre-testing of communication materials. It is important not to underestimate the effort that is needed to carry out good quality behavioural research, which yields findings that are accurate and useful. Research and proper planning form the foundation of an effective communication campaign. Knowing the needs of the population and the best means of reaching that audience are crucial in achieving the goal of raising awareness and, ultimately, changing attitudes and behavioursThe key is to determine the needs and desires of the audience, then deliver messages and products that offer real benefits. (AIDSCAP Electronic library.) SUMMARY The main points in this chapter are: The process of communication is fundamental to extension, training and passing on information. In general, communication can be defined as: That situation in which a source transmits a message to a receiver with conscious intent to affect the latters behaviour The communication process consists of six important elements, they include: Source/sender, Message, Channel/medium, Receiver, Effect and Feedback. Communication barriers are usually due to a number of factors: (1) differences in perception and language, (2) Poor listening, (3) Emotional interference, (4) Cultural differences, (5) Physical distraction BCC is a process of working with individuals, communities and societies to develop communication strategies to promote positive behaviours which are appropriate to their settings AND provide a supportive environment which will enable people to initiate and sustain positive behaviours. CONCLUSION In this unit you have learnt the meaning of communication and the important elements that comprises the communication process. Other areas discussed here include communication models and its comparison. From these discussions, you now know that communication is something we encounter everyday in our lives.
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CHAPTERTHREE
TEACHING AND LEARNING IN EXTENSION
Introduction Teaching simply connotes imparting knowledge or skills. Teaching is both a science and art of imparting knowledge, skills and practice aim at influence behaviour of learners. Extension teaching is special aspects of adult education in which the concept and principle of adult teaching and learning applied in assisting farmers adopt appropriate innovation to help improve standard of living of rural people. UNIT ONE: THE CONCEPT OF TEACHING Objectives At the end of this unit, you would be able to: Understand the meaning of extension teaching Identify steps in extension teaching How to motivate learners as an extension worker What is Extension Teaching? Various psychologists defined teaching in different ways: Teaching is commonly defined as an intimate contact between a more mature personality, and a less mature one, which is designed to further the education of the latter. Teaching is an interactive process primarily involving classroom talk, which takes place between teacher and pupil, and occurs during certain definable activities. Teaching is a task of a teacher, which is performed for the development of a child. The above definitions depict a more formalized way of looking at teaching in a narrow classroom situation. The concept of teaching as applied within the context of rural development transcend beyond a narrow classroom situation and a more formalize manner guided by a pre determined syllabus and curriculum. Teaching in the context of extension and development can be thought of as providing purposeful direction, and, the management of the learning process. Note that extension teaching is not giving knowledge or skills to people or communities; but assisting rural people to produce relatively permanent change through their engagement in learning experiences. Society, they say is dynamic, so rural people are constantly undergoing changes in the way they do things through learning and experience. So it the duty of extension and development workers to help manage this process by providing opportunity for rural people to improve on their livelihood activities and standard of living through learning experience.
Steps in Extension Teaching

The following steps are involved in the extension teaching process as shown in the Figure 3.1 Attention, Interest, Desire, Conviction, Action and Satisfaction
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SATISFACTION ACTION CONVICTION DESIRE INTEREST ATTENTION

Fig. 3.1: Steps in Extension Teaching (Wilson and Gallup, 1955)
Attention: The first task as an extension and development professional is to attract the attention of people to new and better ideas for development. People are to be made aware until their attention is focused on the desirable development change. Therefore, attention is the starting point to arousal of the interest. Research findings suggest that the attention of people is attracted by various senses in the following proportions (Reddy, 1998): Seeing - 87.0% Hearing - 7.0% Smell - 3.5 % Touch - 1.5 % Taste - 1 .0 %, The famous extension saying is, 'seeing is believing '. Thus, seeing and hearing are the major senses involved to attract attention and increase learning. Interest: Once attention is captured, extension and development professionals can bring the audience's attention to developmental needs and arouse their interest in further consideration of ideas. Extension and development professionals should make them understand how development contributes to the overall wellbeing of the total community. Desire: It concerns about the continuation of the audience's interest in the developmental ideas or better practices, until that interest becomes a desire, or, a motivating force. Conviction: In this step, people know what action is necessary and just how to take that action. The extension worker also makes sure that people visualize the action in terms of their own situation and acquire confidence in their own ability to participate in the people-centred developmental initiatives. Action: Unless this conviction is converted into action, the efforts of extension for development will go unrewarded. It is the job of extension and development agents to make it easy for the people to act. For example, if the adoption of a new high yielding maize variety is the action Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 29
needed by farmers, that variety should be available within the reach of farming communities along with other recommended package of practices. If the action does not quickly follow desire and conviction, the new idea may fade away. Therefore, this phase should never be ignored. Satisfaction: Satisfaction is the end product of extension teaching process. Follow up by extension and development workers helps people to learn and evaluate the development progress. Motivation in Extension Teaching The job of extension practitioners entails creating situation and opportunity for farmers to learn improve practice of farming through instructional and communication process. Therefore, knowing what motivate their clients is very imperative if the practitioners are to be successful their profession. Motivation is a concept that helps explain why people think and behave as they do. Motivating adult learners is a key concept for adult programs in agricultural extension education. As defined by Wlodkowski (1999) Motivation is the natural human capacity to direct energy in the pursuit of a goal. A low level of motivation can be detrimental to how much a learner gains from a program. However, educational and rural development research is more focused on the teaching methods that ensue after the learner is motivated. As a result, knowledge of how to arouse and maintain student interest in learning lags far behind the knowledge of how to facilitate learning once the student has the desire to learn. However, facilitators of an adult education program can encourage and enhance a learners motivation and help the learner come out from a program with the knowledge and skills they need. Types of Motivation Rienties et al, (2009) identified three categories of motivating learners. These are; intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and a-motivation. However, other available literature points to the first two as being the only distinct type of motivation for adult learner. Intrinsic motivation is an internal energy called forth by circumstances that connect with what is culturally significant to the person. In other words, intrinsic motivation relates to those things that are near and dear to the learners because of their values, beliefs, or circumstances. Motivation is a critical element in cognitive, social, and physical development because it is through acting on ones inherent interests that one grows in knowledge and skills With intrinsic motivation, the desire to learn is based on reward of personal fulfillment without external or material incentives. Intrinsic motivation therefore refers to motivation that is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on any external pressure. Learners are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:
attribute their educational results to factors under their own control Page 30
o o
believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are not determined by luck), are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good grades.
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the individual. Common extrinsic motivations are rewards like money, farm inputs, coercion and threat of punishment. Competition in general is extrinsic because it encourages the performer to win and beat others, not to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity. Here, the learner engages in learning as a means to an end and not engaged for its own sake. When a person is extrinsically motivated to learn, factors outside personal interest of the learner are the driving factor behind motivation. Hancocks (1994) observed that a learners motivation can be derived from one of three attitudes the learner possess about a program. These attitudes can either be a persons expectancy, instrumentality, or valence. Expectancy relates to a learners initial confidence and attitude toward a program. It is a learners expectation of how well they will accomplish the program. Instrumentality regards rewards for certain behaviours. It is a persons subjective estimation of the likelihood that a particular behaviour will be rewarded. Theories of Motivation Incentive theory A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the occurrence of an action (i.e. behaviour) with the intent to cause the behaviour to occur again. This is done by associating positive meaning to the behaviour. Studies show that if the person receives the reward immediately, the effect is greater, and decreases as duration lengthens. Repetitive action-reward combination can cause the action to become habit. Motivation comes from two sources: oneself, and other people. These two sources are called intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, respectively as explained above. Incentive theory treats motivation and behaviour of the individual as they are influenced by beliefs, such as engaging in activities that are expected to be profitable. Incentive theory is promoted by behavioural psychologists, such as B.F. Skinner and literalized by behaviourists, especially by Skinner in his philosophy of Radical behaviourism, to mean that a person's actions always have social ramifications: and if actions are positively received people are more likely to act in this manner, or if negatively received people are less likely to act in that manner. Drive-reduction theories There are a number of drive theories. The Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the concept that we have certain biological drives, such as hunger. As time passes, the strength of the drive increases if it is not satisfied (in this case by eating). Upon satisfying a drive the drive's strength is reduced. The theory is based on diverse ideas from the theories of Freud to the ideas of feedback control systems, such as a thermostat. Other theories which provide theoretical explanation of learning motivation include cognitive Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 31
dissonance theory, Maslow hierarchy of need theory, Herzber hygiene theory among others. Principles of motivating Learners Basic principles of motivation exist that are applicable to learning in any situation. 1. The environment can be used to focus the student's attention on what needs to be learned. Teachers who create warm and accepting yet business-like atmospheres will promote persistent effort and favorable attitudes toward learning. This strategy will be successful in children and in adults. Interesting visual aids, such as booklets, posters, or practice equipment, motivate learners by capturing their attention and curiosity. 2. Incentives motivate learning. Incentives include privileges and receiving praise from the instructor. The instructor determines an incentive that is likely to motivate an individual at a particular time. In a general learning situation, self-motivation without rewards will not succeed. Students must find satisfaction in learning based on the understanding that the goals are useful to them or, less commonly, based on the pure enjoyment of exploring new things. 3. Internal motivation is longer lasting and more self-directive than is external motivation, which must be repeatedly reinforced by praise or concrete rewards. Some individuals -- particularly children of certain ages and some adults -- have little capacity for internal motivation and must be guided and reinforced constantly. The use of incentives is based on the principle that learning occurs more effectively when the student experiences feelings of satisfaction. Caution should be exercised in using external rewards when they are not absolutely necessary. Their use may be followed by a decline in internal motivation. 4. Learning is most effective when an individual is ready to learn, that is, when one wants to know something. Sometimes the student's readiness to learn comes with time, and the instructor's role is to encourage its development. If a desired change in behavior is urgent, the instructor may need to supervised directly to ensure that the desired behavior occurs. If a student is not ready to learn, he or she may not be reliable in following instructions and therefore must be supervised and have the instructions repeated again and again. 5. Motivation is enhanced by the way in which the instructional material is organized. In general, the best organized material makes the information meaningful to the individual. One method of organization includes relating new tasks to those already known. Other ways to relay meaning are to determine whether the persons being taught understand the final outcome desired and instruct them to compare and contrast ideas. None of the techniques will produce sustained motivation unless the goals are realistic for the learner. The basic learning principle involved is that success is more predictably motivating than is failure. Ordinarily, people will choose activities of intermediate uncertainty rather than those that are difficult (little likelihood of success) or easy (high probability of success). For goals of Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 32
high value there are fewer tendencies to choose more difficult conditions. Having learners assist in defining goals increases the probability that they will understand them and want to reach them. However, students sometimes have unrealistic notions about what they can accomplish. Possibly they do not understand the precision with which a skill must be carried out or have the depth of knowledge to master some material. To identify realistic goals, instructors must be skilled in assessing a student's readiness or a student's progress toward goals.
UNIT TWO: LEARNING IN EXTENSION Introduction In unit one of this chapter, we discussed the concept of teaching in extension. The concept of learning is closely associated with teaching. To learn means to gain or acquire knowledge through experience. Learning refers to the change in a subject's behaviour, or acquisition of potential to act or behave in response to the subject encounter or experience given the situation. Objectives By the end of this unit, students would be able to: To understand what mean by learning Factors influencing learning Understand the general principles of adult learning The role of learning in behaviour change Learning Defined In broad terms, the concept of learning is very difficult to have a conclusive, universally acceptable and all embracing definition which takes on board all the various theoretical viewpoints that have been put forward to explain the concept of learning. For instance, whereas Marx (1971) as cited in Amissah et al, (2009) as a behaviourist defines learning as a relative enduring (permanent) change in behaviour or experience . Wittock (1977) again cited in Amissah et al, (2009) belong to cognitivist tradition sees learning as a process of acquiring a relatively permanent information, ability and skills through experience. In psychology and education, learning is commonly defined as a process that brings together cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences and experiences for acquiring, enhancing, or making changes in one's knowledge, skills, values, and world views (Illeris, 2004). It is a common thing to hear learning being looked at as a processing of acquiring knowledge, skills, and forming habit, values and behaviour. Some people believe that learning comprises of the process by which we use our senses, experience, memory and intelligence to acquire much behaviour, many habits, and customs all values, knowledge and skills, both mental and muscular (Amissah et al, 2009; 69). Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 33
Chauhan (1991) as cited in Amissah et al, (2009) defines the concept of learning as the means to bring changes in the behaviour of organism, while Gagne (1977) puts it as a change in man deposition or capacity which endure over a period of time and which is not simply ascribable to the processes of growth. In all, regardless of which theoretical viewpoint, all known definitions of learning seem to point to the fact that it is a relatively permanent change in behaviour resulting from experience. Issues involved in the Definition of learning i. Learning must involve a change in behaviour: thus learning which inherent in the organism is observable through overt change in behaviour of the organism. This means after learning, the organism is, or must be capable of doing something that it could not do before the learning experience or activity. It may be asserted then that the process or mechanism of learning is a psychological construction which cannot be observed directly, but the evidence that learning has occurred can be inferred from the change in the organisms behaviour (Amissah et al, 2009). The behaviour change is relatively permanent: that is, the change should be enduring and neither transitory nor fixed. As observed by Gagne (1977) that learning is a change in man deposition or capacity which endure over a period of time and which is not simply ascribable to the processes of growth. Changes resulting from mans physiological or chronological processes such as changes in behaviour as a result of fatigue, drugs, and maturational processes cannot be attributed to learning. The change in behaviour needs not occur immediately following the experience: thus learning may result in the acquisition of capacity or deposition to act or response to a stimuli or situation in way that one was not initially capable of doing, but such acquired capacity might not necessarily result in immediate change in behaviour. Although there may be a potential to act differently, this potential to act may not be translated into behaviour immediately. The change in behaviour should result of experience or practice: the ability to act in a certain way or response differently to stimuli which from learning is a product of experience or practice. Studying, experiencing and practicing are some of the means of learning and hence any change in behaviour as a result of learning is a product of experience or practice. The experience or practice must be reinforced: thus only responses that pay off or reward will be repeated (reinforced) and hence learnt. Notwithstanding some learning can take place without reinforcement or reward.
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General Principles of Adult Learning Agricultural extension education, being a specialized form of adult education in agriculture and rural livelihood in general, adopt and applied the concept and principles of adult education in Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 34
accomplishing desirable change and improvement in the lives of rural people. Therefore being an effective instructor involves understanding how adults learn best. Compared to children and teens, adults have special needs and requirements as learners. Despite the growing interest and recognition, adult learning is a relatively new area of study. The field of adult learning was pioneered by Malcom Knowles. He identified the following characteristics of adult learners:
Adults are autonomous and self-directed. Adults need to be free to direct themselves without any compulsory. If any at all, they must be appeal to rather than compel. Therefore extension educators must actively involve participants, who are mostly adults in the learning process and serve as facilitators rather than teacher as it is in a formal classroom situation. Specifically, they must get participants' perspectives about what topics to cover and let them work on projects that reflect their interests. They should allow the participants to assume responsibility for presentations and group leadership. They have to be sure to act as facilitators, guiding participants to their own knowledge rather than supplying them with facts. Finally, they must demonstrate to participants or learners how positively the learning process will impact on their lives. Adults have accumulated a foundation of life experiences and knowledge that may include work-related activities, family responsibilities, and previous education. They need to connect learning to this knowledge/experience base. To help them do so, they should draw out participants' experience and knowledge which is relevant to the topic. They must relate theories and concepts to the participants and recognize the value of experience in learning. Adults are goal-oriented. Adult do not engage in learn process just because they want to explore or for the fun of it. They will only embark on a learning process if they know that it will help them deal with certain asperse of their lives or enable them perform better their work or profession. They, therefore, appreciate an educational program that is organized and has clearly defined elements. Instructors must show participants how this learning process will help them attain their goals. This classification of goals and course objectives must be done early in the course. Adults are relevancy-oriented. They must see a reason for learning something. Learning has to be applicable to their work or other responsibilities to be of value to them. Therefore, instructors must identify objectives for adult participants before the course begins. This means, also, that theories and concepts must be related to a setting familiar to participants. This need can be fulfilled by letting participants choose projects that reflect their own interests. Adults are practical, focusing on the aspects of a lesson most useful to them in their work. They may not be interested in knowledge for its own sake. Instructors must tell participants explicitly how the lesson will be useful to them on the job. As do all learners, adults need to be shown respect. Instructors must acknowledge the wealth of experiences that adult participants bring to the classroom. These adults should be treated as equals in experience and knowledge and allowed to voice their opinions freely in class.
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UNIT THREE: LEARNING THEORY Introduction Learning as a process focuses on what happens when the learning takes place. Explanations of what happens constitute learning theories. A learning theory is an attempt to describe how people and animals learn. These theorists help us gain a deeper understanding of the inherently complex process of learning. Objectives: At the end of this unit, students should be able to: Explain the various theories of learning Appreciate the point of view of the behaviourists and the cognitivists Distinguish the difference between the various theories Differentiate between classical and operant conditioning as it relate to learning Relate the various theories to extension teaching and learning Learning Theory Learning theories have two main values according to Hill (2002). One is in providing us with vocabulary and a conceptual framework for interpreting the examples of learning that we observe. The other is in suggesting where to look for solutions to practical problems. The theories do not give us solutions, but they do direct our attention to those variables that are crucial in finding solutions. There are three main categories or philosophical frameworks under which learning theories fall: Behaviourism, Cognitivism, and Constructivism. Behaviourism focuses only on the objectively observable aspects of learning. Cognitive theories look beyond behaviour to explain brain-based learning. And constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts. Behaviourist Learning Theory Behaviourism is a school of psychology that focuses on the observable, measurable aspects of experience and that, educationally, is stimulus-response based. Behaviourism, as a learning theory, can be traced back to Aristotle, whose essay "Memory" focused on associations being made between events such as lightning and thunder. Other philosophers that followed Aristotle's thoughts are Hobbs (1650), Hume (1740), Brown (1820), Bain (1855) and Ebbinghause (1885) (Black, 1995). The behaviourists can also be referred to as Stimulus Response (S-R) theorists, Associationists and Connectionists or Connectivists. The behaviourist explains learning as the process of establishing bonds or connection or association between stimuli and response. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 36
The theory of behaviourism concentrates on the study of overt behaviour that can be observed and measured. It views the mind as a "black box" in the sense that response to stimulus can be observed quantitatively, totally ignoring the possibility of thought processes occurring in the mind. Some key players in the development of the behaviourist theory were Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike and Skinner. What characterize these investigators are their common underlying assumptions about the process of learning. In essence, three basic assumptions are held to be true. First, learning is manifested by a change in behaviour. Second, the environment shapes behaviour. And third, the principles of contiguity (how close in time two events must be for a bond to be formed) and reinforcement (any means of increasing the likelihood that an event will be repeated) are central to explaining the learning process. For behaviourism, learning is the acquisition of new behaviour through conditioning. Below are some of the experiments of the behavioural theorists. Pavlovs Classical Conditioning A Russian physiologist by name Ivan Pavlov discovered the classical conditioning by accident at the beginning of the twentieth century. Pavlov was studying digestive process of dogs when he observed that dogs salivated (drooled) before they received their food. On further experimentation, Pavlov used a bell and meat powder as food. Before giving the dog food Pavlov used to ring the bell and follow it with the food. He then measure the how much the dog drool (salivary response of the dog). On continue bases the bell was ring before the food is presented. At first, the dog did not salivate or drooled when the bell was rung until the food is presented before it begun salivating. However, upon a several pairing of the ringing of the bell and presentation of food, the dog began to salivate when the sound of the bell is presented. Pavlov explained that the dog learns to establish connection or association between the sound of the bell and presentation of food and hence it begins responding to the sound of the bell (by drooling) as though it was a natural stimulus of that of food. Upon further observation, Pavlov realized that even when he took away the meat powder the dog start to salivate at the sound of the bell. This observation revealed that, as far as the dogs immediate physiological responses were concerned, the sound of the bell became equivalent to the presentation of the food. Pavlov coined this phenomenon psychic secretions. He noted that the dog was not only responding to a biological need of hunger, but also a need developed by learning. This association of learning is called classical conditioning. There are two types of possible conditioning: 1) Classical Conditioning, where the behaviour becomes a reflex response to stimulus as in the case of Pavlovs s Dogs. Thus in classical conditioning, an organism learns to associate one stimulus with another. The organism learns that the first stimulus is a cue for the second stimulus. Pavlov in his dog bell experiment was interested in studying reflexes, when he saw that the dogs drooled without the proper stimulus. Although no food was in sight, their saliva still dribbled. There are three phases of classical conditioning. These are a) unconditioned phase, b) conditioning phase and c) conditioned phase. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 37
In the unconditioned phase the food which is unconditioned stimulus elicits salivation when presented and this response is unconditioned response. With conditioning phase; the process of pairing of food (unconditioned stimuli) and the sound of the bell (neutral stimulus at the beginning) resulting in the dog associating the sound of the bell with presentation of food. While the conditioned phase illustrate the time when the bell acquires the attributes of food by association in the psych of the dog thereby eliciting the same response as that of the food. 2) Operant Conditioning: where there is reinforcement of the behaviour by a reward or a punishment. The theory of operant conditioning was developed by B.F Skinner and is known as Radical Behaviourism. The word operant refers to the way in which behaviour operates on the environment. Briefly, a behaviour may result either in reinforcement, which increases the likelihood of the behaviour recurring, or punishment, which decreases the likelihood of the behaviour recurring. It is important to note that, a punishment is not considered to be applicable if it does not result in the reduction of the behaviour, and so the terms punishment and reinforcement are determined as a result of the actions. Within this framework, behaviourists are particularly interested in measurable changes in behaviour. Since behaviourists view the learning process as a change in behaviour, educators arrange the environment to elicit desired responses through such devices as behavioural objectives, competency based education, and skill development and training. Some key concepts in operant conditioning: Reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behaviour it follows. There are two kinds of reinforcers: 1. Positive reinforcers are favourable events or outcomes that are presented after the behaviour. In situations that reflect positive reinforcement, a response or behaviour is strengthened by the addition of something, such as praise or a direct reward. 2. Negative reinforcers involve the removal of an unfavourable events or outcomes after the display of a behaviour. In these situations, a response is strengthened by the removal of something considered unpleasant. In both of these cases of reinforcement, the behaviour increases. Punishment, on the other hand, is the presentation of an adverse event or outcome that causes a decrease in the behaviour it follows. There are two kinds of punishment: 1. Positive punishment, sometimes referred to as punishment by application, involves the presentation of an unfavourable event or outcome in order to weaken the response it follows. 2. Negative punishment, also known as punishment by removal, occurs when a favourable event or outcome is removed after a behaviour occurs. In both of these cases of punishment, the behaviour decreases. Thorndikes Instrumental learning (trial error) Theory Edward Lee Thorndike (1874 - 1949), a professor of psychology is one of the well acclaimed behaviourists. He perform an investigation usually refers to as a puzzle box experiments from Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 38
which he formulated his theory of learning known as Instrumental Learning or Trial and Error success learning. In his experiment, a hungry cat was confined in a puzzle box and a plate of meat was placed outside the box. An observation was made to see how the cat finds its way out of the box in order to eat the meat. The cats initial attempt to find its way out of the box was more random. In its efforts of randomly struggling to get out of the box, the cat accidently step on latch which is designed to open the box when press. It then opens for the cat to access the meat. On subsequent trials, the cats behaviour became less random as it focused on the part of the box where the latch is located. Hence the escape time of the cat increasingly decreases until it eventually operated the release as soon as it is put in the box. Thorndike then concluded that animals learn through active behaviour, accidents, and through chance to success. Through trial and error, the stimuli (S) or the puzzle box were connected with the response (R) which brought about the release. This type of learning is Instrumental. Instrumental behaviours are learned behaviours that serve a purpose. They are instrumental in helping someone to obtain a desire goal. Based on the findings of his experiment, Thorndike formulated three laws which he believed governed the learning of both animals and human. The law of Effect: this law states that when a response is followed by a feeling of satisfaction, it is likely to be repeated in a similar situation. In the other hand, responses which elicit little or no satisfaction would not be repeated or will be less likely to be repeated. The law of effect is based on the emotional reaction of human and animals. It has a direct relationship to motivation. The principle of effect is that learning is strengthened when accompanied by a pleasant or satisfying feeling, and that learning is weakened when associated with an unpleasant feeling. The learner will strive to continue doing what provides a pleasant effect to continue learning. Positive reinforcement is more apt to lead to success and motivate the learner, so the instructor (extension agent) should recognize and commend improvement. Whatever the learning situation, it should contain elements that affect the learners positively and give them a feeling of satisfaction. The law of Exercise: The law of exercise states that those things most often repeated are best remembered. It is the basis of drill and practice. It has been proven that students learn best and retain information longer when they have meaningful practice and repetition. The key here is that the practice must be meaningful. It is clear that practice leads to improvement only when it is followed by positive feedback. The human memory is fallible. The mind can rarely retain, evaluate, and apply new concepts or practices after a single exposure. Students do not learn complex tasks in a single session. They learn by applying what they have been told and shown. Every time practice occurs, learning continues. These include student recall, review and summary and manual drill and physical applications. All of these serve to create learning habits. The instructor must repeat important items of subject matter at reasonable
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interval, and provide opportunities for students to practice while making sure that this process is directed toward a goal. The law of Readiness: Readiness implies a degree of single-mindedness and eagerness. Individuals learn best when they are physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to learn, and they do not learn well if they see no reason for learning. Getting students ready to learn, creating interest by showing the value of the subject matter, and providing continuous mental or physical challenge, is usually the instructors responsibility. If students have a strong purpose, a clear objective, and a definite reason for learning something, they make more progress than if they lack motivation. When students are ready to learn, they meet the instructor at least halfway, and this simplifies the instructors job. Since learning is an active process, students must have adequate rest, health, and physical ability. Basic needs of students must be satisfied before they are ready or capable of learning. Students who are exhausted or in ill health obviously cannot learn much. If outside responsibilities, interests, or worries weigh too heavily on their minds, if their schedules are overcrowded, or if their personal problems seem insoluble, students may have little interest in learning. Skinner started his experimentation on the behaviour of animals at the beginning of 1930s. Skinner was interested in studying the relationship between stimuli and response. His main focus was to find answer to why these animals behaved the way that they do. Skinner performed his experiments using a controlled mechanised box which was latter refer to as skinner box. A Skinner box typically contains one or more levers which an animal can press, one or more stimulus lights and one or more places in which reinforcers like food can be delivered. The animal's presses on the levers can be detected and recorded and a contingency between these presses, the state of the stimulus lights and the delivery of reinforcement can be set up, all automatically. It is also possible to deliver other reinforcers such as water or to deliver punishers like electric shock through the floor of the chamber. Other types of response can be measured - nose-poking at a moving panel, or hopping on a treadle - both often used when testing birds rather than rats. And of course all kinds of discriminative stimuli may be used. Below is illustration of a pigeon in a Skinner box.
Figure 3.2: Skinner Box Experiment
To establish operant behaviour or learning, a starved pigeon was placed in the skinners box and allows operate by itself its new environment. The pigeon after a random peaking for a while eventually pressed the lever and a food pellet was delivered. Each time the lever was pressed it was recorded, and after a time Skinner noted that the pigeon pressed the lever more
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frequently to obtain the food pellets. According to Skinner, the pigeon has learned to operate on the environment to obtain a reward. Skinner hypothesed that human behaviours were controlled by rewards and punishment and that behaviour can be explained by principle of operant conditioning. Skinner further claimed that most human behaviours appear to be emitted and not elicited by stimuli, he called respondents. Skinner also called operant learning as instrumental learning, just like Thorndike. John Watson theory of learning John Watson: Watson in his publication entitled psychology as the behaviourist views it sometimes called "The Behaviourist Manifesto" in 1913 in which called for emphasis to be placed on external behaviour of people and their response on given situations or stimuli, rather than the internal, mental cognition process of those people. Watson called for the use of scientific objectivity and experiment in the study of psychological phenomena such as learning rather than the retrospective analysis. With regard to his theory of learning, he proposed a law of frequency and the law of recency. The laws are: The law or principle of Frequency; the more frequent a stimulus and response to occur in association with each other, the stronger that habit will become." The law of recency: "The response that has most recently occurred after a particular stimulus is the response most likely to be associated with that stimulus." In other words, the principle of recency states that things most recently learned are best remembered. Conversely, the further a learner is removed time-wise from a new fact or understanding, the more difficult it is to remember.
Cognitive Theory of Learning Behaviourists have been criticized for being too dependent on overt or observable behaviour in explaining learning in the 1920s by Gestalt psychologists such as Bode. Gestalt psychologists laid emphasis on looking at the patterns rather than isolated events. Gestalt views of learning constitute antecedent of the views of explaining learning that have been labeled cognitive theories. Two key assumptions underpin this cognitive approach of explaining how people learn: (1) that the memory system is an active organized processor of information and (2) that prior knowledge plays an important role in learning. Cognitive theories look beyond behaviour to explain brain-based learning. Cognitivists consider how human memory works to promote learning. For example, the physiological processes of sorting and encoding information and events into short term memory and long term memory are important to educators working under the cognitive theory. The major difference between
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Gestaltists and behaviourists is the locus of control over the learning activity: the individual learner is more key to Gestaltists than the environment that behaviourists emphasize.
Constructivism The learning theories of Jean Piaget, Jerome Bruner, Lev Vygotsky and John Dewey serve as the foundation of constructivist learning theory. Constructivism views learning as a process in which the learner actively constructs or builds new ideas or concepts based upon current and past knowledge or experience. In other words, "learning involves constructing one's own knowledge from one's own experiences." Constructivist learning, therefore, is a very personal endevour, whereby internalized concepts, rules, and general principles may consequently be applied in a practical real-world context. This is also known as social constructivism. Social constructivists posit that knowledge is constructed when individuals engage socially in talk and activity about shared problems or tasks. Learning is seen as the process by which individuals are introduced to a culture by more skilled members". Constructivism itself has many variations, such as Active learning, discovery learning, and knowledge building. Regardless of the variety, constructivism promotes a student's free exploration within a given framework or structure. The teacher acts as a facilitator who encourages students to discover principles for themselves and to construct knowledge by working to solve realistic problems. Aspects of constructivism can be found in self-directed learning, transformational learning, experiential learning, situated cognition, and reflective practice and religious practice.
Implication of learning Theory Learning theories are the basic materials which are usually applied in all educational and training activities. The more one understands learning theories, the better he or she will be able to make decisions and apply them to achieving the objectives. The behaviourists, the cognitivists, and the constructivist emphasize different aspects of the teaching-learning process in their approaches. While the behaviourists stress external conditions (environment) resulting in observations and measurable changes in behaviour, the cognitivists are more concerned with how the mind works (mental processes such as coding, categorizing, and representing information in memory). In extension systems, effective training must be able to take care of all the theories of learning in order to change the action, belief, and knowledge components of a trainee simultaneously. These theories of learning play a role in influencing instructional design. Aspects of cognitivism can be found in learning how to learn, social role acquisition, intelligence, learning, and memory as related to age. Educators employing a cognitivist approach to learning would view learning as internal mental process (including insight, information processing, memory, perception) where in order to develop learner capacity and skills to improve learning, the educator structures content of Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 42
learning activities to focus on building intelligence and cognitive and meta-cognitive development. Aspects of constructivism can be found in self-directed learning, transformational learning, experiential learning, situated cognition, and reflective practice and religious practice.
UNIT FOUR: EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING Experience is the adult learners living textbook" as it provides the bases for judging new ideas and conceptualizing new concepts. Because of it role in influencing adult learning emphasis is placed on experience by extension educators. Experiential learning came about through the efforts of those noted scholars such as Dewey, Rogers, Jung, Piaget, and Kolb. According to Rogers, there are two primary types of learning environments. These are Cognitive and experiential. Cognitive refers to a learning process whereby delivered instruction such as vocabulary, geography, and history is memorized and later regurgitated for standardized testing purposes. Experiential learning however relates to information that is processed and practiced by the learners in such a way that learning occurs in more than one learning style. Each of these learning styles involves the senses of the individual, and not all individuals learn best through the same ways as others. Visual learners effectively retain information presented to them in any of the visual stimuli that are available. Overhead transparencies, traditional chalk boards and marker boards, and all of the electronic educational aids found in education allow individuals with this learning style an optimum way of information retention. Auditory learners retain the information they desire through methods of instruction that target the hearing process. Auditory activities such as discussion of topics among colleague farmers, instructor facilitating discussion, and the nuances of human speech, allows for the ideal stimulation of this learner. Kinesthetic learners do not see a relevance to information that they cannot learn through a hands on process or practice. This learning style lends itself as the ideal learning environment for those who become distracted easily if they do not find ownership in the educational process. Components of Experiential Learning There is a popular saying "What a man hears, he may doubt; what he sees, he may possibly doubt, but what he does, he cannot doubt". Nothing truer describes the benefits of experiential learning. This model of learning allows learners the opportunity to experience their education in a hands on enriched environment whereby their learning takes on a meaning that they can relate to. By utilizing this conceptual model, adults advance through five steps to fully learn new skills and knowledge. Extension has always had a rich history of "learning by doing." Extension professional also work through the experiential learning process. The learning process in experiential learning is divided into five basic steps
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1. Concrete experience (Doing): Here learners are first allowed to experience the learning opportunity through a hands on minds on approach. This step allows the individual an opportunity to explore and discern all of the aspects of the learning situation that they are participating in. Concrete experience called for an opportunity to engage learners in an investigation through an activity of some kind but is done with little or no help from the facilitator/teacher. However, the experience must include defined learning objectives. Experiential learning posits that it is not important that the quantity or quality of an experiential experience is certain, but what the student learns from the experience is of the most importance. Being the first step in the learning process, if nothing involving the steps of progression occurs after this point, then the learning is purely cognitive and considered to be useless. 2. Share or Reflection (What happened?): The following step of the process known as share or reflection, involves the learner in describing what they have learned through the experience. By relating their thoughts and ideas with the rest of their colleague learners, then their experience becomes cemented in, and it is through this process that the learners can reflect on what they discovered and relate it to past experiences and cognitively store the information for future use. With this step the learned information is then ready to be used in the final step of the learning process. 3. Process or Application (What's important?) The third step of the experiential learning process involves processing the experience. When the learners are allowed to analyze their experiences and relate them to future educational opportunities, then they are successfully able to relate the experience to future targeted learning experiences. Application follows the experience and reflection components of experiential learning and provides opportunities for learners to apply new knowledge to authentic situations in order to help deepen and extend their understanding. 4. Generalize/Abstrac/Conceptualization (So what?) The generalization step of the experiential learning process allows the learner to relate the learned course of action to future real life situations. This step allows an opportunity for the learner to apply what they have learned in the future for situations that may relate to this particular learning experience. 5. Apply/Active Experimentation (Now what?) Finally the learner applies what has been learned to solve a particular real life challenge and through that the cycle starts over and true experiential learning has occurred.
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Figure 3.3: Steps in experiential learning process
Making Effective Learning Experiences Extension programmes and project use teaching and learning techniques in accomplishing educational changes such as knowledge, skills and attitude of their clients. Therefore deciding on learning experiences that are effective and most likely to help the learner attain the objectives specified for the extension programme is imperative in achieving the set goals. There are several useful research-based guidelines to make learning experiences effective, irrespective of methods employed by extension and development workers. It is important, therefore, that the following guidelines be considered by extension and development workers in setting up learning experiences. i) Learners must have experiences that give them an opportunity to practice the kinds of behaviour implied by the objective: when extension and practice is the most effective way for effectively developing skills. Example: livestock extension specialist can teach a trainee Livestock Village Worker how to administer injections or vaccine to animal, but only through continued practice will the trainee become skilled in this. ii) Learning experiences implied by an objective must be satisfying to the learner when he or, she carries them out. Example: Not only is it important that people be asked to practice a particular cropping system by explaining the benefits, to farmers but if they find it satisfying in terms of convenience. If they first try the cropping system and find the experience unsatisfying, the expected learning is not likely to take place, and the practice is not likely to be continued. iii) Outcomes expected from the learning experience should be within the range of both mental and physical abilities of the learner: Extension teaching must begin where the learner is. There must be time, opportunity, financial resources, and necessary materials available for action by the learner. If the learning experience involves the kind of action which the person is not yet able Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 45
to make, then it fails in its purpose. The extension teachers need to know much about their learners' economic, social, and physical situation to avoid drawbacks. iv) Many learning experiences can be used to attain the same educational objective: There could be a number of experiences that could be used to attain a good objective. This is one of the most fortunate aspects of the educational process. v) A single learning experience can contribute to the attainment of more than one objective: This fact also is fortunate for those who attempt to promote learning. Example: While collecting livestock census, a livestock extension worker concurrently observes the socio-economic conditions of farmers, availability of salt lick and fodder, health of the animals, and their interrelationships for Livestock development. vi) Learning experiences must be such that the extension worker can provide them effectively: If an instructor is unable to master his, or, her method, or, technology, or teaching aids, s(he) is professionally incompetent to provide an effective learning experience. Example: if an extension worker attempts to use the campaign method to disseminate family planning measures and is not successful as a campaign leader, s (he) is not likely to provide an effective learning experience for the learners. Learning Situation A learning situation is a condition or, an environment in which all the elements necessary for promoting learning are present. These elements are given below. i) Learner (farmers/community/beneficiaries of development) ii) Instructor (extension and development worker) iii) Subject matter (development ideas useful to the community) iv) Physical facilities (appropriate environment) v) Teaching methods and aids (instructional material) As an instructor, the role of the extension and development worker is to manipulate the other four elements so that the learners have an effective learning experience
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Figure 3.4: Interactions of elements of learning Learner As depicted in the diagram above, you can understand that the learner is the central element in the learning situation, since the entire purpose is to make him or her learn. Learning on the part of learner, therefore, becomes the objective, while the other four elements become the means for achieving this end. Learning by learners depends upon their: need for information interest level of aspiration nature and level of understanding capability to attach desired meanings ability to use information. Instructor The quality of the learning will depend upon the quality of the conditions created by the instructor. A successful extension and development worker or instructor is one who takes into account the following important considerations: selection of learning experiences that suit the abilities and needs of the learners, and the needs of the community at large skill in the use of extension methods and aids understanding of learners, their needs and abilities ability to react appropriately to the feelings, emotions, and attitudes of learners Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 47
ability to encourage the learners' participation in the learning situation ability to arrange and manage the learning situation so as to prevent, or minimize distractions within and outside the learning situation. good composure, sincerity, and human relations clear objectives, and knowledge of the subject matter good communication skills and democratic leadership. Subject Matter The subject matter is the content of any teaching and learning process. The transfer of the subject matter will be easy and effective if it fulfills the following: valid and correct, based on empirical facts applicable in practical development situations organized according to the needs, interests, and the level of understanding of the learner timely and appropriate important and related to specific teaching objectives. Teaching Material Without the help of suitable teaching methods and aids, the subject matter cannot be effectively transferred to learners. Proper selection and skilful handling of teaching aids facilitate the creation of a desirable learning situation. Therefore, the teaching methods and aids should be: simple and easy to handle suitable to the subject matter readily available in good working condition diversified, flexible, and suited to the environment and needs of the learners.
Physical Facilities Physical facilities such as place, light, ventilation, seating arrangements, etc., must be satisfying both to the instructor and learners. It is the responsibility of the instructor to ensure that suitable physical facilities are available for creating good learning situation. The Principles of Learning Extension and development worker must be guided by the following basic principles of learning which can be applied to ensure effective teaching and learning as a means of influencing behaviour change: i) The principle of association - learning is continuous and therefore, you must know the state of the learners' minds and capacity, and begin teaching at their level for better learning. New development of ideas must be related to those already known to the community, and, often, you must repeat new ideas from time to time to emphasize their importance.
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ii) The principle of clarity - learning should be purposeful, and, as extension and development professionals, we deem that 'seeing is believing'. So, ' the clients (rural people) will realize the importance, or value, of a practice only when they can actually see the results in practice. Teach the community when there is need for the knowledge, and then retention will be greater. Practice must be continuously evaluated and redirected. Objectives must be clear to instructor, and to the learner. iii) The principle of self activity - learning should engage the maximum number of senses. Research had shown that things learnt through engagement of more than one sense such seeing and hearing through the use of audio-visual instructional technologies are easier to retain, recall and practice. iv) The principle of rewards - learning must be challenging and satisfying. v) The principle of practice - learning must result in functional understanding. vi) The principle of nurturing environment - learning is affected by the physical and social environment. Congenial environment creates a favourable background for successful learning. vii) The principle of variable learning ability - learning abilities varies widely among individuals. Some may be slow learners, and some could be fast learners. You should be skilled in different levels of communication, and select your subject matter so as to suit the learning ability of learners. viii) The principle of multiple exposure - learning is a gradual process and needs multiple exposure for change to occur. You are aware that the ultimate aim of learning is for people to adopt improved practices, or new developmental ideas. No single attempt or method can carry information to all the people. By using a combination of teaching methods, your teaching will have a cumulative effect on the learners. The percentages of learning and adoption will be higher with multiple exposures. ix) The principle of learning capacity - the assumption on which extension education programmes are based is that adults have the capacity to learn. Learning ability starts at the age six, rapidly grow until the age of 20 and then it begins to level off until around 50. The rate of learning declines at the rate of about one percent a year after the age of 35. The main reasons attributed for this decline is physical problems, low external motivation, habits, and the impact of a particular ideology. Among the tools that create suitable physical situations for adult learners are the good audio-visual aids, clarity in teaching with an appropriate speed, step by step presentation of topic, repetition, and, providing rewards and motivation. x) The principle of active process - to learn new skills, the learner must practice them and relate them to each other, as well as to a particular problem. For this purpose they should change their attitude as well. Extension worker can create an atmosphere for learning, but the clients will have to learn by themselves. Hence, learning is an individual or personal choice. xi) The principle of theory and practice - the 'why' and 'how' of an idea are explained by theory. Often, though the learner understands theory, (s)he cannot use it in practice. Sometimes, (s)he
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knows how to do it, but does not know the theory behind it. As such extension and development workers should balance theory and practice for better learning by the learners. xii) The principle of effective communication it is imperative that extension and development worker should have good communication skills in order to b able to share their knowledge with their clients, and bring about the desired change. Better learning can be achieved by integrating suitable audio visual aids in teaching-learning process. Summary Extension teaching is provision of purposeful direction, and, the management of the learning process. Steps in extension teaching process include Attention, Interest, Desire, Conviction, Action and Satisfaction. Various models have been put forward to explain the process and concepts of learning; these are behaviourist model, cognitive model and constructivist model.
Conclusion Extension education relies heavily on the ability of extension workers to employ effective instructional and communication strategies and methods to promote the adoption and practice of improve technologies and development of positive influence. Therefore as educational in nature, the knowledge of how to teach improve practice is equally important as the technical knowledge itself. This chapter is therefore more appropriate in providing the knowledge and skills of teaching and promoting learning in extension.
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CHAPTER FOUR
AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION TEACHING METHODS
Introduction In this chapter you are going to learn about the various agricultural extension teaching methods. As we all know, teaching is the imparting of information and extension teaching guides the learning process so that the farmer learns more and better. Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: write briefly on the individual methods discuss clearly the group methods identify the mass methods. Understand difference form of extension teaching method UNIT ONE: EXTENSION TEACHING METHODS Extension teaching methods may be defined as devices used to create situations in which new information can pass freely between the extension worker and the farming communities. The extension-teaching methods can also be defined as the tools and techniques used to create situations in which communication can take place between the rural people and the extension workers. They are the methods of extending new knowledge and skills to the rural people by drawing their attention towards them, arousing their interest and helping them to have a successful experience of the new practice It is the function of the extension worker to use the extension methods which provide opportunities for rural people to learn and which stimulate mental and physical activities among the people. For extension workers to be successful they must be proficient in technical knowledge and educational process and must also have the right attitude towards rural people. Four conditions are necessary for effective use of teaching methods. These include the learning situation, the learning objectives, the learning experiences and the use of a variety of teaching methods. The learning situation comprises the extension worker who has clear objectives, knows the subject matter to be taught and is able to communicate freely with the farmers. The learning situation also includes the people who are capable and interested in learning and the subject-matter which must be pertinent to farmers needs and which is taught at peoples intellectual level. In physical terms, the learning situation should be free from outside distraction and should be suitable to the subject matter presented and should be available when required and ought to be skillfully used. An effective learning situation requires the following essential elements: 1. An instructor (an extension worker, e.g. an extension officer or a village-level worker) 2. Learners (the farmers, the processors, the farm women and the youth). 3. Subject-matter (the recommended improved practices, such as the seeds of high-yielding varieties, fertiliser, balanced diet, etc.) Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 51
4.
Teaching material, such as a flannel-board, a black-board, charts, models, samples, slides, film strips, etc. 5. Physical facilities, such as sitting accommodation, good visibility, etc.
As a pre-condition, objectives for the use of extension methods must be clearly established. An objective has already been defined as an end towards which teaching is directed (see unit 1). Any purposeful teaching has specific objectives which must contain four basic elements-people to be taught, behaviour changes to be made, subject matter to be taught and life situation in which action is to take place. Another condition is the employment of effective learning experiences. A learning experience is defined as the mental or physical reaction one makes in a learning situation through seeing, hearing or performing activities during a learning process. The final condition is that provision should be made for the opportunity to use a variety of extension methods. Extension methods may be classified in three groups on the basis of the number of people they are designed to reach: these are: (1) individual methods (2) group methods and (3) mass methods. Individual Methods Individual methods are used in extension teaching in recognition of the fact that learning is an individual process and that the personal influence of the extension worker is an important factor in securing peoples participation in extension activities. The various methods which come under the classification of individual methods include farm and home visits, office calls, telephone calls, personal letters, informal contacts and result demonstrations. Farm and home visits are essential elements of extension education. They provide a means of personal communication between the farm family and the extension worker in an environment where they can discuss matters of common interest in privacy and without the distractions and interruptions commonly experienced in group extension activities. Farm and home visits serve the following useful purposes: (1) To acquaint extension worker with the farmer and farm family (2) To answer specific requests for help (3) To gain firsthand knowledge of problems faced by the farmer or villager (4) To explain a recommended practice (5) To follow up and observe the results of recommended practices (6) To plan an activity such as demonstration, or a meeting (7) To invite the farmer or villager to participate in a planned activity (8) To discuss policies and programmes (9) To recruit, train or encourage a local volunteer leader Careful and adequate preparation is the key to a successful visit as with all extension methods. Visits are extensive in terms of time and transportation. Preparation for a visit will include a review of all the known facts about the farm, the farmer and the family, specific information concerning the problem, purpose or activity involved and materials such as leaflets and samples Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 52
that may be left with the farmer. Office calls are made by the farmer for the purpose of satisfying a felt need. They are an expression of interest by the farmer in a need which he hopes the extension worker can help him meet. Office calls provide the extension worker with knowledge of the needs of the farming community. Like farm and home visits, they help to build farmers confidence in the worker and create good public relations. They are less expensive and time consuming than farm and home visits. However, the farmer may feel less at home in the office and may be sensitive to the attitude of the worker. He may also be too shy to disclose the real purpose of his visit. Telephone calls are initiated by either the farmer or the extension worker, they are useful in giving specific information relating to treatment of known diseases, control of insect pests or to answer questions on interesting broadcasts or requests for bulletins and leaflets. Telephone calls cannot be used where telecommunication system is under-developed. Personal letters are useful in answering request for information, as follow-up after visits and office calls and in contacting local volunteer leaders. The use of letters as a teaching method is quite limited in countries lacking an efficient postal service or where many rural residents are illiterate. Be careful that the information you give in a letter is simple, understandable and complete without being wordy or including unnecessary information. Remember, the words you put on paper are all he has to go by in determining your meaning. Informal contacts provide many opportunities for effective extension work. Every experienced extension worker has had people stop him on the street or in the village to ask a question. Often, seeing the extension worker will remind the villager of a problem about which he would like technical advice. Market days, picnics, holiday celebrations and religious events bring people together. Where people gather, they talk about current problems in farming and rural life. By attending such events, the extension worker will become better acquainted with his people, learn of their wants, needs and problems and be able to impart information on an informal basis. Result demonstration is a method by teaching designed to show, by example the practical application of an established fact or group of facts. The result demonstration- Is one which shows after a period of time what happened after a practise is adopted. As an example, compost is put on a certain field. Good seed potatoes are planted and cared for. In the next field, no compost is used and poor seed potatoes are used. At harvest time the potatoes are dug in each field at the same time. The villagers have watched all during the planting, growing and harvesting season. They see how much better results are from using better practices. This is a result of demonstration. Comparison is the essential ingredient in result demonstration. The advantages of result demonstration are as follows: (1) Furnishes local proof of the desirability of adopting a recommended practice (2) Is an efficient method for introducing a new subject (3) Appeals to the eye and reaches the show me individual (4) Provides a good source of information for meetings, news items, pictures, radio talks. (5) Furnishes cost data and other basic information (6) A high percentage of people will understand Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 53
(7) Aids in developing local leadership (8) Establishes confidence in the extension worker and in extension work Limitations (1) Result demonstration requires a large amount of extension workers time (2) The cost is high per practice changed (3) Good demonstrations are hard to find (4) Few people see the demonstration at a not-convincing stage (5) The teaching value is frequently destroyed by unfavourable weather. UNIT TWO: GROUP EXTENSION TEACHING METHODS Group methods take into account the inclination of the individual to respond to the pressures and opinions of groups in which he participates and to listen to the views of others before arriving at a decision about making changes in his farming operations. Group method include general meetings, group discussion, exhibits, tours and field trips, method demonstrations, extension schools and farmer training centre. General meetings include all kinds of meetings held by the extension worker except demonstration meetings. The method of conducting the meetings may be lectures, discussions, showing of slides and motion pictures or any combination of these. The method of the meeting must be well thought out and the agenda carefully prepared in order to achieve objectives envisaged. During the meeting, provision should be made for use of models, charts, specimens, pictures etc to illustrate points. Towards the end of the meeting allowance should be made for questions and answers which would help clarify specific ideas. To make the meeting successful, the extension worker should enlist the help of local leaders to: (1) agree on the purpose of the meeting and to draw up tentative programme; (2) decide on and secure speakers; (3) arrange for social and recreational aspects of the meeting; (4) agree on the place and time of the meeting; (5) select the chairman and advertise the meeting. Kelsey and Hearne (1966) identify five general types of meeting involved in extension work: (a) Organization meetings include board of directors meetings, youth clubs, homemakers clubs, executive committees and many others. (b) Planning meetings requires preparation of a large amount of situation material. Much of this must be done by professional extension workers who should resist a natural tendency to dominate the meeting. (c) Training meetings are essential element in developing and using rural leaders in extension (d) Special interest meetings are engaged to serve the educational needs of groups with common interest such as gardening, fishing, dairying, home management or sewing. They may be held singly or in series over a period of time. (e) Community meetings as the name suggest are for all the people in the community, men, women, young people, with all the varied interests of the community.
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Like other methods used in extension work, meetings of all kinds have advantages and limitations. Meetings are useful in reaching a large number of people; they serve as a preparatory stage for the use of other methods. By means of meetings, use can be made of group psychology to promote programmes. One of the drawback of meetings is that they offer limited scope for discussion. Where the audience is large, handling a topic may become very difficult especially where there are disparities in age and educational attainments. Group discussion is a method commonly used in extension work. Generally, discussion is the process by which two or more persons pool their knowledge and feelings, and through mutual agreement clarify the issues under consideration. There are several distinct types of group discussion meetings. The newest idea is called brain trust in which questions are posed and the participating brains provide their opinions and views. Actually this is quite similar to panel and symposium discussions. The panel is usually a rather informal discussion by several experts to consider a major topic, while a symposium is characterized by having several speakers, each of whom gives a rather detailed and usually prepared presentation of his views. Sometimes the symposium speakers are given a chance to answer one or more of the others in a form of rebuttal. Exhibits are systematic displays of specimens, models, charts, posters, etc. Their main purpose is to develop the interest of those who see them, influence their attitude, increase their knowledge and stimulate them to action. Exhibits are considered as some of the best methods of teaching illiterates. A well planned educational exhibit can present information quickly and convincingly. Exhibit have imaginative appeal, and can stimulate competitive spirit among participants, this will be particularly so when prizes are awarded to those who produce the best shows. An exhibit can be of any size. It can be a display of a few potted maize plants with different levels of fertilizer treatments or it can be as big as world agricultural fair. However, for extension purposes, they should be made simple, and should convey only one idea at a time. Tours and field trips are methods of extension teaching which appeal to mans desire to go places and see things. It represents a teaching method whereby a group of people are taken on a study tour to observe the result of improved practices in actual situations. This means that the group will travel together for a day or more. Tours are among the best methods of teaching farm people to gain practical knowledge because people learn through seeing things in actual operation. Tours are most suited for teaching groups such as members of Young Farmers Clubs. A tour can be made to a research station, demonstration farms and similar places of educational interest. The following suggestion will help you plan and hold a successful tour or field trip. 1. Decide exactly what you wish to accomplish 2. Work out a detailed plan for the tour well in advance 3. Go through a rehearsal or dry run of the entire programme well in advance 4. On the day of the tour, keep the party together and keep them moving briskly from point to point. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 55
In general smaller groups are preferred to larger groups. Method demonstration- A method demonstration is to teach a skill. It teaches how to do certain work. It is always interesting to the farmers and especially when the demonstration is concluded by the extension worker, it increases their respect for the worker. Examples of method demonstration subjects include (i) seed treatment (ii) pruning, and (iii) spraying. Things to note in method demonstration are as follows: 1. Outline operations in logical steps 2. Identify key points 3. Carefully select materials and tools 4. Arrange for diagrams or other teaching aids 5. Rehearse demonstration until perfect 6. Make sure all the audience can see and hear him 7. Explain purpose and show application to local problem 8. Show each operation slowly, step by step 9. Emphasize key points 10. Invite members of audience to repeat demonstration Advantages of Method Demonstration 1. It teaches needed skill to many people at one time 2. Seeing, hearing, discussing and participating stimulate action. 3. It builds confidence in extension worker if demonstration is skillfully performed 4. Local leaders easily learn simple demonstrations and can repeat them with other groups. 5. It promotes personal acquaintance between the demonstrators and the farmers 6. It influences changes in practice with many people at a single meeting. Limitations 1. It is frequently difficult to ensure that all members of the group can see clearly 2. With certain demonstrations considerable equipment must be transported to the meeting places 3. Requires a certain amount of showmanship not possessed by all extension workers. Extension schools are designed to give the participants knowledge and skill in some specific line of subject matter such as irrigation methods, dress making or gardening. Schools involve intensive training over a specific period of time, such as one to four days. They may require reenrollment and an obligation to attend all sections. Schools offer an opportunity for presentation of much information in a short time to a selected group of people with special interest in the subject. They must be well organized with specific teaching objectives and employ teaching methods which will hold the interest of participants. Demonstrations, discussions and the use of visuals add much to their effectiveness. Periodic and terminal evaluations help to keep the programme realistic and provide guidance in conducting future schools. Farmer training centre have been used effectively in a number of developing countries to train farmers and their wives in concepts and practices of modern agriculture and home making.
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Leadership training appears to be the most effective role of farmer training centres. To fulfil this role, training centre programmes must be integrated with extension programmes to the extent that: 1. Subjects of training contribute to the educational objectives included in the extension programme. 2. Participants are selected on the basis of their leadership potential and through recommended leader recruitment processes, and 3. Returned participants are utilized in planning and executing extension programmes. UNIT THREE: MASS METHODS OF EXTENSIONTEACHING Individual and group methods cannot reach everyone who wants and needs information, so mass methods which have wide coverage such as radio, television, cinema vans and public address systems, newspapers, posters and other printed materials can be used to reach large numbers of people quickly and efficiently. Radio is one of the fastest, most powerful and in many countries the only way of communicating with the masses of rural people. It reaches people of all cultural levels who understand the language of transmission. An advantage of radio programmes is that they can be done almost anywhere through the use of tape recorder. Radio is useful in reporting spot news, such as announcement of meetings, for warning about insect outbreaks, and especially as a part of campaigns. Listening habits may vary according to the society involved. Studies of listening habits will tell the extension worker when his listeners are likely to be men and women and at what hours they listen most. Take these factors into account when planning your programme. Television adds a second dimension to radio broadcasting thus increasing the scope of methods available to the extension worker. He can demonstrate as well as talk. Television programmes require meticulous preparation. Every piece of equipments must be in place and the dialogue must be well thought out. In spite of the relatively high cost of receiving sets, television occupies an increasingly important role in developing countries. Advantage of Radio and Television 1. Radio programmes are especially fitted to handle emergency information 2. Reach people who cannot read 3. Reach people who cannot attend extension meetings 4. Build interest in other extension activities Limitations 1. Broadcasting facilities are not everywhere available 2. Active involvement of the audience in the teaching process is impossible 3. Frequently extension programmes are given poor time for farm listeners 4. Direct and immediate feedback from the audience to the teacher is not possible 5. Frequently extension programmes loose out in competition with entertainment 6. Specific local needs cannot be given adequate attention and there is often cultural gap (e.g. language, dialect) between the speaker and the audience. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 57
Cinema vans and public address systems: In most African countries the Ministry of Agriculture and Information provides cinema vans which have substituted almost perfectly for television in bringing visual entertainment and agricultural information to rural people. A cinema van can show an agricultural film to a large audience in two or more villages each night. The films demonstrate new techniques that the people can apply on their own farms. The public-address system can be used to make announcements and bring agricultural information to a number of villages in one day. Newspapers provide a valuable channel for transmission of educational information where they exist and where rural people receive and read them. Newspapers print news and news consists of items of broad interest to their readers. Newspaper space is valuable and limited. Your news item must compete for attention with other items as well as advertising and the editor is the sole judge of its news value. All materials for the press should be factual, well written, and intelligently planned. Otherwise it will probably be discarded by the editor. Write simply, using short sentences and paragraphs that are easy to read. Remember that you must catch the readers attention in the first sentence or he is unlikely to read further. The succeeding facts should be put down in the order of their importance. The ABCs of good writing are accuracy, brevity and clarity. Poster: A poster is a sheet of paper or cardboard with an illustration and usually a few simple words. It is designed to catch the attention of the passer by, impress on him a fact or an idea and stimulate him to support an idea, get more information or take some kind of action. Since a single glance may be all your poster will get, the message must be simple and clear. Details and wordy sentences have no place. Here are a few suggestions that will help you design more effective posters. 1. Decide exactly who your audience is. Decide exactly what you want to tell them. Decide what you want them to do. 2. Put down on a sheet of paper words and rough pictures that express your message simply and clearly. 3. Try to put your message into a few words- a concise striking slogan. Visualize or put into picture for the most important central idea in the message. 4. Cut out your poster in small scale 8 :1 or 4 :1 actual size. Other suggestions: use plain, bold lettering and lines. Use colour to attract attention and for contrast. Remember however that too many colours add confusion. Allow plenty of space. Do not crowd letters, words or illustrations. Folders, leaflets and Pamphlets: Simple folders, leaflets and pamphlets can be used in many ways in extension programmes. They may be used singly for example to explain the advantage of testing soil. They may be used as reminders of when to plant crops or what chemicals to use to control different insects. Folders, leaflets and pamphlets may be used in coordination with other visuals in long-range campaigns. Because of their lowcost, they can be given away at meetings and fairs and offered on radio programmes. Forms of Extension Teaching Method Extension-teaching methods can also be classified according to their forms, such as written, spoken and audio-visual. Some of the important methods under each of these 3 categories are: Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 58
Written Bulletins Leaflets Articles Personal letters Circular letters
Spoken General meeting Farm or home visit Office calls Telephone calls/radio
Objective or visual Result Demonstration Demonstration posters Motion-picture or movies, charts slides/filmstrips model exhibits
Selecting and using teaching materials/techniques For an effective use of extension-teaching methods, it is not enough to know these methods and their techniques. What is more important is the appropriate selection of a method or combination of methods for a particular situation. In fact, when a farmer is exposed to a new idea several times by different methods or a combination of methods, he is likely to accept it more quickly. Farmers learn about new practices through several stages. These stages are known as: (1) the awareness stage- when a person comes to know of a new practice but lacks the complete information; (2) the interest stage- when he becomes interested in a new idea and wants to know more about it; (3) the evaluation stage- when he mentally applies the new idea to his present situation and evaluates it; (4) the trial stage- when he applies the new idea or practice on a small scale in order to determine its utility under his own situation; and (5) adoption stage- when he decides to continue the full use of the practice. Thus, it is the cumulative effect on people through exposure to an idea repeatedly that result in action. SUMMARY Extension teaching methods may be defined as devices used to create situations in which new information can pass freely between the extension worker and the farming communities. Extension methods may be classified in three groups on the basis of the number of people they are designed to reach. These are: (a) Individual methods, (b) Group methods, and (c) Mass methods. Individual methods are used in extension teaching in recognition of the fact that learning is an individual process. Group methods in the other hand take into account the inclination of the individual to respond to the pressures and opinions of groups in which he participates and to listen to the views of others before arriving at a decision about making changes in his farming operations. Individual and group methods cannot reach everyone who wants and needs information, so the mass methods are used to reach large numbers of people more quickly and efficiently. Conclusion This chapter had introduced you to the various extension teaching methods and their various classification according to use. In many teaching situations an extension worker will find that the use of two or more methods will be much more effective than the employment of any single method. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 59
CHAPTER FIVE AUDIO-VISUAL FOR EXTENSION TEACHING

Introduction This chapter introduces students to various instructional technologies use in facilitating extension teaching and learning. It provides historical accounts of the development and use of audio visual communication in promoting teaching and learning. It also presented description and picture for common audio visual teaching material use in extension teaching and learning. Objectives At the end of this chapter, you be able to: Defined instructional technology Appreciate the history of audio-visual communication Know common audio-visual teaching material use in extension Understand the various classifications of audio-visuals UNIT ONE: INSTRUCTIONAL AIDS IN EXTENSION Instructional technology is a process of utilizing educational media as well as methods for organizing and effectively application of these media in providing extension teaching or training. These instructional educational media can be manipulated to serve the goal of extension teaching and ease the task of extension practitioners engaging in effective communication with their clients Historical Development of Audio-Visual Communication History tells us that pre-historic man made use of certain stone implements and symbols to guide his day to day activities. It is well documented that the early man made use of symbols and drawings to communicate ideas. These drawings and symbols represented Audio visual media (AVM) during the pre-historic era. The use of stones, animal skins, walls of building and the chalk board as a medium of communication or instructional media for learners have been in practice for very longtime. Even in the Old Testament we are told that God communicated the Ten Commandments to Moses through stone tablets which served as visual material. Formal instruction involves integration of verbal and non-verbal communication with interdependent effects of learning. Examples of instructional devices for teaching that existed prior to the 19thth century include: 1. Pascals Arithmetic Machine 2. A worlds map of the 16th century 3. A planetary machine The main challenges of AV in Extension today revolve around the use of television and motion pictures which not only constitute a new and important technique on one hand but also serve as Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 60
means of utilizing and integrating all other forms of AV instructions. Motion pictures have been used for educational purposes right from inception. Motion pictures and television have had a great impact on education and have broken down some of the barriers between the classroom or the extension teaching settings and the outside world of experience and action. AudioVisual Material Defined In modern times, Audio Visual Material have been conceived as a wide range of instructional materials and devices designed to provide realistic imagery and substitute for real experiences in order to enrich curricular experiences of many kinds. It could also be defined as any device which assists the teacher in more effective instructions. From the definitions, it is clear that AVM are designed for direct instruction and to enrich the teaching and learning process and hence contribute to better teaching. Common Audio-Visual Aids use in Extension Teaching Flip Charts Flip charts are quick, inexpensive visual aids for briefing small groups. The charts, felt-tip markers and graphic materials are readily available, and with a modest ability at lettering, the presenters can compose the desired visual aid in-house. Strength: Help the speaker proceed through the material Convey information Provide the audience with something to look at in addition to the speaker Can be prepared prior to, as well as during, the presentation Demonstrate that the speaker has given thought to his or her remarks Can be used to record audience questions and comments Can be converted to slides Limitations: May require the use of graphics talent Are not suitable for use in a large audience setting May be difficult to transport Overhead Transparencies Overhead transparencies are useful for audience settings of 20 to 50 people and can be produced quickly, easily, and inexpensively. Any camera-ready artwork, whether word charts, illustrations, or diagrams can be made into transparencies using standard office paper copiers
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Strength Most manufacturers of paper copiers offer clear and coloured acetate sheets that run through copying machines like paper, but transfer a black image into acetate for use as overhead transparencies. The standard transparency size is 8=" x 11''. The only piece of hardware required is an overhead transparency projector. Overlay transparencies provide a good cumulative presentation. Speaker can use an overhead projector with significant light in the room, thereby enabling the speaker to maintain eye contact with the audience. Limitations: The projected image size is sometimes too small to be seen from the back of a large room. Often, the image does not sit square on the screen, as the head of the projector is tilted to increase the size of the image. It is difficult to write on the transparency while it is on the projector. Sometimes the projector head gets in the audience's way. Some speakers feel captive to the machine, because they must change each transparency by hand. Poster Posters are prepared graphic devices that can be made of a variety of materials and media (photographs, diagrams, graphs, word messages, or a combination of these). Posters work best in smaller audience sizes. Posters are a simple but effective way of publicizing events and communicating important messages to the public at large. They can be displayed at special events and at school or in the community or work place. A good poster creates awareness and interest among the people. It inspires and takes people towards action. It consists of 3 main parts. The first usually announces the purpose or the approach, the second sets out conditions, and the third recommends action. A poster should be bold enough to attract attention of the people, and should communicate only one idea at a time. It should have simple letters which are clear and forceful. The size of a poster should not be less than 50*75cm Strength Posters are permanent and portable. Posters can be simple or very elaborate. Posters can be used alone or in a series to tell a story. Limitations: Posters tend to contain too much detail. Transporting them can be difficult. The more elaborate posters require extensive preparation and can be quite costly. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 62
35 millimeters slides 35 mm slides enliven a presentation for virtually any size audience. They can project a professional image, are relatively inexpensive to produce, and if necessary, can be produced quickly. Strength Slides have high credibility with audiences because viewers looking at photographic slides taken in the field often feel that seeing is believing. The only hardware required is a slide projector and a screen. Slide programs are easy to package in slide trays. Changes in slides or in their sequencing can be done rapidly to meet changing conditions or audiences.
Limitations: Slides cannot be made using a photocopying machine. Therefore, they require more time and money to produce than overhead transparencies. The lights must be dimmed more for slides than for overhead transparencies. Slides require a great deal of preparation and rehearsal. Audio slide shows Audio-slide shows are self-contained programs having pre-recorded sound tracks that are coordinated with slides by use of electronic synchronizers. The recording tape includes electronic signals that activate a connected slide projector so that an image appears simultaneously with the appropriate voice message, music or sound effects. Audio-slide programs can serve audiences ranging from a handful to a couple of hundred people. Strength For a fraction of the cost of films, audio-slide programs can achieve many of the same program needs. They can impart considerable information because colour and a wide array of audiotechniques and visual images can be used. If multiple projectors are used with dissolve units that allow images to "fold" into one another, even a sense of movement can be created. They usually can be produces in-house, equipment is accessible, and they offer a presenter the flexibility of changing slides to meet the needs of specific audiences.
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Limitations: Time must be allotted for developing script, sound-track, title and credit slides, visuals, and for production. Each presentation requires securing and assembling proper equipment synchronizer, tape recorder, projector(s), screen(s). Videotape Videotape electronically carries both a picture and a sound track. Its features of sound, movement, vivid image, colour, and variety hold an audience's attention the way film does. Videotape can be used to program an entire presentation, or to support a speaker's remarks by highlighting certain topics. Limitations: Videotape productions can be expensive to create and require experienced production teams. In large meetings, the audience may not be able to see the monitor. (If resources permit, video projectors are available.) Educational Boards There are various boards used for the purpose of educational communication and for extending instructions. (a) The Chalkboard Chalkboard is a vehicle for a variety of visual materials. It was the major instructional material used in colonial schools in Ghana and in most training situations in the colonial era. It is still the most commonly used instructional medium in rural setting and in most of the developing countries. Types of chalkboard 1. Movable Chalkboard This is made of plank or plywood to stand on a support. It can be used for both indoor and outdoor training sessions. 2. Wall Chalkboard Painted wall is the most common in rural areas but in schools, concrete wall is common plywood fixed to the wall can also be used. It has wider working area. It can be easily projected upon and provides good writing surface. It has the disadvantage of exposing works not yet needed. How to make effective use of chalkboard 1. Never talk with your back turned to the audience. It is important to maintain eye contact with your audience so as to hold the interest and attention. 2. Write legibly and boldly for everybody to see clearly. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 64
3. Arrange work on the chalkboard in an orderly manner 4. Keep your chalkboard clean always 5. Renovate chalkboard when necessary. (b) Flannel graph (adhesive) It is used with the idea of rough to rough surface. This could be made of cotton, flannel or wool materials. It can be made by covering a piece of plywood above. Picture, diagrams backed with the same materials as sand papers will stick to the flannel board. It is used to illustrate points, state facts and highlight ideas. It is inexpensive and easy to prepare. Materials used on the flannel board should be stored flat in large envelopes. (c) Magnetic Board: This is mostly used for displaying purposes. Three dimensional aids can be displayed on this type of board. The object to be displayed is simply magnetized on to the surface of the board. (d) Bulletin Boards: This is used for the display of educational and information materials. It is inexpensive, saves time as materials that could not be presented during the training session could be pasted on the bulletin board. (3) STILL PHOTOGRAPHS These are pictures taken of a particular event or materials to be taught devoid of any distractive element and displayed in an appropriate sequence to form a complete story which leads to the attainment of the training objective or which will enhance the understanding of the subject matter. THREE DIMENSIONAL AIDS: These are materials that have length, breadth and depth, hence they are referred to as three dimensional. They can be any of the following types: 1. Real objects like orange, fish, life animal used for exhibition etc which you can see and hold. 2. Imitations of the real object which are enlarged in size e.g. model of a grasshopper. 3. Imitation of the real object diminished in size e.g. a globe of the world or model of a tractor. 4. Mock form e.g. a toy tractor that moves. 5. Representation of a real situation e.g. a diorama or play showing some aspects of rural life. Functions of three dimensional aids in teaching and extension work 1. It provides concrete and realistic experience from which facts can be discovered. 2. It stimulates imagination and alters attitude 3. It can be used for teaching of functional spare parts of an agricultural equipment or implement e.g. a mock up tractor can be used to teach the process of dismantling and assembling of parts. 4. It is used to clarify abstract ideas e.g. models. 5. It assists in promoting the understanding of facts e.g. a diorama is useful for portraying historical scenes and scenes not easily perceived in real life because of distance from reality. 6. Place where portraits of heroes and heroines are kept. 7. Where pictures, films, filmstrips and slides of agriculture, rural development and natural environment are kept. 8. Should contain standard library with reprographic materials, film recorders projectors e.t.c. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 65
9. There should be specialties and competent technicians as staff. 10. Should also contain lecture rooms and conference hall. 11. Provision must be made for mobile museum unit. 12. Local crafts and industrial artifacts must be kept. 13. Should serve as a youth centre for knowledge development and exposure for youths. 14. In most cases, an education officer should be attached to the museum to serve as a liaison officer between the museum and schools extension and development training centres. Flannel-graphs: Flannel-graphs serve as a good teaching aid. When a piece of sandpaper is fixed to the back of a picture, a photograph, a letter, model etc, they can be made to adhere easily to a piece of thick flannel cloth, fixed on a board. They are used as an aid for group methods of extension teaching. Flash cards: Flash cards are a set of small compact cards approximately 30 to 45cm in size, and are used to bring home an idea, such as, the cultivation of hybrid maize, compost-making and other practices. Pictures on the theme are drawn on these cards in a logical sequence which is flashed before the audience. Upon seeing them, the villagers are able to follow a story more easily. Puppets: Puppets are very popular and especially suitable for village situations. Puppet shows can be effectively organized to gather the rural people. For a puppet show, a short story, brief scenes and quick dialogues are necessary. Such shows can teach a lesson about health, literacy, agriculture. Slides: A slide is a transparent picture or photograph in an individual mount. For viewing the image, the picture is projected through a slide-projector which brings the enlarged image into focus on a screen. Slides are excellent aids of illustrating talks and showing people concrete activities and aspects of development. They can be effectively used to show different situations and methods of carrying out an activity. They can be arranged in a series for giving an illustrated talk on improved agricultural practices, cultivation of crop etc. Film-strips: They are a series of black-and-white or coloured pictures depicting a single idea, and instead of being individually mounted are printed on a single length of strip of 35mm film. Such strips can be shown to an audience of about a 100 people. The additional advantage in using the film-strips is that the film can be stopped anytime during the show to explain or discuss a difficult or interesting point. Models: Models create a sense of realization in a person. Models of new farm equipments, compost pits and sanitation devices and animals are mostly prepared for those people who are not in a position to see them in the actual form. They are used to create interest, promote understanding and influence the people to adopt a certain practice. Bulletin-boards: A bulletin-board can serve the purpose of making announcements, displaying events of short duration and photographs of local activities. The information should be written in simple language.
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Photograph:. They are a very simple visual aid. Good photographs show some action and catch the feelings and emotions of the people. They are so arranged that they tell a story. They are displayed on a bulletin-board at a common meeting-place where a large number of people can see them. They should be clear and bold in composition with proper captions. Cultural programmes: Local cultural programmes, such as folk-songs and dramas, are used as an effective medium of communicating the message of development programmes. Dramatization of a theme or story creates a lively interest among the audience. Folk-songs and dances related to the subjects of local interest and importance, when acted on the stage, bring them home more forcefully.
UNIT TWO: INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY Instructional technology is a process of utilizing educational media as well as methods for organizing and effectively application of these media in providing extension teaching or training. These instructional educational media can be manipulated to serve the goal of extension teaching and ease the task of extension practitioners engaging in effective communication with their clients. Instructional technology provides opportunity for effective integration of men, machines/materials and ideas for effective communication to exist among the actors in the change process. The men are the Extension agent, farmers, members of youth club, women group etc. whiles machine/material consist of audio visual aids and equipment, mass media such as radio and TV among others. In the other hand, the ideas consist of the information, technology or skills to be disseminated and the knowhow of organizing and utilizing teaching materials and engaging in effective communication with the target client. Instructional/Audio consists of the hardware component and software component. The hardware components are the machines and equipment and the software components are the material that contains or carries the ideas or information to be disseminated. Extension teaching process is facilitated through the use of these machines and equipment to transmit the extension information to the clients. These machines/equipment and materials or media include: 1. 2. 3. 4. Projected media e.g. Films, filmstrips etc Broadcast and Telecommunication media e.g. Radio, Television . Computers/teaching machines, eg LCD and self instructional software None projected cards e.g. chalkboards, adhesives e.g. flannel graph, magnetic board, bill board etc 5. Three dimensional aids e.g. models, replicas 6. Printed materials e.g. journals, textbooks, hand outs etc. 7. Pictorial cards e.g. charts, photographs,
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Advantages of Instructional Technology a. it provides a concrete idea for conceptual thinking and hence reduces abstract thinking b. It has high chances of arousing interest of learners and hence motivates them to learn. c. It offers necessary basis for the development of learning hence it makes learning to be more permanent. d. It offers a reality of experience which stimulates self activities on the part of the learners. e. It provides experience not easily secured by other methods and contribute to the efficiency of learning. Emerging trend in instructional Technology Recent development in technology in the field of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the media landscape have improve greatly information generation, storage, retrieval and instructional teaching and learning process. This development has led to self multimedia automated and computerized instructional technology known as multimedia instructional technology. Multimedia It refers to a video system which is a combination of computer and video. It uses multimedia approach i.e. text, stills, video, audio, slides, overheads, etc. The messages stored in various forms are retrieved by user according to choice. The users response to the system determine the path to be followed. Advantages of multi-media: There is no need for teacher. It has self-paced learning. It has powerful video and sound. It has multi-media effect. It allows for interactive learning. Delivery cost of multimedia is greatly reduced. It has 3-Dimensional graphic simulation, real life situation, etc. It is long lasting Classification of Audio Visual Aids Audio visual Aids, as the name implies can be categorized into visuals Aids, audio Aids and audio-visual Aids. Instructional Aids such as pictures, samples, models etc which can be viewed or seen through the sensation of sight are in the categorize of visual Aids whereas those instructional Aids which produce audible sound only also belonged to the audio categorize while instructional Aids that combined these two as a single unit qualifies as audio-visual.
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Within the visual categorize, some can be further grouped into projected visual or nonprojectors visual. The projected visuals have to be projected onto a screen before they can be seen, such as slides and filmstrips. Overhead projectors and LCDs are use to project those visuals. Some can also be motion visual and stationary visuals. Below is brief illustration of the various classifications of audio visual Aids use in extension instruction.
Activity aids 1.Dramatics 2.Field trips 3.Demonstrati-ons
Non Projected aids 1.Visual aids a.Display boards i. Chalk board ii. Marker board iii. Magnetic board iv. Bulletin board v. Flannel board b. Two dimensional aids :-
Projected aids 1.Films 2.Filmstrips 3.Slides 4.Transparencies 5.O.H.P. 6.Opaque projection of pictures 7.T.V. and Video Projected aids
Posters, Diagrams, Flash cards, Graphs, Comics, Cartoons, Charts;- Flip- chart, Flow chart, Pictorial chart, Tree chart 1.Films c. Three dimensional aids:Models, Objects, Specimen, Dioramas, 2.Filmstrips Puppets, study kits, Mock ups, Jump up picture 3.Slides books, Mobiles 1.Audio aids Voice of teacher, Radio, Recordings:Tape recorder, Cassette recorder, Gramophone
Summary Common Audio-visual teaching material used in extension teaching include, slides, white and black boards, posters, leaflets, newsletters, flip charts, graphs, among others. Audio visual Aids can be a projected or non-projected, audio or visuals. Audio visual teaching materials can be a two dimensional such as poster, diagrams or three dimensional such as models, specimen among others, Conclusion Instructional technology such as the use of audio visual provides opportunity for effective dissemination of information to farmers and training development workers. Their characteristic quality of appealing to more than one of the sense makes it more exciting and effective in teaching and learning. In modern times, Audio Visual Material have been conceived as a wide range of instructional materials and devices designed to provide realistic imagery and substitute for real experiences in order to enrich learning and experiences.
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CHAPTER SIX
UTILIZATION OF AUDIO-VISUAL IN EXTENSION
Introduction This Chapter introduces learners to the use and operations of common audio visual teaching materials used in extension work. It also presents the role audio visuals materials play in enhancing learning and influencing knowledge and skills acquisition. Also the criteria use in selecting teaching material for extension is also dealt with in this chapter. Objective: By the end of this chapter, students would be able to: Understand the role of Audio Visual Aids in Learning Experience Know how to select audio visual Aids for extension work Understand The role of Audio-visual Aids in Teaching Learn about projectors and how to use them UNIT ONE: LEARNING EXPERIENCE AND AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS Human beings learn through 5 major senses and the contribution of the senses to learning as identified by Balogun (1982) are 1% through taste, 1.5% through touch, 3.5% through smell, 11.0% through hearing, and 83.0% through sight. This finding demonstrated that the bulk of our learning is through the sense of sight. On the other hand, the rate at which we remember what we have learned varies with the senses. For example: 10% of what we hear is remembered, 50% of what we hear and see is remembered, 90% of what we hear, see and do is remembered. This offer empirical evidence to a Chinese proverb which says: What I hear I forget, what I see I remember, what I do, I understand Thus for effective teaching and learning to take place, the extension agent must go beyond mere talking. He needs to provide visual and or concrete experiences of the things he is teaching. It should be noted that educational or Audio-Visual media should adequately complement words as concrete experiences provide a solid base of knowledge. Three levels of learning have been identified in relation to the use of audio visual aids. These are: 1. Abstract level of learning or memory level in teaching This level encourages rote learning i.e. learning that emphasizes cramming. This makes learners to achieve very little. The method is subject and teacher/agent centered and it has failed to promote and sustain the interest and inquisitive spirit of the learners. 2. The Semi-concrete level of learning and understanding level in teaching. At this level, the teacher speaks of what he knows and understands. Learners accept the facts only after discussion i.e. the learners are made to be active participants and they learn at their own pace. The teacher or agent acts as intelligent guide. AV materials play a vital role at this level, e.g. a picture of a tractor and other pictorial materials can be used as substitutes for reality. 3. Concrete level of learning and reflective level in teaching. At this level, the students or learners are not only active but they are active participants. The teacher/agent makes use of concrete materials which are the best of all teaching
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aids. Real objects are used not imitations, real exercises (method demonstration). Learners watch you, participate and practicalise it under your supervision.
The diagram above shows how Edgar Dales Cone of Experience (1969) - organized learning experiences according to the degree of concreteness each possesses. At the bottom is hands on experience. As you ascend the cone, concrete experience begins to drop out, with stimuli becoming more abstract; the stimuli require more skill on the part of the learners to interpret the messages they carry. For certain types of learning (such as changing attitudes or teaching grafting skills), experiences at the bottom of the cone are more appropriate than those at the top. Learning experiences at the bottom of the cone tend to hold learner attention longer and involve active learner participation. Media at the top of the cone are said to be more passive but are suitable for transmitting large amounts of information quickly. Which is best depends upon the purposes and circumstances. Research has indicated that educational experiences that involve the learner physically and that give concrete examples and illustrations are retained longer than abstract experiences such as listening to a lecture. Instructional media help add elements of reality for instance, including pictures or highly involved computer simulations in a lecture. Media can be used to support one or more of the following instructional activities: Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 71
Gain attention. A picture on the screen, a question on the board, a model of new farm machine, a video show of successful will definitely attract the attention of audience (farmers) Recall prerequisites. Use media to help learners recall what they learned in the last session, so that new material can be attached to and built upon it. Present objectives to the learners. Hand out or project the days learning objectives. Present new content. Not only can media help make new content more memorable, media can also help deliver new content (a text, movie, or video). Support learning through examples and visual elaboration. One of the biggest advantages of media is to bring the world into the learners environment when it is not possible to take the learner into the world. Elicit learner response. Present information to learners and pose questions to them, getting them involved in answering the questions. Provide feedback. Media can be used to provide feedback relating to a test or class exercise. Enhance retention and transfer. Pictures enhance retention. Instructional media help learners visualize a lesson and transfer abstract concepts into concrete, easier to remember objects. Assess performance. Media is an excellent way to pose assessment questions for the learner to answer, or learners can submit mediated presentations. Other learning experience that can be influence by the use of Audio-visual Aids or combination of educational instructional technologies includes: Interest: The interest of the audience can be maintained for longer if the agent varies the mode of presentation. It is difficult to concentrate for long on what someone is saying; but if the agent refers to a wall chart, or illustrates a point with some slides, or picks up a plant to show a particular characteristic, the audience's level of interest and attention is likely to increase. Memory: When information is presented to more than one sense (sight and touch, for example, as well as hearing), more is taken in and it is better understood and remembered. Explanation: Processes and concepts that are difficult to express in words alone can often be explained more effectively with the help of audio-visual aids. The procedure for applying for a loan, for example, may sound confusing, but a simple chart or diagram showing the various stages and people involved can make the process much clearer. Similarly, the life cycle of a crop pest can be explained by showing a series of slides or drawings, or of preserved specimens. Processes that are invisible to the human eye, for example digestion in the rumen of a goat, or breakdown of organic matter in compost - or that take place slowly or on a large scale and are therefore difficult for people to appreciate, can usually be explained more clearly with the help of diagrams, drawings and photographs. Effects: The effects of decisions and actions that farmers might take can be shown. Photographs of a cattle dip or a drawing of a field with trees planted around the edges can give farmers a clearer idea of what they may be considering. The longer term effects of these decisions can also be shown, in pictures of healthy cattle and heaps of firewood or timber. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 72
Emotions: Pictures can have a more immediate impact on our emotions than words. Photographs of a heavy crop just before harvest, or of a healthy cow, are likely to arouse interest more effectively than details of yields or live weight gains read out by an extension agent Structure: A visual or audio-visual aid can help the agent keep to the planned structure or sequence of a presentation. A flipchart, with one sheet for each of the main points the agent intends to make, or a set of slides, prevents the agent from forgetting any points or the order in which they come. Audio-visual Aids in Teaching and Learning Visual and other aids are only effective if they are appropriate to the situation and are used properly by the presenter. Unsuitable aids or ones that are not used properly can at best distract and at worst mislead the audience. Extension practitioners cannot learn how to use extension aids skillfully from a book. This only comes through practice. However, the following principles may be useful to consider with any visual or audio-visual aids. 1. Select the aids most suited to the communication objective, the location, and the composition and size of the audience. 2. Use the aids to reinforce the message or to support the activity that is going on. They are there to assist, to complement and supplement what the presenter is doing. In a talk to a group of farmers, for example, refer to the aids, explain them and ask questions about them to check whether the audience has understood the key points. 3. Make sure that the audience will be able to see and hear clearly. Audio cassettes that cannot be heard or words on a board that are too small to be seen can make the audience restless and inattentive, and even start talking amongst themselves. 4. Practice using the aids beforehand. Where projectors aids are used, it is important that the presenter is fully accustomed to using the equipment. Selection of Audio Visual Materials for Extension Work When selecting suitable aids, the agent will be limited to what is readily available or that can be made locally. Within these constraints, some aids are more suited to a particular objective than others. For an accurate visual representation, photographs, slides or a detailed drawing may be needed. If the presenter only wants to highlight the structure of a talk, and then list the main conclusions of a discussion, a chalkboard or flipchart will be suitable. The presenter must also consider where the aids will be used: indoors or outdoors, with or without electricity, in a large meeting or as part of a small group. All these factors will influence the choice of visual and audio-visual aids. In order to select the best and the most suitable audio visual and materials, certain factors should be considered: a) The nature, advantages and limitations of the audio visual materials. Different audio visual materials have certain advantages and limitations and it should inform the agents in their selection or otherwise. b) Availability of supporting equipments and facilities: the use of some audio visual aids requires certain equipments and faculties such as slides or filmstrips require overhead projectors and a source of eclectic power to operate. Therefore it availability and accessibility in very important in deciding to use certain materials. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 73
c) Instructional task/aim and objective of the teaching the objective of the extension teaching or presentation must be a guiding principle in selecting teaching aids. For instance, if the objective of the teaching is to give information or publicize an idea a poster and flyers will suffice. d) Learners characteristics such as: Age range of the learners, Level of experience as knowledge in farming, Educational background, Attitude of the learners. In selecting audio visual, the agent should keep in mind the circumstances and situation of the audience. Most extension clients are adult, youth and the elders, therefore teaching that can appear to the different clientless should be considered. Also age, experience and educational background influence audience ability to understand certain teaching materials. Therefore these attributes should be factored in deciding which teaching aid to use. e) Operating versatility can the material be easily manipulated by you as it is very complex. f) Instructional uses can the medium enable the agent to arrange a more effective instructional environment which can help the learner to learn more and better. g) Aesthetic consideration The material must be acceptable artistically. People like colourful things. h) Safety and ease of use use media which can be easily manipulated by the user. Do not use dangerous materials or risks equipments. i) Scope and price it must be appropriate and have an overall coverage of the topic. It must be cost effective. Use cheaper materials.
UNIT TWO: USE OF PROJECTORS As mentioned in the previous chapter, visuals teaching materials such as slides and transparencies require to be projected before audience can benefit from the information on them. Therefore knowledge of the use of projectors is as important as the visual aids themselves. Types of projector Carousel slide projectors Straight-tray slide projectors Dual slide projectors Overhead projectors Single slide projectors (manual form) Viewer slide projectors Slide Cube projectors Stereo slide projectors (projects two slides simultaneously with different polarizations; slides appear as three-dimensional with polarizing glasses) Large Format Slide Projector for uses on stages, for events or for architectural and advertising issues of high light output needs. Overhead Projector Roger Appledorn invented the overhead projector in the early 1960's as part of his daily job in the thermal fax department. An overhead projector usually includes a large box with a bright light, cooling fan, and a Fresnel lens, which magnifies the image. A mirror is attached up and Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 74
over the box. When transparencies, or clear plastic sheets, are put on top of the lens, the light travels into the mirror that shines what is written on the transparencies forward onto a screen. The presenter can continue to see the transparency by looking down, while the viewers can see the information on the screen. Overhead projector (OHP) is still probably the most useful and versatile visual aid that is available for use by extension practitioners, lecturer and trainers. It has long since replaced the traditional chalkboard as the main teaching aid in almost all lecture theatres, and, although computer-driven data projectors are becoming increasingly widely used, their high cost means that it is highly unlikely that they will ever completely replace the OHP. It is therefore important that all teachers, lecturers and trainers should know how to make effective use of the OHP, so that they can exploit its potential to the full. Some strengths of the OHP The OHP has a number of definite advantages over most other methods of presenting visual information. 1. OHP can be used exactly the same way as a chalkboard or markerboard for writing out notes, working through calculations and proofs, drawing graphic material, and so on 2. OHP have great advantage of having the instructor to always face the learners, and thus being able to maintain eye contact with the learners. Such eye contact, which is, of course, impossible when a instructor is writing on a chalkboard or markerboard, can play an extremely useful role in both expository and facilitative teaching, serving both as an outward non-verbal communication channel for the teacher and as a means of obtaining feedback from a class on how a session is going.
3. Another important advantage over the chalkboard or markerboard is that the OHP can also be used to show pre-prepared material, thus enabling teachers and lecturers to build up banks of notes, diagrams, tables etc. that can be used over and over again. 4. Overhead transparencies are also relatively compact compared with some other types of visual aids (eg charts), and are therefore easy to store in suitable boxes, large envelopes, folders or files. When computer disk files are used, back-up copies should always be kept. 5. Compared with other projected aids, the OHP also has the great advantage that it does not require the room to be blacked out, thus allowing learners to take notes; an advantage that tends to be lost when direct transmission of coloured electronic images is introduced, however. 6. OHP is 'user friendly', requiring no technical skill or knowledge on the part of the operator apart from the ability to change the occasional lamp.
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Some weaknesses of the OHP 1. Disadvantages of the OHP include the fact that it requires a power supply. 2. OHP also require a suitable flat (preferably white) surface on which to project its image, and hence cannot be use everywhere. 3. Also, unless this surface is inclined forward at the correct angle, the image will probably suffer from 'keystoning'. 4. Unlike chalkboards, OHP's do also require a certain amount of routine maintenance. 5. They are also liable to break down occasionally (generally at extremely inconvenient times), so it is always advisable to have a spare bulb close at hand (most modern machines do in fact have a built-in spare bulb that can be brought into use at the turn of a knob.) . 6. Apart from these possible 'hardware' difficulties, the main problems associated with the overhead projector stem from the fact that many users do not give sufficient thought to the production of their display material. Some basic guidelines on how to use the OHP Despite its near universal use, many teachers and lecturers fail to get the best out of the overhead projector for various reasons. Many of these reasons relate to the use of the machine itself, since even experienced teachers and lecturers sometimes fail to observe all the following basic rules: 1. Position the projector and the screen so that the latter can be seen clearly by all the members of the class or group with whom you will be using the machine. 2. Arrange the projector and screen in such a way as to eliminate or minimise the two forms of keystoning shown in Figure 6.1. The first type arises when the axis of projection is not at right angles to the screen in the horizontal plane, and can be eliminated by placing the projector opposite the centre of the screen. The second (and most common) type arises in cases where the axis of projection is not at right angles to the screen in the vertical plane, usually because the projection head is too low. It can usually be eliminated or made acceptable by tilting the screen forward, if this is possible. In the case of a fixed vertical screen, however, the only way to solve the problem may well be to raise the level of the overhead projector itself, provided that this can be done without blocking the learners' view of the screen, of course!
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Figure 6.1: The two causes of keystoning in OHP displays (Adopted from CICED Publications, 1987)
1. Adjust the distance from the projector to the screen so that the image fills the full area of the latter when properly in focus; failure to use the entire area of the screen can make it difficult for people at the back of the room to make out details. 2. Make sure that the platen and head lens surfaces are clean and free from dust; dirty or dusty surfaces can reduce image brightness and detract from the clarity and quality of the display. 3. When making a presentation, the speaker must consider his audience, the information that needs to be provided and where the talk will be held. In some cases, the overhead projector proves to be the most effective viewing vehicle. For example, an overhead projector is suitable for a room that seats a large number of people (approximately 150 people in rows) or a small room with a table. Slide Projector A slide projector is an opto-mechanical device to view photographic slides. It has four main elements: electric incandescent light bulb or other light source (usually fan-cooled) reflector and "condensing" lens to direct the light to the slide, holder for the slide and focusing lens. A flat piece of heat-absorbing glass is often placed in the light path between the condensing lens and the slide, to avoid damaging the latter. This glass transmits visible wavelengths but absorbs infrared. Light passes through the transparent slide and lens, and the resulting image is enlarged Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 77
and projected onto a perpendicular flat screen so the audience can view its reflection. Alternatively, the image may be projected onto a translucent "rear projection" screen, often used for continuous automatic display for close viewing. This form of projection also avoids the audience interrupting the light stream by casting their shadow on the projection or by bumping into the projector.
How to Use Slide Projectors If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a slide projector must be worth quite a bit more. Many lecturers and public speakers have long since discovered the value of enhancing their words with images from a slide projector. Even simple images can add greatly to a verbal presentation, but today, thanks to the digital image and simple-to-use scanners, it is very easy to add many images to a public speech by the way of a slide projector. 1. Gather the slides you are going to use. Most slide projectors have a carousel that can hold approximately 80 slides. If you have more than 80 slides, you will have to split them into groups. 2. Place each slide into the carousel one by one. Some slide projectors have a clamping system in which you have to release a clamp before you can load the slides. 3. Press the power button, which is usually red and located somewhere along the top panel of the projector. 4. Focus the first slide. Depending on your slide projector, the focusing will either be done automatically, or you will have to adjust it using the focus buttons. 5. Move through the slides using the advance and reverse buttons. Pressing the advance button will make the projector progress to the next slide. Pressing the reverse button will make the projector backup to the previous slide. 6. Press the power button when you are finished. Remove the slides if you are not going to view them again soon. You should also unplug the slide projector and store it in a safe place. Digital Slide Projectors Below are steps in using slide projector to project digital images: 1. Convert all images to digital form. With the advent of digital imaging and scanners, it is now much easier to convert pictures to a form that can be projected. This includes images that can be taken with a digital camera plus everyday graphics or magazine articles, which can be converted quickly and cleanly to a projected image with equal ease. The challenge here is to limit your visual imagery to where each picture carries maximum impact. 2. Save your digital images in the correct file format. Most digital slide projectors use a limited amount of file types, such as JPG GIF files, so make sure your picture is in this format. This can be done in a very simple software program, such as "Photoshop Elements". Save your images at a resolution around 200 pixels per inch. This will give you a much better quality picture and prevent "pixellation" of your pictures.
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3. Organize and label your files so that they are shown in the correct order. A computerized projector will show everything in alphabetical order. So to keep the slides organized properly, every file name needs a numerical or alphabetical prefix. For example, if your first picture is entitled "Nyankpala botanical Park," add a prefix such as "1- Nyankpala botanical Park" or "a- Nyankpala botanical Park," so that it will be shown first. In this manner, the computer will read the first letter or number and show the image, according to how the numbers and letters are arranged. 4. Make sure you have a good screen that is in working order, and find a location for the projector. The zoom lens on the projector should make this task easier, and don't forget to try out the remote control apparatus beforehand, so that you can stand in front of the audience when you talk. 5. Do a trial run so that you are certain everything runs smoothly. There are a lot more variables with digital projectors, so you will have to take some time and explore the different ways you can dissolve or change images, but the basics of a good presentation have not changed. A moderate amount of well-planned images works best, no matter what kind of projector you use LCD Projector The LCD projector was invented by New York inventor Gene Dolgoff. He began working on it in college in 1968 as a way to produce a video projector that would be brighter than the then available 3-CRT projectors. The idea was to use an element referred to as a light valve to regulate the amount of light that passes through it. This would allow the use of a very powerful external light source. After trying many different materials, he settled on liquid crystals to modulate the light in 1971. It took him until 1984 to get an addressable liquid crystal display (LCD), which is when he built the world's first LCD projector (source: Wikipedia). An LCD projector is a type of video projector for displaying video, images or computer data on a screen or other flat surface. It is a modern analog of the slide projector or overhead projector. To display images, LCD (liquid crystal display) projectors typically send light from a Metal halide lamp through a prism or series of dichroic filters that separates light to three poly silicon panels one each for the red, green, and blue components of the video signal. In the ever growing world of technology, the popularity of computers to generate presentations is growing. Today's laptop computers coupled with many of the common software packages offer flexibility to the presenter. A professional looking presentation can be prepared ahead of time and displayed using this exciting technology. The use of this technology can be very attractive, especially to professional speakers who travel with a laptop computer. However, the limitation of LCD technology is that the equipment can be very expensive. It also requires the use of a computer and the necessary technical interfaces to work properly. Using LCD Significant preparation is required to ensure that everything is working properly. Here are some tips to consider when using LCD display projectors: 1. Read the LCD projector manual on its proper operation Not all LCD projectors work the same and each has their own unique operating requirements. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 79
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Become very familiar with the projector BEFORE using it during your actual presentation. Make sure your computer can be properly interfaced with the LCD projector. Practice setting the equipment up several times - Spend some time making sure you know how to properly set up the LCD projector with your computer and other computers. Set up the LCD projector in the actual presentation environment you will be using, if possible. Set up well in advance - Allow yourself plenty of time to set up your computer and the LCD projector. Check any last minute details. Check the LCD projector bulb life- LCD projector bulbs do have limited life. Some bulbs have shorter lives than others. Check and make sure the bulb you will be using is not close to the end of its life. Bring a spare bulb and cables! - Always carry spare bulbs with you and make sure you know how to properly change the bulb. Also, remember, "Hot" glass looks like "Cold" glass; be careful and bring a towel or glove to use when changing the bulb. Practice changing the bulb during one of your practice sessions. Check your presentation colour combinations - Take some time to check out the actual presentation for the colour combinations you will be using. Some colours and colour combinations do not project well. Check the font size you are using - Nothing is more frustrating to an audience than text that cannot be easily seen or read. Make sure you are using the proper text size for the distance you will be projecting your slides.
As with any sophisticated piece of equipment, it is critical that you familiarize yourself with the proper setup and operation of the equipment well in advance of your actual presentation. Remember, the more technology you bring to your presentation, the more care and time you need to include during your preparation stage. If everything is well planned, properly checked out and you have properly rehearsed with this new equipment, it can add a lot of excitement and life to your presentations.
Summary In order to select the best and the most suitable audio visual materials, certain factors such as; the nature, advantages and limitations of the audio visual materials, availability of supporting equipments and facilities, instructional task/aim and objective of the teaching, learners characteristics among others should be considered. Conclusion For effective teaching and learning to take place, the extension agent must go beyond mere talking. He needs to provide visual and or concrete experiences of the things he is teaching. It should be noted that educational or Audio-Visual media should adequately complement words as concrete experiences provide a solid base of knowledge.
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CHAPTER SEVEN
DVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION OF AUDIO VISUAL
Introduction This chapter introduces students to the techniques and guides for the production and development of audio visual teaching materials. Successful teaching depends on the ability of the instructor to select and organize appropriate teaching materials and aids. This involves developing or adapting existing available teaching aids to facilitate the teaching process. It is therefore important that extension workers and professionals to have adequate knowledge and skills in the production and development of these teaching materials. Objectives: At the end of this chapter, students would be able to: Familiarize themselves with general guidelines for the production of teaching materials Identify facilities needed for the production of teaching material Identify materials require for the production of audio visuals Know the principles of producing audio visuals Know how to produce flip charts, posters, etc. Be able to design information on teaching materials Use projectors and how it function UNIT ONE: DEVELOPING AUDIO VISUALS Audio visual could either be commercially produced or locally produced. Commercially produced materials are designed for a relatively heterogeneous audience and they could be useful for multiple purposes. The locally produced materials are designed for more specific purposes and for relatively homogenous learner audience. The work of extension agent entails accomplishing changes in knowledge, attitude, skills and practice through practical teaching and training of rural people. The use of audio visual aids is therefore handy in accomplishing effective practical teaching and training since this offer concrete and practical learning experience. For adequate use of training aids in extension work, it is imperative to encourage extension agents to acquire and develop skills in the design and production of simple learning aids. General Guidelines for the production of training materials/aids (1) Identification or understanding of the specific training objective. (2) Familiarity with the characteristics of the target audience to ensure suitability in terms of age, social and cultural background, beliefs, linguistic competence etc. (3) The content of the message should then be selected based on the first 2 guidelines. (4) Cost effectiveness must be ensured. (5) Availability of materials within the locality Facilities needed for production 1. Spacious room for planning, design and development. 2. Provision for graphics, photographic and audio materials 3. Storage space for quick storage and easy retrieval of materials Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 81
4. The maintenance culture to ensure continuous usefulness of the facility. Materials for production Adequate materials should be provided for graphics, sound recording, photography, duplicating and reproducing materials and some printing materials e.g. graphics require ample supply of card boards, newsprints, brown papers mechanical lettering devices cut out letters, pens, inks, pencils, markers, rulers, water colour transparency sheet, laminating materials etc. For photography, we need ample supply of films and printing materials. Equipment should be provided for typing and production of materials. Tape recorders, editing equipment, tape duplicator for audio aids. Video camera and still camera should also be provided to take photographs and video recordings. Development and Design of common Audio visual Aids Developing Flip Charta As explained earlier, flipcharts used as extension aids in the field normally contain a series of pictures, with or without words, fastened along one edge. Each picture illustrates one point in the extension agent's talk: the agent simply turns over each one when moving onto the next point. The flipchart can be hung from a convenient point so that the agent can fold back each sheet in turn, to reveal the next one. Flipcharts can be rolled up for easy transport. When Developing Flip Charts: Each sheet of paper should contain one idea, sketch, or theme. Words, charts, diagrams, and other symbols must be penned in a large enough size to be seen by people farthest from the speaker. In general, make each letter at least 1/32" high for each foot of distance from the material. For example, a 1-inch letter is legible from 32 feet, and a 2-inch letter from 64 feet. Divide the distance from the back of the room to the visual by 32 to determine the minimum size of letters. Use block lettering, since it is easiest to read. Use all capital letters, and do not slant or italicize letters. Use and vary the colour. Also, check from a distance to make sure the colour works well and is not distracting. Developing Overhead transparencies Overhead projector transparencies are clear plastic sheets on which text or diagrams can be written and put on top of the lens of overhead transparencies, the light travels into the mirror that shines what is written on the transparencies forward onto a screen Although traditional acetate Overhead projectors transparencies can be produced in a wide range of forms, there are three basic principles that should underlie the design of all such materials. First, do not try to put too much information on a single transparency. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 82
Second, use a clear, systematic layout. As with all still-visual display materials, the way in which the information is presented is often just as important as the intrinsic content in determining whether the material is effective from an instructional point of view. Third, make sure that all the material will be seen when the transparency is projected.
When Developing Overhead Transparencies: Overhead transparencies can be developed during a presentation by marking on acetate sheets with water-soluble or permanent transparency pens. The same approach can be used to add information to existing transparencies. In both cases, a damp tissue can be used to wipe information off a transparency that has been marked with watersoluble ink. When removing a transparency from the machine during the presentation, slide the next immediately underneath it to achieve a smooth transition. Don't leave the screen blank with the light on. A 45-degree angle to the audience is the most effective location for an overhead projector and screen. This provides for the least obstructed view. Ideally, set the projector on a table lower than the surrounding tables or platforms to make it less imposing. Transparencies with too much information - especially typed pages designed for a printed piece and transferred to acetate - are confusing. Keep transparencies simple. When typing words for transparencies, use bold typing elements Developing Posters Posters are a simple but effective way of publicizing events and communicating important messages to the public at large. They can be displayed at special events such agricultural shows or at vantage points in the community. In design an effective poster. It is important to make the poster attractive and easy to read
o o o
Choose a background colour that will not overwhelm the message Use appropriate pictures or graphics Choose fonts that are easy to read - consider colour, size and be careful not to mix too many different fonts together
When preparing posters: Each poster should contain one message or theme. Words, charts, diagrams, and other symbols must be penned in a large enough size to be seen by everyone in the room. Use all capital letters, and do not slant or italicize letters. Use and vary the colour. Also, check from a distance to make sure the colour works well and is not distracting
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Developing videotape Videotapes are use to store video imaginaries that can be used to show to farmers. This allow farmers to have a practical experience of events or scenes that are remote from them but captured in a video to be shown to them When Developing Videotape: Practicing with the equipment by filming, as well as showing, is the best way to overcome hesitancies about its use. To cover the basics if you are brand new to video use, budget yourself a one hour session with an experienced video producer, whether amateur or professional. University extension programs and the local cable T.V. station are good places to check for a no-cost session. Discuss your ideas. Your budget will determine whether you should tape on your own or have a professional make the videotape. Composing and editing a 15-minute video production can easily consume dozens of hours whether you do all of the work or contract to have part of it done. In order for this kind of investment to pay off, it usually means that the final product should be viewed by a large audience or multiple audiences. Consider the facilities available before choosing to use videotape. Developing Flyers and Leaflets Flyers and leaflets are design to attract attention and give concise information about process, technology or event. Whether for advertising a product or services, or promoting event, the elements of an attention-grabbing of flyer remain the same. It must be kept simple and concise! Steps in Developing Content of a flyer (1.) Write a headline. This headline should be no more than five words. It should fit in one line across the page, and be centered. The lettering in the headline should be bigger than any other lettering on the flier.
INTEREST!
(2)The picture should be centered, and its area should be no more than a third of the page. If you want, you can include two pictures side by side, but more than two is not usually necessary, and will only make the flier too cluttered, which reduces the likelihood of it catching someone's eye. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 84
INTEREST!
INTEREST!
(3)Place a description below the image. Keep it concise. Emphasize words (with capitalization, a slightly bigger or bold font, but not all at once) that might make your offer more enticing: free, reliable, and new. A good guideline is to have around 5 brief sentences
High interest rate is killing farmers
UNIT TWO: DEVELOPMENT OF AUDIO TEACHING AIDS Any device used to pass information to a learner in a teaching learning situation only through the sense of hearing is audio aid. Audio media are communication media which provide information that we hear. Such information is received through the ears. Audio materials include: radio, tape recorders, telephone. (1) Radio: The radio is known to be the most effective mass media channel for communicating agricultural information. It can easily be used in the rural setting. It has been severally recommended by most development support communication researchers and extension experts as an inexpensive medium for reaching a good majority of rural dwellers in many developing countries. Advantages of radio in Extension work The audio ability makes it more appealing. Good microphone voice is very attractive to human beings, especially when local dialects are used. This breaks the literacy barrier created in print media. It is the cheapest and fastest means of reaching very wide audiences. It reaches large audience at the same time. Because large number of people own radio sets, information spreads very fast. It is less expensive to purchase the availability of the transistor radio at affordable prices makes it attractive.
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It does not depend solely on electricity for power source. Almost all transistor radio sets use batteries. Because of its small size, radio can be carried about. It emphasizes local languages most radio stations broadcast in the local languages with their area of reception. It removes the barrier of time and space as it can reach a large percentage of people at the appropriate time. Programme broadcasts could be repeated. Farmers can be engaged in other activities while listening to radio programme. How to use Radio in extension teaching situation 1. Select topics based on the needs of people. 2. Physical condition is there any noise in the environment, ventilation, seats. 3. Learning condition get materials ready for the teaching. 4. Teachers involvement VEA must be involved. Generate a discussion that will show that they actually listened. 5. Evaluate. A radio vision situation can be created by preparing and distributing visual materials to the intended audience in advance. When the programme is on they could turn to the visuals thereby combining them with the message. Audio/Tape Recorder Information to be disseminated to the farmers can be recorded on audio tapes or cassettes with the aid of a tape recorder. This can then be played for the farmers in their villages. The teacher can pause the tape and explain. Audio Visuals 1. Television (Video Tape Recorder). These media are good for observation. Each gives immediacy. It reaches large audience and can be used to teach any subject. It magnifies demonstration. With the help of television broadcasting, a good farming practice done elsewhere can be shown to farmers. Individual farmers may own their TV set from which can view agricultural information broadcast or a project can organize community TV at vantage point for farmers to get around and watch. Such arrangement can promote discussion among farmers and their feedback can be obtained by agent who can relate it to broadcasters. With recent innovation of call in through telephoning technology, farmers can call for quick response, either for further clarification or more information. Video tape recorder can be used to record specific programmes and later used to teach the audience. This equipment can be paused to explain the presentation in details. Documentaries and features can be produced and laid for the audience to view. 2. Films/motion pictures Films are used to show motion for process as a record of events and it can be used to incorporate other media. It makes learning more realistic and influences change in attitude of the learners. Films are long playing pictures, usually produced on a topic and projected on a large screen. This creates powerful emotions in viewers.
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Advantages of films/motion pictures i. They produce both sight and sound and usually come in colour. ii.They create powerful emotions to create iii. They can effectively demonstrate steps in carrying out operations. iv. They magnify objects for greater effect. v. They can be used again and again for a very long time. vi. Since only one major subject is usually treated in a film, the information on the subject is more detailed. Its use is no longer in vogue.
3. Films Strips: The process of film strips is similar to that of motion pictures or films. Here the pictures are static, not moving. It is mostly used for identification and recognition and aids planned sequence of ideas. It makes discussion and explanation possible as the presenter can pace as he likes. It can also be used with other media like the tape to provide audio. Conclusion While some audio visual teaching materials are already made and be obtained on shelves, notwithstanding the knowledge and skills of developing, designing and adapting teaching material is imperative in the work of extension practitioners, teachers and trainers.
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CHAPTER EIGHT
WRITING AND DESIGNING PRINT MATERIAL FOR EXTENSION WORK
Introduction There are many instances in one's professional or academic career when producing a professional written document is necessary. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce students to producing and designing scripts and presentations for extension work. Objectives: By the end of this chapter students should be able to Appreciate the usefulness of good writing skills in extension work Understand the basic steps in writing Know how to write effective headlines for extension prints outs Understanding the principles in designing print material for extension work Appreciate the process of writing script for extension radio broadcast. UNIT ONE: WRITING PRINT MATERIAL FOR EXTENSION WORK Extension practitioners and front line development workers in general must express their ideas clearly, concisely, and completely when speaking and writing. If their written messages aren't clear or lack important details, clients will be confused and will not know exactly what is being expected of them. In addition, if the written messages are too lengthy, people simply will not will not read them. Principles of writing The process of good writing involves three basic steps - preparing, writing, and editing. In practicing writing the following principles will be useful. 1. Know your objective: Think before you write. The writer must be aware of objectives and goal of his/her writing, the characteristics of the intended readers. Extension articles, pamphlets, newsletters, posters, etc are usually written to create awareness, give information or influence behaviour and action. Therefore the objective should inform the content of the writing. 2. Make a list (Start with an Outline): Write down the ideas or points you want to cover. Why? This helps you get started in identifying the key ideas you want to discuss. If you have trouble getting started, try discussing your ideas with someone else. "Kicking an idea around" often helps you clarify your objective and fine-tune what you are trying to accomplish. 3. Organize your ideas: After gathering all of your raw data, you'll want to organize it in the best way for reader comprehension. Outlining is the perfect tool for structuring your presentation of the information. It affords you the opportunity to break large chunks into manageable parts and to ensure that you cover every relevant issue. Creating an outline also allows you to make sure you present your material in a logical and parallel manner, from start to finish. Here are a few ways you can organize your ideas: Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 88
Importance: - Begin with the most important piece of information and then move on to the next most important. Chronological order - Describe what happened first, second, third. For instance, if the extension worker is giving information on the steps in cultivating a new crop variety, he must do so chronologically. Problem-Solution - Define the problem and then describe possible alternatives or the solution you recommend. Question-Answer - State a question and then provide your answer. Organize your ideas so the reader can easily follow your argument or the point you are trying to get across . 4. Back it up: Have an opinion, but back it up - support with data. Give credibility to your message or idea. Farmers confidence has to be won before they consider accepting the technology or innovation being disseminated. There are a number of ways you can support your ideas, including explanations, examples, facts, personal experiences, stories, statistics, and quotations. It's best to use a combination of approaches to develop and support your ideas. 5. Separate main ideas: Each paragraph should have one main point or idea captured in a topic sentence. The topic sentence is normally the first sentence in the paragraph. Each paragraph should be started by an indentation or by skipping a line. 6. Use bullets or numbers: If you are listing or discussing a number of items, use bullets or number your points like I have done in this paper. Here's an example of using bullets. Together we can: sell our farm produce for better price transport our produce cheaply access cheaply efficient marketing information obtain loan from bank 7. Write complete sentences: A sentence is about someone doing something - taking action. The "doing something - taking action" can include mental processes such as thinking, evaluating, and deciding, or physical actions such as writing and talking. A good rule to practice is to have subjects closely followed by their verbs. A complete sentence should carry a complete thought. 8. Use short sentences: Sentences should be a maximum of 12 to 15 words in length. According to the American Press Institute, sentences with 15 or fewer words are understood 90% of the time. Sentences with eight or fewer words are understood 100% of the time. 9. Be precise and accurate: Words like "large," "small," "as soon as possible," "they," "people," "teamwork," and "customer focus" are vague and imprecise. The reader may interpret these words to mean something different than what you intended. Reduce communication breakdowns by being specific and precise. Define terms as needed. The reader may not understand certain acronyms and abbreviations. 10. Use commas appropriately: Use a comma to separate the elements in a series of three or Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 89
more items: His favourite colours are red, white, and blue. Use a comma to set off introductory elements: After coffee and donuts, the meeting will begin. Use a comma to separate adjectives: That tall, distinguished, good-looking professor teaches history. 11. Use the correct word: Here are several words that cause confusion. Youre a contraction for "you are" Your means possession, such as "your coat." It's is a contraction for "it is." Its indicates possession. Their means possession/ownership-"their house." There means location. They're is a contraction for "they are." 12. Avoid redundancies: It is a redundancy to use multiple words that mean or say the same thing. For example, consider the following: Redundant - My personal beliefs Beliefs are personal, so just state, My beliefs... Redundant - I decided to paint the machine gray in colour. Gray is a colour, so just state, I decided to paint the machine gray. 13. Numbers: When using numbers in the body of your paper, spell out numbers one through nine, such as "Three men decided" When using numbers 10 or above it's proper to write the number, such as "The report indicated 68 farmers" 14. Have a conclusion: Would you really enjoy watching a movie or sporting event that had no conclusion? No. The conclusion ties your points together. The reader wants to know the final score - the bottom line message. 15. Edit your work: Read what you have written several times.

On your first read, focus on organization and sentence structure. Shorten long sentences. Cross out unnecessary words and phrases. Reorganize material as needed. Read it again and make sure commas are used appropriately and that there is proper punctuation mark at the end of every sentence. Read it a third time and focus on word choice. Are there certain words that are vague or unclear? Replace them with specific words. Read what you have written aloud to yourself or to a friend to see if he or she (and you) can understand it and improve it in any way.
A significant part of good writing involves editing. Very few people can sit down and write a perfect paragraph on their first try. It requires multiple rewrites. Writing headlines on posters, flyers newsletters A headline is the most important element of a print posters, newsletters, magazines and flyers used for extension public information delivery mechanism. Within any printed medium, such as a newspaper or magazine, people will read, or at best "skim" the headlines of articles, before deciding either to read the entire document or not. Therefore in order to attract and lure people to read a print material the headline must be properly chosen and worded. Headlines of posters, newsletters, leaflets or flyers have many functions. However, a successful headline has 4 very important jobs to accomplish. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 90
These are: 1. Get attention. 2. Select an audience. 3. Deliver a complete message 4. Draw readers into the body Most people skim-read, so the headline has should be able to capture the reader's attention. Guidelines in Designing Effective Headlines Avoid using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. On a subconscious level, man had learned to recognize the "shape" of words. If your words are all in capital block letters, they appear as RECTANGULAR BLOCKS OF PRINT, and a person quickly skimming a page will miss your entire message. Avoid all punctuation. Periods, commas, exclamation marks, quotations and even question marks act as "full-stops" to the reader. You don't want anything to stop the reader's flow from advancing from your headline directly into the main body. The best headlines will appear as though the headline is merely the first half of a longer sentence, thus the reader does not stop reading to discover more. 4 Keep it very simple and understandable. Do not use abbreviations, technical jargon, or hard to understand words.5 Target your exact audience. Try to target your clients specifically in your headline. If you attempt to reach everyone, you'll come across as vague and impress no one. If your audience is dairy farmers about a milking machine, do not appear to targeting all farmers. 9 Be Precise. Avoid writing "Blind Headlines" that reveal nothing about your offer. A headline must stand entirely on it's own merit, without the reader being forced to read on to discover what the headline was meaning. They won't read on. Engage the senses. Engage as many senses as possible (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) to vividly engage the readers imagination, both in the headline and the ad copy. . Use Captions to Spark Curiosity. Always include a captivating caption directly under every photo. People always look at the pictures, and a great photo with an intriguing caption, will draw the reader's focus back to either the headline or the main body. Do Your Homework! Gather as much information as you can about both your product, and your target audience to discover the "hook" that can be used in your headline. The best headline is often discovered while working through all the information in the creation of the packaged information it's self.17 Use a Thesaurus or Dictionary. When composing a headline, look up every word of your headline in a Thesaurus to find better words, then look up each of the new words you have found to find even more. Write and re-write. Keep reworking the headline, rearranging the words, and write several versions of a headline always trying to tweak and improve upon it. Then select the best one. A great headline will often take longer to compose, than the entire write up. 1 Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 91
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Try to connect to your reader's self-interest on a level of emotion. A great headline should contain a leading benefit that triggers some level of excitement. This could include any of the following: fear a need want or desire curiosity factual news or statistics of interest or a gripping question. UNIT TWO: DESIGNING PRINT MATERIALS When designing print materials for extension and community work, the following principles must be kept in mind. Community engagement Involve affected community members in all phases of material development this goes beyond pre-and post testing of your print material. Emergency preparedness allows you to engage the affected community to the fullest. Choose a simple, logical design and layout 1. Present only one (1) message per illustration. 2. Make materials interactive and creative. 3. Limit the number of concepts and pages of materials. 4. Messages should be in the sequence that is most logical to the group. 5. Use illustrations to help explain the text. 6. Leave plenty of white space to make it easier to see the illustrations and text.
Use illustrations and images 1. Use simple illustrations or images. 2. Use appropriate styles: (1) photographs without unnecessary detail, (2) complete drawings of figures when possible, and (3) line drawings. 3. Use familiar images that represent objects and situations to which the affected community can relate. 4. Use realistic illustrations. Illustrate objects in scale and in context whenever possible. 5. Dont use symbols unless they are pre-tested with members of the affected community. 6. Use appropriate colours. Use text to your advantage Use a positive approach. Negative approaches are very limited in impact, tend to turn off the affected community, and will not sustain an impact over time. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 92
Use the same language and vocabulary as your affected community; limit the number of languages in the same material. Repeat the basic message at least twice in each page of messages. Select a type style and size that are easy to read. Italic and sans serif typefaces are more difficult to read. Use a 14-point font for text, 18point for subtitles, and 24-point for titles. Use upper and lower case letters. Print Topography and Layout Typography is an art form that has been around for hundreds of years. Words and text are all around us every day in almost everything we do. In every piece of type you see, somebody has considered how the letters, sentences and paragraphs will look in order for it to be read by us, or make us feel a certain way when we look at In print design, typography is one of the more crucial aspects. Typography is essential the practice of organizing, arranging, and modifying type. The typography techniques used in print has a direct impact on how the reader is able to receive the image. Different typographic layouts can be used in different fields of print such as brochure design, editorial design, and poster design. Page layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements (content) on a page Components of print Topography Typeface or font A typeface is a family of fonts (such as Helvetica Regular, Helvetica Italic, Helvetica Bold, Helvetica Black, etc.) but a font is one weight or style within a typeface family (such as Helvetica Regular A font (type font) is the complete alphabet of any one type face in a given point size. It includes upper case letters, lower case letters, numerals, punctuation marks, etc. Typeface classifications There are many different classifications and sub-classification of typefaces, but the most common two types you will hear of are: Serif these typefaces are the more traditional ones. They are distinguished by a short line or finishing stroke on the end of character strokes and stems (shown in the anatomy diagram below) and; Sans-serif as the name suggests, these are distinguished by their lack of any Serifs. They only became popular in the nineteenth century and are considered modern as a result.
Serif. Typefaces like Times Roman, Bookman, and Palatino contain tiny strokes at the edges of each letter. These contribute to your readers ability to easily recognize each letter. The serifs also draw your readers eyes from one letter to another. Serif typefaces are ideal for body copy. Sans-serif. Typefaces like Arial, Frutiger, and Helvetica lack serifs. The simplicity of these letters makes them ideal for headlines and subheads.
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Alignment Text can be aligned to the right margin, left margin, centre margin or justify (both left and right alignment) of the page. Generally text should be left aligned, simply because we are used to reading that way. Without good reason, only consider centering or right aligning text if it is a small amount, such as a heading or caption. Also, justifying text (where it has a straight edge on both sides) should be used in moderation too. It looks nice and neat in some situations, but too much of it will make a layout look rigid. Additionally justifying in a small column size can cause irregular spacing as between words as the software attempts to adjust your text to fit. Portrait Page layout Page orientation or layout is the way in which a rectangular page is oriented for normal viewing. The two most common types of orientation are portrait and landscape. The specific word definition comes from the fact that a close-up portrait of a person's face and upper body is more fitting for a canvas or photo where the height of the display area is greater than the width, and is more common for the pages of books Measure or line spacing This refers to the length of lines of text in a paragraph or column. Most people tend to just refer to it as column width. Measure is an important thing to get right in typography as it can be crucial to the readability of the text. If the measure is too wide the text may be difficult to read as the eye has to move a lot more after each line is read. If it is too narrow it can also be tiring on the eye to read, as the eye is constantly moving back and forth. A narrow measure will also lead to a lot of hyphenation. Leading Vertical line spacing is referred to as Leading in typography and print, which is because in the old days of printing and setting blocks of type, strips of lead were inserted between the lines according to how much space was required. Leadings role in typography is to generate sufficient space between the lines to make it readable. As with all matters of typography, it is a balance between reading comfort and aesthetic style. Columns When working in columns you should remember to: use an appropriate number of columns to fit the page size so that they are neither too wide nor too narrow allow sufficient space between the columns for ease of reading use left-aligned text. Grids A Grid is a guide by which graphic designers can organize copy and images in a flexible way, whilst making this content easy to take in and understand. They can form the basis of a good typographic layout so its good to get into the habit of using them in your work. Try looking at examples (such as a newspaper, a brochure, or a website with a lot of text content) to see how the type has been positioned and structured. The diagram below is intended to show in a basic way Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 94 landscape
how different pieces of type can be positioned on a grid, and what the main parts of a grid are called.
The problem of Rag This is the uneven vertical edge of a block of type, most commonly the right-hand edge, as in the case of left-aligned text. It is important to pay attention to the rag, as it can affect readability in a big way. If the rag is not very good, it can be very distracting on the eye, as you read down a column. Usually it can easily be fixed by reworking the line breaks, or by editing the copy.
Widows and Orphans If a single word or very short line is left at the end of a column it is called a Widow. Likewise if the same is left at the top of the following column this is called an Orphan. Both of these are considered bad typography as they cause distracting shapes in a block of type. They can usually be fixed easily in the same way as the rag, by reworking the line breaks in the column or by editing the copy.
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Writing for Radio Rural broadcasting had been identified as one of the effective way of mass dissemination of agricultural information. Rural and community radio have being set up to broadcast agricultural information to rural farmers. Any rural radio broadcaster knows that there are not many sources for ready-to-broadcast material about sustainable agriculture, basic nutrition and health, or other topics of interest to small-scale farmers. Radio broadcast are done on prepared script produce by extension professionals. When writing for radio, the follow Seven Cs of Effective Communication. Must be considered:
Command attention. In writing a script for radio programmes endevour to attract listeners attention. Everyone loves a story, and we all like to listen in on the lives of other people. A radio drama can be very effective in commanding attention. However, such programmes are time-consuming and expensive to produce. So the scripts should provide a variety of formats including interviews, group discussions and narrative storytelling, in addition to radio dramas. Cater to the heart and head. Writing for extension work is to convey social development messages and to change peoples behaviour. The messages in the scripts should appeal to peoples intelligence. But to have lasting impact, they must also strike an emotional chord. Try to avoid technical language and scientific jargons but rather write in a way that lets the listener place herself in the story or example. Call to action. Write for development is to inspire people to take action. Try to present practical examples (of farming, of community organizing, of marketing, etc.) that have been beneficial to a farmer, a rural family, or an entire community, so that others can learn from their experience and replicate their success. Clarify the message. It is often said that a message must be repeated three times if it is to be well understood and remembered. In a radio scripts, the main message should be repeated several times. Reinforce the message and clarify techniques through serial radio scripts. Communicate a benefit. When writing a script for social change, it has to be ensure that the target audience will from listening to the broadcast. But simply telling someone that something is good for him or her is not a very effective way to achieve change. One of the cardinal rules of good communication is Show, dont tell. Try to demonstrate benefits by taking listeners to farmers elsewhere who have increased yield, increased income, reduced labour, or otherwise benefited from a changed behaviour. Page 96
Create trust. A health worker, a farmer-leader or a local agriculture extensions or researcher who is known to the audience is much more likely to attract the trust of the listeners than is an official who is known only in a formal setting. So the written script should be done by or in consultation with the field agents who are known to the audience and they should be involved in the presentation. Also listeners are more likely to trust the message in the script by seeing their favourite characters or familiar local figures recommend and adopt the new behaviours. So involve local leaders in the programme. Convey a consistent message. Consistency doesnt necessarily mean that scripts must be repetitious. In fact, script writers must constantly write new material that communicates and reinforces key messages. For example, if you writing to promote sustainable agricultural through the of low external inputs environmental friendly farming system, do not turn and extol the benefits of large scale farming through the use of machines, chemical fertilizers and other high external inputs.
. Summary You don't have to be a great writer to be successful development practitioner. However you must be able to clearly and succinctly explain your thoughts and ideas in writing. Strive to be simple, clear, and brief. Like any skill, "good writing" requires practice, feedback, and ongoing improvement.
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CHAPTER NINE
PRESENTATION SKILLS FOR EXTENSION WORK USING VISUAL AIDS
Introduction This chapter presents to students general guidelines of preparing and making effective presentation. Here information and skills of designing and organising presentation using visual teaching aids is provided to assist equip students to be able to make their own presentation. This information and skills is very important to practitioners and students of extension education. Objectives: Students at the end this chapter, would be able to: Understand how to design and organize presentation Identify the guideline for planning presentation Understand the role of effective presentation in extension teaching Make his/her presentation UNIT ONE: PREPARING AND ORGANIZING PRESENTATION Use of visual aids, coupled with good public speaking skills is very crucial in making effective presentations. Good style of speaking or oratory in public are personal talents, however, it can be developed or refine through practice and experience. To be effective extension worker require the practitioner to develop good public speaking skills and ability to prepare and make effective presentation. There are many media of making presentation; however, in this course much emphasis is given to visual aids which are essential to all successful presentations in the dissemination of extension information or technology. Designing Presentation Designing effective presentation is imperative in attracting and maintaining the attention and interest of the audience (learners). The main role of extension worker is to help educate rural people on improved farming practice. Preparing and designing mode of presentation or teaching is therefore a routine duty of extension practitioners as rural development agents. Establishing educational objectives, planning and organizing, material, and using appropriate visual aids are the essential ingredients in designing and preparing presentation. Effective presentations call for all these three ingredients (establishing objective, planning and organizing), in the order in which they are presented here. By establishing the objectives first, provides a basis for preparing relevant material that supports each objective. The selection of audio visual aids will be informed by the educational objective being sought and the nature of audiences also determine the kind and type of audio visual teaching aids to use. Establishing the Objective The objectives or end goals of the presentation should be clear and guide the design and content of the presentation. Therefore for successful presentation, the extension agent must know the objective of the presentation. It is these objectives that drive the agent presentation and move the audience to his/her end goals. The end goals may be that the attendees or clients take a particular Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 98
action, adopt a new technology, or practice, respond to facts and information. Most extension programmes aim at accomplishing certain educational changes of its clients such as knowledge, attitude, practice and skills. Establishing these goals requires careful planning. The content, organization, and the type of audio visual aids to use are built on the objective set for the presentation. The Establishment of the objectives for any presentation requires an analysis of the goals, as well as the audience's needs and expectations. By a careful consideration of the nature of the audience, enables the extension to determine more easily what should be presented (content) and how it should be presented. An audience analysis will enable the agent to: Select appropriate points of emphasis in your presentation The knowledge level and experience of the audience in relation to the topic of presentation Develop a useful level of detail Choose and prepare appropriate visual aids Create a tone that is sensitive to your audience's circumstance Ideally as a change or bettering agent, any presentation made should form a bridge between you have (information or technology) and which your audience (clients) wants. Therefore the audience analysis should influence the form of information presented so as to create this bridge. Planning and Organizing Material for presentation Information about the characteristics of the audience such as age, experience and literacy level is imperative in planning and organizing material for effective presentation. The use of visual aids is very handy in achieving effective one-way or two-way communication. Many factors can influence the type of visual aids for any presentation, however, the type of interaction to be developed with audience should be the guiding factor in influencing the choice. The tips listed below will assist in tailoring the approach accordingly. Presentation should be prepared well ahead of time. Thus, presentation should be prepared, review and rehears before presenting it to the audience. Presentation should have an outline; the outline should give a brief statement of the goals, major issues to be discussed, and information to be presented supporting the main themes. The content should be limited to the major point and no more than five key supporting points. The content should be prepared by considering the nature of the audience such as their age, status, and experience in their profession and whether they want only to listen or to respond and contribute. Select appropriate visual aids and a presentation style that will be effective in the physical setting for the presentation.
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UNIT TWO: MAKING A PRESENTATION A well prepared and organized piece of presentation is imperative in making effective presentation. Although, presentation is a serious task, care must be taken not to create a tense up situation that makes the learning environment uncomfortable for the audience to listen and interact freely. The clients of extension practitioners are adults and must be treated with decorum and respect. Audience attention is very critical in achieving the objective of the presentation. Occasional jokes and old chestnut of public speaking should be cheep in to ease any tense environment and refresh the listeners mind and attention. Regular planned breaks should be given for long presentation so the audience can refresh themselves. Below are some recommendations that should be taken note of: Recognizes the importance of reinforcement in adult learning Completes the communication for the listener Informs people who arrive late of what they missed Recognizes the importance of organization, highlighting, and summarizing main points for the audience seeks to clarify main themes for the audience at the end of the presentation Adding the Visual Dimension Visuals add an important dimension to a presentation, and to achieve the extension objective of influencing knowledge, attitude, skills and practice presenters must capitalize on this dimension. It is critical that presenters should prepare visual aids that reinforce their major points, stimulate the audience, and work well in the physical setting of your presentation. Visual aids and audio-visuals include a wide variety of communication products, including flip charts, overhead transparencies, slides, audio-slide shows, and video tapes. Demonstrating a process or simply passing around a sample of some equipment or model is also effective way to clarify messages visually. For instance, if a new variety of crop is being promoter in a presentation a sample of it shown to the audience will be more effective in communicating than any verbal description. If visual aids are poorly selected or inadequately done, they will distract audience attention from what the presenter is saying. The tips listed below will help in the selection and preparation of visual aids. Tips on Preparing Visual Aids Start with at least a rough outline of the goal and major points of the presentation before selecting the visual aid(s). For example, a particular scene or slides may trigger ideas for the presentation, providing the power of images. Do not proceed too far without first determining what you want to accomplish, what your audience wants to gain, and what the physical setting requires. Each element of an audio-visual product - a single slide or a page of a flip chart presentation, for example, - must be simple and contain only one message. Placing more than one message on a single image confuses the audience and diminishes the potential impact of visual media. Keep visual aids BRIEF. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 100
Determine the difference between what you will say and what the visual aid will show. Do not read straight from your visuals. Ask the audience to read or listen, not both; visual aids should not provide reading material while you talk. Rather, use them to illustrate or highlight your points. Give participants paper copies of various graphic aids used in your presentation. They will be able to write on the paper copies and have them for future reference. Assess your cost constraints. An overhead transparency presentation can always be used in a formal environment if 35 mm slides are too expensive. Account for production time in your planning and selection process. Slides must be developed, videotape edited - you do not want to back yourself against a wall because the visuals are not ready. You can often get production work done in 24-48 hours, but it is much more expensive than work that is done on an extended schedule. Use local photographs and examples when discussing general problems and issues. While a general problem concerning welding safety, for example, may elude someone, illustrating with a system in use at the site can bring the issue home. Use charts and graphs to support the presentation of numerical information. Develop sketches and drawings to convey various designs and plans. When preparing graphics, make sure they are not too crowded in detail. Do no overuse colour. See that line detail, letters, and symbols are bold enough to be seen from the back of the room. Do not use visual aids for persuasive statements, qualifying remarks, emotional appeals, or any type of rhetorical statement. If you have handouts, don't let them become a distraction during the presentation. They should provide reinforcement following your address. Consider giving them out after the presentation, unless the audience will use them during the presentation or will need to review them in advance of the presentation. Practice presenting the full program using graphic materials so you are familiar with their use and order. If you use audio-visual materials, practice working with them and the equipment to get the timing down right. Seek feedback on the clarity of your visuals and do so early enough to allow yourself time to make needed adjustments. Selecting visual aids Deciding on what visual aid to use and how to choose it in a presentation is important in producing effective presentation. Selecting appropriate visual aids in a presentation should be done by examining the merits and limitations of the visual aids against information intended to be presented and the nature of the audience and environment where the presentation will take place. Visual teaching materials such as overhead transparency require source of electricity power to function, hence its use will be determine by availability of power. Therefore by looking at the pros and cons of each one can more easily decide what will work best for a particular situation in a piece of presentation. Testing the Design of Presentation After preparing the visuals to be use a presentation, it has to be pre run by practicing how to use it. A full run practice, preferably with someone you know well and with someone you do not Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 101
know well. Alternatively, use a video or audio tape recorder, or a mirror to assist in evaluating the presentation and the accuracy and appropriateness the presentation. A practice run will ensure that each presentation builds on the previous one and that all the points are covered. These colleagues can also provide valuable feedback. The tips below will very handy in making the most out of your practice runs: Seek feedback must be sought at the point when the material is well organized but not committed to memory. This will enable any needed changes to be incorporated easily. This feedback should include an evaluation of the presentation's length, logic, clarity, and interest level; the speaker's rate of delivery, voice level, and conversational pattern; and the usefulness of the visual aids. Once the content of the presentation are satisfied, the next step is to make sure that the technical supports are in place or lined up: Make sure the equipment need to carry out the presentation is available. Environment or place of the presentation be assessed to ensure is conducive for the equipment to be used and audience. Practice using the visuals with the equipment provided. The presenter should make sure that he/she knows where the on/off so as to avoid distracting the audience attention by fumbling with equipment. Rehearsal is a fundamental step in developing and refining effective presentations.
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CHAPTER TEN
DEVELOPING POWERPOINT PRESENTATION
Introduction PowerPoint is application software that can be used to build, print, and deliver presentations. You have several options for the delivery of a presentation, but it had to be developed first into slides which can be printed. In developing a PowerPoint presentation, it is important not to try to include every piece of information which is to be delivered. PowerPoint slides should contain brief, concise, descriptive phrases that will help you remember what you want to present and to serve as a reminder for your audience. Objectives: Students after reading this chapter would be able to: Understand the steps in preparing PowerPoint presentation Design PowerPoint presentation Identify features in the Microsoft PowerPoint window Publish prepared PowerPoint document on a web page Set up PowerPoint to be used for 35mm Slides show
UNIT ONE: STEPS IN PREPARING POWERPOINT PRESENTATION Getting Started When you start PowerPoint, the new presentation dialog box offers four choices:
AutoContent Wizard walks you through a series of questions designed to elicit information about you and the type of presentation you are making. The Wizard then builds a dummy presentation that will guide you in developing the content of the presentation. Design Template allows you to establish the background and colour scheme from the available templates prior to beginning work in the new presentation Ne w Presentation Dialog Box Template choices are generally easier to make after you have opened the new presentation because you can better see the characteristics of each template before making a selection. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 103
Blank presentation opens a new presentation with no template. Open an existing presentation displays a list of recently opened PowerPoint presentations from which you can choose. Or, you may choose More Files to move to the location of a previously saved presentation file and open it. AutoLayout After you have opened a new presentation, PowerPoint displays the New Slide dialog box containing several AutoLayouts. AutoLayouts provide a pre-determined layout for each specific type of slide. They provide consistency throughout the presentation. Each layout depicted is described in the lower right corner when you click the layout. This sample New Slide dialog box shows the Title Slide selected (denoted with the thick border).
New Slide Layout Dialog Box New Look of PowerPoint 2000 Development Area PowerPoint 2000's normal view has a three-pane development area that includes the outline pane on the left, the slide development pane on the top right, and the notes pane on the lower right. PowerPoint 2000 Layout The outline pane contains each slide's title, as well as any information typed into a Placeholder. If you want more room to type text directly into an outline, click the Outline View Tool. This causes the slide pane to display as a miniature. The slide pane displays any text you type into a Placeholder, as well as any objects you place on the slide. If you want more room to develop in slide view, click the Slide View Tool. . Page Setup for 35mm Slides PowerPoint assumes that you will be delivering an on-screen presentation. If you are using PowerPoint for development but will be creating 35mm slides, you should size the presentation for that medium before beginning development.
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35mm slides are wider than on-screen presentations; if you develop slides before setting the page size, you run the risk of your slides not looking the way you want them to look. To size your presentation for 35mm slides: From the menu, choose FILE: Page Setup. In the Page Setup dialog box, click the drop-down box beside Slides sized for. Choose 35mm Slides. Click OK. Page Setup Dialog Box Using Placeholders All but two of the AutoLayouts supply pre-selected places called Placeholders in which to insert text. It is important to insert text into each "title" placeholder because PowerPoint uses that information to help you orient yourself during presentations when you need to move to a different slide and when scrolling through the presentation in Normal or Slide View during development. Sample Placeholder By using Placeholders, the presentation will have consistent spacing each time you use a slide with that type of layout. To type in a Placeholder, click anywhere within the dotted line box and begin typing. If you do not need to use a particular Placeholder, there is no need to delete it; unused Placeholders do not display in the presentation. To move a Placeholder, Click the Placeholder dotted line box to select it. Move your cursor near the edge of that box until the cursor is a four-headed arrow. Press and drag the Placeholder to the new location. Common Tasks To add a new slide, click the Common Tasks, New Slide to see the New Slide dialog box. New slides are added below the current slide. The Slide Layout Tool applies, or re-applies, the selected layout and uses almost the same dialog box as New Slide. Slide
Common Tasks Options Layout reapplies the selected current master style and is useful when you've moved Placeholders or decided to change the format of a slide and need to return to (or apply) a specific layout format. To apply or re-apply a layout, click the Slide Layout Tool and make your layout choice. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 105
To change the applied template, click and select a different template. All slides in your presentation will have the newly chosen design applied, and any charts you've created will be updated with the new colour scheme. View the View Toolbar is located in the lower left corner of the screen and allows you quickly move through different views of the presentation: Normal Outline Slide Slide Sorter Slide Show default view view for textual development view for graphical development view of a thumbnail of each slide displays on-screen presentation
Text Options on the Text Toolbar allow you to make choices affecting highlighted text. NOTE: Keep in mind that some options may be hidden. To access those, click the double-headed or drop-down arrow on the toolbar.
Text Toolbar for Drawing The Drawing Toolbar contains the tools (each is described in detail later in this chapter) to incorporate objects into a presentation: Drawing Tools Toolbar Inserting New Slides New slides are added after the current one. To add a new slide below the current one, click the New Slide Tool. Then choose the layout of the new slide from the New Slide AutoLayout dialog box. Understanding Apply to All and Apply On many dialog boxes, when making option selections in PowerPoint, you will see two choices: Apply to All and Apply. When you choose Apply to All, each slide in the presentation will change according to the selections you made, both existing and future slides. When you choose Apply, you will affect only the slide you are currently viewing.
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Applying Design Templates PowerPoint calls its built-in colour schemes Design Templates. You can apply a Design at any point during development, but most of you will prefer to establish the Design from the outset so that you see the effects of your development. You can change your mind and apply a different Design at any time. You may find that you wish to keep the templates found in previous versions of Microsoft Office to use in addition to those found in the new version. To do so, on the Office CD where the templates are located, find the directory containing the templates, then copy the individual templates into the directory on your workstation containing the current version's templates. They will then appear in the selection list alongside the current templates. To apply a Design, click the Apply Design Tool. Though you can apply only a single Design to a presentation, you still can affect the appearance of individual slides within the presentation by altering the slide colour scheme and the background. You can find these two options under the Format menu. Setting Up Presentation Masters Masters allow you to make design decisions that will then affect each slide or page in the presentation. There are masters for Slides, Title Slide, Handouts and Notes. You can make decisions about text, including placement, font styles and sizes; bullet styles; footers; objects; and images. Individual slides can deviate from the master (see working with the slide background), but each new slide will follow the master specifications. You should set up the master before building any slides. When you create the master first, all slides you add to the presentation will be based on that master. If, however, you build slides before establishing the master, some items on the slides may not change to conform. Sample Slide Master Any text or object you place on the master will display on every slide in the presentation in the location that you placed it on the Master. To create a Master, choose VIEW: Master. Then, choose the master you wish to create from the list. NOTE: Title Master is only available after you have applied a Design Template. Text Guidelines To make font changes on the master, highlight the text that you want to change, then make the changes using the tools on the Text Toolbar. For example to change the title text to 44-point Helvetica, highlight the words "Click to edit Master title slide," then choose Helvetica and 44 from the font face and type size boxes, respectively. When making choices about fonts in the presentation, keep these guidelines in mind: Text will be easier to read when formatted in a sans serif font such as Arial or Helvetica. Slide titles should be no less than 44-point type. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 107
Body text should be no less than 24-point type in order to remain clearly readable to all your audience. Headers & Footers The Slide Master shows you the default location of any date, slide number, or textual footer that you choose to use. NOTE: When you apply a Design Template, these default locations may be hidden behind the Design itself, so wait until you have applied it before making any footer choices. To insert text into the footer, Choose VIEW: Header and Footer. Make sure that Footer is checkmarked, then type the text in the Footer text box. To insert a date, Choose VIEW: Header and Footer. Make sure that the Date and time option is checked. Choose either Update automatically or Fixed. Update automatically updates the date and time on your presentation slides each time you open the presentation. Fixed allows you to type a specific date into the box that will be displayed on your slide. To insert a slide number, Choose VIEW: Header and Footer. Click the checkbox for Slide Number. NOTE: Click the checkbox if you prefer that the footer not be displayed on your title slide
Headers and Footers Dialog Box
You cannot selectively choose to include or omit individual footer items from the title slide. To insert objects, images, and diagrams that will appear on each slide in your presentation, create or insert the object, size it, and move it to the location on the Slide Master where you want it to display on each slide. UNIT TWO: CREATING CUSTOM DESIGN TEMPLATES While PowerPoint comes with a variety of Design Templates, you can also create custom templates. To create a custom template, Open a blank presentation with a new slide. Use the AutoLayout, Title Slide. Choose VIEW: Master: Slide Master. Design the slide the way you wish the template to look, making any colour, image and font choices you desire. Choose FILE: Save as. In the Save as type drop-down box, choose Design Template (*.pot). In the File name text box, type a name for your new template. If you want your Custom Template to display in the same list with PowerPoint Design Templates, you must locate the folder in which they are located on your system. On my system, they are located in the following folder sequence: Program Files / Microsoft Office / Templates / Presentation Designs. Your system may be similar. This will save the slide as a .pot file (rather than a PowerPoint .ppt file) and will make it available for you to apply as a Design Template in future presentations. Return to your presentation by clicking on the Slide View Tool on the View Toolbar.
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Altering Template Appearance Although you can not apply more than a single Design Template to a presentation, there are other options for varying the appearance: changing the slide's Standard Colour Scheme, changing the individual items' colour scheme and omitting items from the background. Slide Colour Scheme Choose FORMAT: Slide Colour Scheme. In the slide Colour Scheme dialog box, the Standard tab allows you to choose a pre-determined Colour Scheme by clicking on the desired choice. The Custom tab allows you to selectively change the colours of the applied Design's features. NOTE: You may want to take note of the default colours before changing item colours because it is sometimes difficult to determine from the sample exactly what type of objects/features may be affected by your colour changes and you may want to return the colours to the default choices. Click the coloured box next to the feature you wish to change. Click the Change Colour button and make your colour selections.
Colour Scheme Dialog Box
Custom Colour Scheme Dialog Box
Background Choose FORMAT: Background to make changes to the "wallpaper" of the slide. The drop-down box allows you to change colours, patterns, gradients, and other fill effects. Every object on a Slide Master, including the design on the Design Template itself, is considered a Master Item. You can choose not to display Master Items on the current slide, or all slides by clicking the option to Omit background graphics from master. You cannot selectively omit items on a single slide. To omit all Master Items, choose FORMAT : Background. Click Omit background graphics from master. Click either Apply or Apply to all. Slide Background Choices Dialog Box
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Navigating during Development To navigate through the slides during development, you can use the Scroll Bar on the right of the screen. Press and drag the Slider to move continuously through the presentation. An indicator shows the slide you are currently passing and the title of that slide. Release the Slider to move to the indicated slide. To move one complete slide forward or backward, click the appropriate double-headed arrow at the bottom of the Scroll Bar. Another option is to move directly to the desired slide by clicking on the slide itself in the Outline pane. All AutoLayouts but two (Blank and Large Object) have a Placeholder for Title. The Slider demonstrates one reason why it is important to always use a layout that contains a Title Placeholder and to always title each slidethe title helps orient you to the location within the presentation. Sample Slider Image In addition, the bottom left corner of the PowerPoint screen shows the current slide, out of the total number of slides, as well as the name of the Design Template applied to the presentation. Creating Bulleted Lists To create a bulleted list from the AutoLayout, choose the Bulleted List layout. Click in the main Placeholder and begin typing. Each time you press ENTER, the cursor is automatically placed in the next bulleted point. If the text you type in a bulleted item is longer than a single line, the text will automatically wrap to subsequent lines and indent appropriately. Each new bullet appears somewhat "greyed out" or dim prior to you typing the first character in the item. This is because the bullet will not appear on the slide unless it has accompanying text. Each slide should contain no more than seven (7) bulleted points. Multiple-line items should have no more than 2-3 lines each. You should decrease the number of bulleted points in proportion to multiple-line entries. To create subsequent indented levels, make sure the cursor is in the line in which you want the next level to begin, then click the Demote Tool. Each consecutive point will remain on the current level until you click the Promote Tool to return to a previous level or the Demote Tool to indent one level further. Bullet Styles Although you can set Bullet Styles in the Master, you also can change the bullet style on any slide or on any bulleted point. When you change the bullet style, every subsequent bullet on that slide, whether promoted or demoted, will have that style until you change back to the default or change to a different slide. To change the bullet style, make sure the cursor is in the line of text in which you wish to change the bullet, then choose FORMAT: Bullet. NOTE: Format Bullet Dialog Box Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 110
Sometimes it is difficult to remember exactly what the default bullet style was, so pay close attention to the selected bullet before proceeding with any changes. You can choose from the selections provided by PowerPoint, choosing both the size (in percentage of text size) and the colour. Click Character to include any symbol font installed on your system. Keep in mind, however, that if you choose a font that is not installed on the computer from which you are giving your presentation, the presentation computer will choose the "closest" font to the one you chose and the result may not be one you like. Both Symbol and Wingdings font are standard on most computers and should display as you intended. PowerPoint 2000 also has a number of "Picture" bullets in the ClipArt from which you can choose. Adding / Removing Bullets The Bullet Tool is a toggle. Click it once to place a bullet at the beginning of the current line of text (the one in which the cursor is flashing). Click it again to remove the bullet. This way you can add bullets to text you have typed without using the Bullet AutoLayout. Working with Text Any time you wish to make formatting changes to text, you must highlight the text to be changed. Making a selection from the Text Toolbar affects the highlighted text only. In addition to the standard text formatting tools of font choice and size, bold, italics, and underline, you also can align text left, center, or right. Other special tools are described below. NOTE: Only TrueType fonts can be embedded and "taken with you." If the computer on which you are giving an on-screen presentation does not have the font installed that you used during development, a substitution will be made by the computer system itself. Shadowed Text The Shadow Text Tool places a slight shadow behind the text. Although the effect is not prominent, this is an excellent tool to use to give more definition to title text. You should NOT shadow all body text since this makes it very "muddy" to read. To shadow text,Type the text to be shadowed.Highlight the text. Click the Shadow Tool.
Sample Shadowed Text Increase / Decrease Paragraph Spacing The Increase and Decrease Paragraph Spacing Tools expand and contract paragraph spacing, respectively. Generally there is little need to increase paragraph spacing; however, when you run into a situation where you need a little more room, you can contract paragraph spacing using the Decrease Paragraph Spacing Tool. Be careful not to overuse this tool since plenty of "white space" is important for readability. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 111
Format Painter The Format Painter Tool picks up any formatting applied to existing text and applies that same formatting to any text it is "painted" over. The two pieces of text do not have to be on the same slide. To use the Format Painter, Highlight the text containing the formatting you desire to "pick up." Click the Format Painter Tool. Press and drag over the text as you would to highlight it. The formatting will be applied. After the formatting is applied the Format Painter will de-select. To apply formatting to multiple selections of text without needing to click the Format Painter between each application, double click the Format Painter. The Painter will remain the selected tool until you click it to de-select, allowing you to press and drag over multiple sections of text, applying the same format to each. Increase/Decrease Font Size You can increase or decrease the font size of highlighted text by clicking on the Increase Font Size or Decrease Font Size Tool, respectively. Size increments and decrements by the standard font sizes. Text Colours You choose text colours with the Font Colour Tool located in the Drawing Toolbar. Highlighted text will change to the colour displayed in the band beneath the A. To make additional colour choices or to see additional non-scheme colours you have used in this presentation, click the drop-down arrow beside the A.
Word Wrap Whether text is in a Placeholder or a textbox, you can narrow or widen the width of the box by dragging the box border. This affects where the text wraps. Make sure the cursor looks like a two-headed arrow to affect the Placeholder width; a four-headed arrow will move the placeholder.
Font Colour Choices
Drawing Objects To draw a line, an arrow, a square, or a circle, select the appropriate tool from the Drawing Toolbar. When you move the cursor over the slide, it will be a crosshair. Press and drag the cursor to insert the object. The larger an area you drag, the larger the object will become. TIP: To draw a straight line or arrow, or a perfect square or circle, hold SHIFT as you press and drag. Selecting Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 112
. To alter any PowerPoint object, you first must select the object. When you click the object, you will see Handles around the perimeter of the object. This lets you know exactly which object you will be affecting Sample Handles Deleting To delete an object, click to select it, then press DELETE. Fill Colours When you draw solid objects (squares and circles), they fill with the automatic colour. The underline under the Paintbucket is the current fill colour. To fill an object with the current fill colour, select the object, then click the Paintbucket Tool. To change the current fill colour, drop down the arrow beside the Paintbucket and make a new selection. There are also additional options under Fill Effects, including choosing no fill colour at all. Alternate Choices for Fill Colours Fill Effects Fill effects include Gradients where you can select one or two colours of your choice, as well as the direction and variants of the gradient. Textures are image files similar to web page wallpapers; you can use PowerPoint's selections or choose an image file from your workstation. Patterns allow you to choose two colours and the pattern design with which you want to fill the object. Picture allows you to choose an image file from your workstation; the photograph will center itself within the selected object, hiding any parts of the image which do not automatically show within the object's shape. Gradients
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Textures
Patterns
Photos
Line Effects Each drawing object has an outline the colour of the automatic colour. The underline under Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 114
the Line Colour Tool is the current line colour. To outline an object with the current line colour, select the object, then click the Line Colour Tool. To change the line colour, drop down the arrow and make a new selection. Other options with the Line Colour Tool include colour and patterns similar to the Fill Tool. To change line style, dash style, and arrow style, click on these tools, respectively, after drawing the object and while it is still selected. Object Effects To place a shadow or 3D effect on an object, select the object, then click the tool selection. AutoShapes and WordArt If you're not particularly artistic, AutoShapes and WordArt can come to the rescue. To use AutoShapes, From the Drawing Toolbar, click the drop-down arrow beside AutoShapes, then select the shape type. Click the shape you want. The cursor will change to a cross-hair as you move the mouse across the slide. Click on the slide where you want to place the shape. Move the object, change its size or colour it as desired. Autoshapes Tool
To use WordArt, Click the Word Art Tool. From the WordArt Gallery, click the design you want, then click OK: In the Edit WordArt Text box, type your text. You can also change the font face and type size, or add bold or italics. Then click OK. The art will be placed in the center of the slide and is nearly always smaller than you would likepress and drag the handles to enlarge the object to the desired size. Many of the WordArts also have one or more small yellow diamond-shaped handles. You can press and drag any of these to distort the shape of the object:
WordArt Gallery
Samples of Word Art To change the colours in WordArt, make sure the object is selected, then choose FORMAT: WordArt and make your selections. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 115
Text Tool To insert text on the slide other than in a Placeholder, Click the Text Tool. Press and drag the cursor over the slide to create a Text Box. Type in the box. NOTE: Any text you type in a placeholder will show in Outline View; text inserted via the Text Tool is treated as an object and will not display in the outline. Moving To move an object on the slide, select it, then move the cursor over the object until you see the four-headed arrow along with the cursor. Press and drag the object to the location you need it. NOTE: Be sure it is a four-headed arrow rather than a two-headed arrow. Two-headed arrows resize objects. To move a text box, select it, then move the cursor over the frame until you see the four-headed arrow along with the cursor. Press and drag the text box to the location you need it. If you move the cursor within the box, it will change to an insertion point so that you can type or edit text. Rotating To rotate any object, including a text box, Click the Rotate Tool. Click the object to be rotated. You will see small green disks in place of the normal handles on the object: As you move the cursor over the disk, it will change to a looped circle. Position the loop over one of the green disks and press and drag to the desired rotation. Click the Rotate Tool to deselect it.
Sample Rotated Text Layering When you layer objects, occasionally they are ordered incorrectly. To affect the order of the layers, Select the layer you want to affect. Choose DRAW : Order. Move the layer forward, backward, to front, or to back.
Sample Layered Slide Grouping and Ungrouping Often after you have created multiple objects and layered them in the sequence you need, you want them to "stay put". By grouping multiple objects, you can move or resize them as a single entity rather than manipulating their individual components. To group multiple objects, Size each individual object as necessary. Layer objects as necessary. Each object must be selected prior to grouping. To select multiple objects, hold SHIFT then click each object. Each object clicked becomes selected and the handles of each are displayed. Release SHIFT after you have selected each of the objects to be grouped. NOTE: If you have trouble clicking an object that is mostly obscured, try using your mouse. From the Drawing Toolbar, choose DRAW: Group. You will see that the objects' individual handle-sets will be combined, leaving a single handle-set for the grouped object. Sometimes, if your object is very complex, you will find it beneficial to group Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 116
your object components incrementally. When you finish a subset of your final object, group the components you have finished. Then you can continue building additional components, knowing you won't accidentally move or re-size the portion you have completed. Text that you include in a grouped object will not change point size if you re-size the grouped object, however, wordwrapping may adjust to conform to the re-sizing. To manipulate individual components of grouped objects, you must ungroup them. To ungroup an object, select it, then from the Drawing Toolbar, choose DRAW: Ungroup. After editing, you can choose Re-group. Using Images and Other "Clip Art" PowerPoint comes with a library of "clip art" that includes traditional clip art, as well as videos, photographs, and sounds. You can also insert graphics from other sources into a presentation. To access PowerPoint's ClipArt Gallery, click the ClipArt Gallery Tool (located on the Drawing Toolbar). To use a Gallery ClipArt image, in the Insert ClipArt dialog box, select the category pertaining to the type of image you are looking for. Then select the image you want. A pop-up box will allow you to: insert the image, preview the clip, add the clip to a different category, and/or find similar clips. The greatest benefit of the ClipArt Gallery is that you can add multiple selections to your presentation without leaving the Gallery. ClipArt images will be inserted in the center of the slide. You can move, enlarge, or reduce them. If you are connected to the Internet you can download additional clips from Microsoft's online Art Gallery by clicking on Clips Online. You can further manipulate PowerPoint objects by grouping
Insert ClipArt Dialog Box Ungrouping an imported object such as ClipArt will convert it to a Microsoft Office drawing, and you will lose any linking information. However, it is unlikely that ClipArt will hold any linked information. To change the colours of a PowerPoint clipart, Select the artwork, then from the Drawing Toolbar, choose DRAW: Ungroup. You will see the message: This is an imported picture, not a group. Do you want to convert it to a Microsoft Office drawing object? Click Yes. This will not change the original clip art in the Gallery but will allow you to manipulate the individual components of the object. You will most likely be astounded at the number of individual components making up the object. If they were built with incremental grouping, individual objects can be further ungrouped. Click off the image to deselect all the objects, then select the component you wish to re-colour. Click Paintbucket Icon and choose the fill colour or effect you wish to use. You could also choose to change the line colour. Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 117
After you have completed altering the object's components, you can re-group the components. Because it is highly unlikely you can click to select each component without missing one, you will need to select all of them a different way: To select multiple objects using the mouse, Position your mouse cursor beyond the corner of the object to be re-grouped. Make sure you start far enough beyond the objects to catch all of the components. Press and drag diagonally across the objects to select all the components. Make sure that you do not mistakenly include an object in the selection that you don't want to be selected. (You may have to try this step several times, it is a bit tricky to master.) After all the components are selected, from the Drawing Toolbar, choose DRAW : Group (or Regroup). Some sounds, video clips, and photographs (as well as these types of files you gather from outside PowerPoint) may be inserted as linked objects. This means that you must place the original files of linked objects in the same folder as the presentation, then insert them into the presentation after they are in that folder. This lets PowerPoint "find" the file during the presentation. Sound, Video Clips and Photos You insert sound, video clips, or photos, the same way you insert ClipArt images. If you are connected to the Internet you can download additional clips from Microsoft's online Art Gallery by clicking on Clips Online. When you insert these objects, they are inserted in the center of the slide. You can press and drag them to new locations. PowerPoint 2000 now accepts animated gif files! When you insert a sound clip, a speaker icon is placed in the center of the slide. When you insert a video clip, the opening screen of the clip is inserted into the slide. Activating You must activate video and sound clips before they will play in the presentation. With some file types, PowerPoint asks you when the file is inserted if you want it to play automatically, or if you want it play when clicked. To activate a clip, click the icon to select it and choose SLIDE SHOW: Action Settings. You can choose to play the clip by mouse click or by mouseover. If you choose mouse click, you will need to click the icon during the presentation to start it playing. If you choose mouseover, you need to slide the cursor over the icon to start the sound. Using Charts PowerPoint uses Microsoft Graph to let you create simple charts in a presentation. However, creating the charts and graphs are one of the more complex features in PowerPoint with many options. You probably will need to experiment with charts to see the many options available. To create a chart, click the Chart Tool. (Or choose the Chart AutoLayout and double click inside the Chart placeholder to create a chart.) A new window opens showing a dummy spreadsheet, a graph based on that dummy data, and chart menu and toolbar options. To insert your own data, replacing the dummy data, type in each cell as you would in any spreadsheet application. As you do so, you will see the graph change to reflect the changes in data. You can also change the chart types, colours and other formatting by making the appropriate menu and toolbar choices.
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TIP: If the "spreadsheet" window is obscuring the graph, you can press and drag the coloured strip at the top of the window to move it to a new location. To accept the data modification and insert the chart into the PowerPoint slide, click anywhere outside the border of the chart. To modify the chart in the future, double click it to restart Microsoft Graph. To delete the chart, select it, then press DELETE.
Sample Chart Dialog Box Creating Hyperlinks Hyperlinks cause the selection of an object to result in a move to a new location or the performance of an action. You can create your own object or choose an AutoShape Action button. To link an object with an action, select the object, then choose SLIDE SHOW: Action Settings. In the Action Settings dialog box, choose either Mouse Click or Mouse Over. Then select the button "Hyperlink to" then select the destination or action. You can also choose to play a built-in PowerPoint sound during this action and/or to highlight the object as you click it.
Hyperlink Action Dialog Box Animating the Presentation To animate a single object on a PowerPoint slide, select the object. Choose SLIDE SHOW: Preset Animation. Select the animation effect you desire for the selected object.
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Preset Animation Dialog Box Animated Layers or Slides You may find it useful to bring a layered object into a presentation one layer at a time, building it on-screen. To animate a layered object or to animate each object on a slide, Choose SLIDE SHOW: Custom Animation. (You must be in Normal, Outline, or Slide View.) In the Custom Animation dialog box, each object is identified in Layer Animation Dialog Box the Check to animate slide objects list. (If you don't remember what a particular object is, click the object's name in the list; that object appears selected in the preview window. Click in the object's checkbox to animate that object. It will be added to the Animation order list. To change the order that the animated objects appear, select the object in the Animation order list, then click the up or down arrow to move the object through the list. Choose whether the object appears only on a mouse click or after a specified number of seconds. To choose other effects such as sound effects and how the object appears on the slide during the on-screen presentation, click on the Effects tab. To animate text, Click on the Effects tab. In the Introduce Text section, from the drop-down box, choose whether the text is introduced all at once, by word, or by letter. To animate charts click the Chart Effects tab. You can choose to introduce the data by series, categories, or elements. NOTE: Be careful of using too many effects in any single presentation because they soon become a detraction to rather than an enhancement of the presentation. Using PowerPoint Tools Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 120
Style Checker The Style Checker checks for spelling, visual clarity, and case and end punctuation. This valuable tool checks to see that the case in each of the Title Placeholders matches, whether or not you have included end punctuation, and that each slide is set for maximum readability. To activate style checker, choose TOOLS : Options. Click the Spelling and Style tab, and make sure that Check Style is selected. While you can change the options, the default settings are generally the best for a great presentation. The Office Assistant automatically checks style as your develop your presentation. You must have the Assistant enabled for this option to work. To enable the Assistant, Choose HELP : Show the Office Assistant.
Style Checker Options Dialog Box
Right click on the Assistant and choose Options. Check the Use the Office Assistant. Style issues are marked with a Lightbulb Icon. Zoom The Zoom Tool allows you to magnify the view of the slide for better close-up work on a portion of the slide. To use the Zoom Tool click the drop-down box and choose the percentage of magnification you need. Slide Miniature When you have zoomed the view of your slide so that all of the slide cannot be seen on the screen at one time, PowerPoint will create a black and white Slide Miniature in the corner. This allows you see the overall effects of the changes you are making to the slide. You may also choose to work in black and white mode by choosing VIEW : Black and White. To see a small colour view of the current slide when you are working in black and white, choose VIEW : Slide Miniature.
Sixth of March
Sample Slide Miniature Pack and Go Pack and Go packages together all the files and fonts (TrueType only) used in a presentation. When you intend to run the show on a computer that doesn't have PowerPoint installed, you may Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 121
also package the PowerPoint Viewer on the disk. (The viewer is a way to display an on-screen presentation without the complete PowerPoint application being installed on the computer.) The Pack and Go Tool compresses the presentation, creating an executable file from which to run the presentation (and any additional files of the actual presentation it needs). If the presentation exceeds a single diskette, Pack and Go prompts you for additional disks. To Pack and Go your presentation, choose FILE: Pack and Go, then follow the screen prompts. To run the on-screen presentation, copy the Pack and Go executable file onto the presentation computer. Then "unpackage" the presentation by double clicking the executable file. Pack and Go will prompt you to insert any subsequent disks it needed. NOTE: It will help if you number your disks as Pack and Go is creating your presentation so that you will know the correct order to insert them during unpacking. Working in Outline View Outline View allows you to type presentation text in a more word processing-like environment than does Slide View. As you type in Outline View, you can see a colour thumbnail of the current slide. The text you type in Outline View is inserted into Title and Bulleted List Placeholders on the slide. Graphic objects are not displayed in this view. Each individual slide is numbered and bullet points are displayed. To demote or promote bullet points, make sure the cursor is in the line you wish to affect, then press: TAB to indent a bullet point on a slide. SHIFT + TAB to "back up" to a previous indent level. Sample Slide in Outline View If you are on the title level (it will be bold), to create a new slide, press ENTER. To rearrange the slides, click on the slide icon of the slide you wish to move. All contents of that slide will be highlighted and your cursor will change to a four-headed arrow. Press and drag the slide to its new location. Using Notes Pages By default you have a Notes Pane beneath the Slide pane in Normal View. You can type notes in this pane, but may want to add notes in a larger area, or see how the Notes Page will appear when printed. To view the Notes Page, choose VIEW : Notes Page. Notes Pages show you a small view of the slide and give you room at the bottom to type notes. Notes are great tools to print and refer to as you are delivering an on-screen presentation. In this view, the slide itself is usually displayed at about 40% in order to show the entire page on the screen. This does not provide a way for most of us to easily read the notes we are typing. To increase the viewable size of the typing area so you Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 122
can see what you are typing, click the drop-down box in the Zoom Tool and select the magnification you need to increase the percentage. You can also use the VIEW: Master : Notes Master to set up master items on Notes Pages or to change the size of the slide and/or notes areas.
Sample Notes Page Using the Slide Sorter The Slide Sorter shows a thumbnail of each slide in the presentation. From this view, it is easy to rearrange the presentation, make duplicate slides, delete slides, and place transitions into the presentation. To place your presentation in Slide Sorter View, click the Slide Sorter Tool. The current slide is denoted by a thicker border. Current Slide Indicator To select a different slide, click the slide you wish to become current. To duplicate or delete the current slide, choose EDIT: Duplicate (or Delete) Slide. PowerPoint provides visual indicators beneath each slide showing any slide transition, text animation, or advance timing that you have applied to that slide.
Indicators of Transitions Applied Using Transitions Transitions determine the effects applied when you move from one slide to another during an onscreen presentation. You must be in Slide Sorter View to access the Transition Toolbar. To choose only a transition effect, click the dropdown box beside the words "No Transition" and select a transition. To have other transition choices available to you, click the Slide Transition Tool. Sample Transition Tool and Drop-down Box When you click the Slide Transition Tool, the Slide Transition dialog box allows you to choose not only a transition effect from a drop-down box, but also offers other choices that affect your on-screen presentation.
TIP: Don't use a different transition on each slide because your audience's attention should remain focused on you and the content, not the effects. If you want to use multiple transitions, a good rule of thumb is to apply a unique transition to each slide in a specific module of the presentation. Generally, you should leave the Effect Speed set to Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 123
Fast. This brings in the next content slide quickly and keeps your audience's attention focused on the presentation content. Sample Transition Dialog Box PowerPoint contains a few built-in sounds. To play a sound as the slide is transitioning, make a sound selection from the Sound drop-down box. Unless you have a well thought out reason for doing so, don't choose to have the sound loop until the next sound; it can become annoying very fast while you're giving a presentation, as well as making it difficult for you to speak over. Also, many presentation locations don't have adequate speakers attached to the computer to allow all of your audience to hear the sound. Advance determines when the current slide proceeds to the next. On mouse click advances the presentation to the next slide, or displays the next bullet point, only when you click the mouse. (You can also use the keyboard arrow keys or the spacebar.) Automatically after xx seconds, makes the transition xx seconds after the preceding transition ended. NOTE: Make sure that if you select Automatically, that you remove the check in On mouse click. For self-running presentations that function similar to a kiosk presentation where your audience may stop, watch, then leave, generally you will want to set the advance to 3-5 seconds. For a self-running presentation where you are speaking in synchronization with the presentation, generally you will want to set the advance to 3-5 minutes.
Rehearse Timings The Rehearse Timing Tool allows you to practice giving an on-screen presentation, regardless of any slide advance timings you may have set previously. The tool times not only the entire presentation, but also each individual slide, as you rehearse. Each time you advance the slide, the time is recorded. You must be in Slide Sorter View to access the Rehearse Timing Tool.
Sample Recorded Rehearsal Timings To use the Rehearse Timing Tool, click the Rehearse Timing Tool. When you have completed rehearsing, PowerPoint displays the total time for the rehearsed presentation and asked if you want to record the new timings. If you click "Yes," these new timings will replace any slide advance timings you may have previously set for the presentation.
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Sample New Timings Dialog Box Bullet Effects The Text Preset Animation Tool controls how bulleted points appear on the slide during an onscreen presentation. You must be in Slide Sorter View to access the Text Preset Animation Tool. To animate bulleted points, the slide containing bulleted points must be the current slide. Then click the drop-down box and choose the animation effect you desire.
Bullet Effects Transition Tool Hidden Slides You can hide slides within a presentation. Hidden slides remain available as part of the saved presentation and are accessible to you during development or in future presentations but do not appear as one of the consecutive presentation slides during a show. You must be in Slide Sorter View to access the Hidden Slide Tool. To hide a slide, make sure it is the current slide, then click the Hide Slide Tool. Hidden slides display in Slide Sorter View with a slash through the slide number. Slide View does not differentiate between hidden and non-hidden slides, and all are displayed. During presentation, however, hidden slides are passed over unless specifically chosen by you through the Slide Show Navigator. Printing the Presentation When you print a presentation, you have several options. You can print all the slides, the current slide, or a selection of slides. Selections can be comma separated or dash separated, i.e., 2, 3, 5-9. You can choose the format of the printed output. Slidesprints a single page per slide on 11 x 8 1/2 paper. Notes Pagesprints a single page of notes on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Outlineprints the outline of the presentation on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. HandoutsThe most popular option for handouts is to print the presentation three slides per page. This option prints three slides down the left margin and a lined area to the right of each slide on which to take notes. If you choose to print two slides per page, each page will contain half-sheet views of two consecutive slides. Printing six or nine slides per page will print six (or nine) equally sized consecutive slides on each page. These options don't include space for note-taking.
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To give definition to printed slides, you can choose to frame the slides. This prints a simple box around each slide. If you are printing a colour presentation on a black and white printer, the printer will interpret all the colours as shades of gray. Another choice is to click the Pure black and white printer option. The printer then will eliminate all shading. You will lose detail, leaving only text and the outline of graphics.
Print Dialog Box Giving an On-screen Presentation Slide Show View allows you to view the presentation on your computer monitor as the audience will see it projected. The presentation/show will begin on the current slide, so if you want to view the presentation from the beginning, be sure to move to the first slide prior to selecting the Slide Show View Tool. To change to Slide Show View, click the Slide Show View Tool. When you are giving an on-screen presentation, as you move the mouse, the show controls become visible in the lower left corner. This allows you to access navigation and other tools. These controls are nearly invisible because they take on the characteristics of whatever background you have chosen for that slide, but always appear in the same location, so you'll get used to spotting them. To access the show controls, click anywhere within the show controls rectangle. Navigation during the Presentation During a presentation, you can navigate to a different slide in the presentation by making a selection from the Slide Show Controls menu. You can move to the Next or Previous slide. You can also move directly to a slide by choosing its Title from the list, or by selecting Slide Navigator.
Sample Presentation Navigation Menus Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 126
Slide Navigator opens a dialog box from which you can select the slide you want. If there are more slides than will fit at one time in the window, it provides a scroll bar. The slide Title list is a pop-up menu choice. The Title list usually provides easier access unless you have more than about 26 slides, then you will have to point at the arrow at the bottom of the list which will cause the list to scroll. When the slide you want is visible in the list, you can select it. The title of each hidden slide will show on the navigation list, identified with parentheses around the slide number. This feature allows you to include supplemental information slides, but not access them unless specifically needed. The current slide is denoted with a checkmark beside the title of the slide. Meeting Minder Meeting Minder is way of jotting down notes and tasks during an on-screen presentation. During a presentation, to access Meeting Minder, click the Show Controls and choose Meeting Minder. You can then type notes, assign tasks, and identify due dates. You could also choose to record Meeting Minutes, by clicking on the Meeting Minutes tab. Schedule opens an empty Microsoft Outlook appointment for you to supply the details. Export allows you to Send meeting minutes and action items to Microsoft Word as RTF (rich text format) text or Post action items to Microsoft Outlook's Task list. PowerPoint inserts any action items that you included in Meeting Minder on a new final slide at the end of your presentation. This makes notes and tasks recorded during the presentation available for review at the end of your presentation. Meeting Minder Dialog Box If you need to permanently keep these notes in your presentation, be sure to save your file before exiting PowerPoint and turning off your computer.
Sample Meeting Minder Action Items
Speaker Notes During a presentation, you can record notes via the Show Controls. The notes you add are recorded on the Notes Page for that slide.
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To record notes, from the Show Controls, choose Speaker Notes. Keep in mind that your notes are visible to the audience while you are typing them even if you have not chosen to print Notes Pages for your audience Sample Presentation Speaker Notes
On-screen Notes During a presentation, you can "mark" on a slide with the Pen Tool. To create slide "marginalia," from the Show Controls, choose Pen. You will see the cursor change to a pencil. Press and drag the mouse to "mark" on the slide. Any markings made with the Pen remain on the slide only as long as it is the current slide. To change pen colours, from the Show Controls, choose Pointer Options: Pen Colour, then choose the colour you want. You must make pen colour selections before you select the pen to "mark" on the slide. You must change from the pen to a regular cursor before the presentation can progress. To remove the pen and return to a regular cursor, from the Show Controls, click Arrow.
Sample of On-Screen Maginalia Pausing the Presentation During a presentation, you may want to pause your presentation for discussions. You have two choices. To pause the presentation leaving the slide visible, from the Show Controls, choose Screen: Pause. To pause the presentation blackening the screen, from the Show Controls, choose Screen: Black Screen. Black Screen focuses the audience's attention on you rather than the content on the screen. To return to your presentation from either of these two options, from the Show Controls, choose Resume. To end the presentation prematurely, from the Show Controls, choose End Show. You can also end the presentation by pressing ESC.
Pause Show Controls Sample Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 128
Hiding the Pen Another option available under the Pointer Options is Hidden. When you choose Hidden, your mouse cursor is no longer available or visible on-screen. This is beneficial when you are running a presentation in a kiosk mode and you don't want guests to move the mouse, leaving the show controls visible or making selections. It is also beneficial if you are giving a presentation and have chosen to use the arrow keys to move through your presentation rather than using the mouse. To "undo" this option change, press ESC and stop the presentation. Combining Presentations You can combine presentations, or copy already existing slides from one presentation into another presentation. To work with two presentations simultaneously, open both presentations. Choose WINDOW: Arrange All to display both presentations side-by-side on the screen. NOTE: the presentation that was the active presentation when you made the Arrange All selection will be on the left. Notice that each presentation has its own Navigation Toolbar in the lower left corner of its respective window. Put each presentation in Slide Sorter View.
Sample of Two Presentations Open Side-by-Side Use the Scroll Bar to navigate through each presentation until you can see the slide you want to copy in the original presentation and the location in the destination presentation where you want the slide placed. Press and drag the slide from one presentation to the other. NOTE: You will not be able to drag the slide if the original presentation is in Slide View and the destination presentation is in Slide Sorter View. When you press and drag, you remove the slide from the original presentation. If you want to keep the original presentation as it was, do NOT save it when you close the presentation. An alternative is to right click on the slide to be moved and choose COPY, then click in the destination presentation and paste it. Notice that "transplanted" slide takes on the characteristics of the receiving presentation, including the colour scheme. Any charts contained in the transplanted slide will be updated to reflect the colours of the destination presentation.
Sample of Copied Slide Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals Page 129
Animating PowerPoint Design Templates You've learned a great deal about creating an effective PowerPoint presentation. Here's the piece that will separate your presentation from all the rest: animating PowerPoint's own design templates. Drawing upon your knowledge of using Slide Masters, of grouping and ungrouping objects, of re-colouring objects, and animation, you can add your own personal touches to PowerPoint's own Design Templates. For the most effective animation, choose those designs that contain concrete objects, such as twinkles, tropics, and theater, rather than blended and shaded designs. To animate template designs, Choose VIEW: Master: Slide Master. Click in an empty place on the slide (not in a text box). From the Drawing Toolbar, choose DRAW: Ungroup. Press ESC to deselect all the objects. Click on the object you wish to animate (remember you can group objects to have them function as a single entity.) Choose SLIDE SHOW: Custom Animation. Choose your animations options. Animate any other objects you desire. Putting the Presentation on the Web Quite often after making a PowerPoint presentation, your audience will request the presentation itself, in addition to any handouts you may have given them. A solution is to put the presentation on the Web. Placing a presentation on the Web can be accomplished in one of two ways: Place the presentation file itself (the .ppt file) on a web server. In this option, you would place a hyperlink on a web page, referencing the PowerPoint file, or simply tell your audience the address to access the presentation file. For example, assume that your PowerPoint presentation is called "snow.ppt." You can create a link to snow.ppt from an existing or new web page. Depending on how your reader's computer is configured, the presentation either opens directly in PowerPoint or prompts the reader to save the file. This option gives the reader full control over a copy of the presentation, exactly as you created it. The second option is to use PowerPoint's HTML wizard to prepare an HTML version of the presentation that you can then place on a web server. This option is presented next. HTML Wizard To save your presentation as HTML, choose FILE: Save as Web Page. The bottom three choices allow you to specify the file type, file name, and the page title. You should leave the type set to Web page (*.htm, *.html).
PowerPoint will pick up the first line of text in the presentation and set the HTML TITLE tag to that text. It is unlikely that is what you will prefer. The TITLE information is that which displays in the coloured band at the top of the browser window. It should not be confused with your heading or page contents title. Save as Dialog Box for Web Pages
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To make additional choices for your web pages, click Publish. In the Publish as Web Page dialog box, you can choose To publish the entire presentation or a range of slides. Display any speaker's notes you may have in your presentation. Specify the browser versions you wish your presentation to be viewable by. Choosing Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator version 3.0 or later will keep your presentation accessible to the greatest number of readers. Choosing the IE 4.0 version will not produce acceptable results in Netscape Navigator. When you make selections not supported by the reader's web browser, they will see a message to that effect when selecting the presentation and will be asked if they wish to continue. The static presentation slides will show, but any special effects not supported by the browser will be ignored. Click Web Options for more selections.
Publish as Web Page Dialog Box Click the General tab to choose to add navigation controls (such as forward, back, home) and their colours, to display any slide animation you may have used (slide transitions, not movement on the slide itself), and to resize slides dynamically according to the size of the reader's browser window. The Pictures tab allows you to specify the default browser window (800x600 is the current standard). To create the web files, click Publish. Testing the Web Presentation To test the web files, start your web browser, and choose FILE: Open Page. Browse for the folder where you stored the web presentation. Unlike previous versions of PowerPoint, PowerPoint 2000, creates a single "control" file name with the name you specified in the Save as Web Page dialog box. All additional files will be placed by PowerPoint in a folder with the same name. DO NOT try to rename either the control file or the folder, or to move the control file into the folder. PowerPoint won't know how to find the files for your presentation. When you have located the folder containing the control file, and open it, the presentation will open as a local file for you to review. The web presentation looks similar to the sample below. Notice that it looks a great deal like the PowerPoint Normal View with the list of slide titles in the left pane, the slide graphic in the upper left pane, and the presentation navigation buttons in the lower right pane. The left pane demonstrate another reason why it is important to title each of your slides in the Title Placeholder.
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Remember that you will still have to move your PowerPoint/HTML files to a web server in order to make the presentation available for public use. For assistance with FTP (file transfer) see, Using WS_FTP.
Conclusion PowerPoint presentation is increasingly gaining recognition and usage over for other presentation formats such as flipcharts because of it enhanced feature, easy to prepare, portability and convertibility. The advent of LCD projectors has added impetus to the use of PowerPoint presentation among academies, businessmen and development practitioners.
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Suggested Reading A.W. Van Den Ben and H.S. Hawkins (1994) Agricultural Extension. Long man Scientific & Technical Publication. U.S.A. Banoor, D. and Harrison, J.Q. (1977), Agricultural Extension - Training and Visit System, ,World Bank, Washington. Berlo, D.K. (1960), The Process of Communicating An Introduction to Theory and Practice, New York: Henry Holt and Company. Choubay, B.K. (1979), A Handbook of Extension Education, Jyoti Prakashan, Allahabad. Dahama, O.P. (1976), Extension and Rural Welfare, Ram Prasad and Sons, Agra. Dahama, O.P. and Bhatnagar O.P. (1987), Education and Communication for Development. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co. Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. Das, P. and Hansra, B.S. (Eds.) (1999), Krishi Vigyan Kendra - A Reality, Division of Agriculture Extension, ICAR, New Delhi. Amissah P. A. K., Frimpong O.Sam-Tagoe (2009). psuchology of Human Development and Learning Accra
Reference Amissah P. A. K., Frimpong O.Sam-Tagoe (2009). psuchology of Human Development and Learning Accra. Hancock, D. (1994) Motivating Adult to Learn Academic Course Content. Journal of Educational Research. 88 (2). 102-108. Rienties, B., Tempelaar, D., Van den Bossche, P., Gijselaers, W., Segers, M.(2009). The role of acedemic motivation in Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. Computers in Human Behaviour, 25, 1195-1206. Wlodkowski, R. J., (1999). How Motivation Affects Instruction. A Comprehensive Guide for Teaching All Adults:Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn. Ch. 1.
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Agricultural Extension Education and Development

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CHAPTER ONE

THE CONCEPT OF EXTENSION EDUCATION

Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals

Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals

Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals

Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals

Figure 2.1: Shannon's (1948) linear model of communication

Immediate physical environment

Channel or medium Feedback

Immediate physical environment

Figure 2.2: Interactive model of communication

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Attitude toward the behaviour

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Steps in Extension Teaching

Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals

SATISFACTION ACTION CONVICTION DESIRE INTEREST ATTENTION

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Figure 3.2: Skinner Box Experiment

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Figure 3.3: Steps in experiential learning process

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Written Bulletins Leaflets Articles Personal letters Circular letters

CHAPTER FIVE AUDIO-VISUAL FOR EXTENSION TEACHING

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Activity aids 1.Dramatics 2.Field trips 3.Demonstrati-ons

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High interest rate is killing farmers

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Agricultural Extension Education and Development of Audio-Visuals