Well, I asked and you answered. A couple weeks ago I put out a call to all #EdTechLN members to send to me a list of tools they use for different parts of the creative process.  The reason for compiling the list is to help us all become more aware of the tools at our disposal. These tools can help us report the impact of our programs.

Impact has become the buzzword in Extension. Documentation of impact is important because of the realities we face in the modern era of accountability. State and Federal legislators are faced with difficult decisions on which programs should get funded and how much funding. Extension has always been a good value to the states, the university, and the communities; however, we are dealing with shrinking clientele bases and thus are being pushed to examine and articulate our worth. So, how do we do this? Initially my thoughts on it were probably a lot like yours – we survey the clientele, get some numbers, and write up the report.  Viola! Impact.  But that approach always bothered me because we were not capturing the whole process that tells the story.

I have termed the process “The Scholarship Continuum” because, although scholarship is de facto established once a creative item is peer-reviewed and published, the process in creating that scholarship is far more fluid and complex. Ten steps encompass the entire process (as it stands now) and they are listed below along with some tools (not an exhaustive list, but a start) to help document the process:

Step 1: The Idea.

Tools: Evernote, Apple Notes, Wunderlist, Delicious, Smartsheet, Paper, Apple Reminders, Diigo, Google Keep, Pocket, Google Drive, Email, OneNote.

Step 2: The Plan.

Tools: Email, Twitter, Facebook, Google Doc, Basecamp, MS Word, Google Calendar, Google Keep, Slack, Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, SMS.

Step 3. The Work.

Tools: WordPress, Blogger, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Email, Voice notes, MS Word, Apple Notes, Google Docs, Google Drive, VideoScribe.

Step 4. The Product.

Tools: WordPress, Blogger, ResearchGate, Academia.edu, LinkedIn, FigShare

Step 5. The Review.

Tools: Google Docs, MS Word, Adobe PDF, Adobe Reader

Step 6. The Acceptance.

Tools: Email, journal publication software (varies)

Step 7. The Release.

Tools: Storify, Adobe Acrobat, MS Word, Google Docs, iBook Author, Adobe digital tools, Google Blogger, bioRxiv, WordPress, JOE. Post publication review sites: PlosOne, PubMed Access, Open Review, F1000 Research, PubPeer, Publons, JOVE, PeerJ, PaperCritic, The Winnower.

Step 8. The Reach.

Tools: Google Analytics, Sum All, Twitter Analytics, Facebook Insights, IFTTT, Google Sheets, SalesForce, Sprout Social, WordPress stats, Altmetrics, Depsy, Social Share

Step 9. The Engagement.

Tools: Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, Blogger, Instagram, YouTube, Infographics. Google Analytics, Sum All, Twitter Analytics, Facebook Insights, IFTTT, Google Sheets, SalesForce, Sprout Social, WordPress stats, Altmetrics, Depsy, Social Share. Post publication review sites: PlosOne, PubMed Access, Open Review, F1000 Research, PubPeer, Publons, JOVE, PeerJ, PaperCritic, The Winnower.

Step 10. The Impact.

Tools: Google Analytics, Sum All, Twitter Analytics, Facebook Insights, IFTTT, Google Sheets, SalesForce, Sprout Social, WordPress stats, Altmetrics, Depsy, Social Share

Some links of interest:

101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication: How researchers are getting to grip with the myriad of new tools.

Reader Time Investment as a Partial Impact Measure of Online Extension Content

Calculating the “Green” Impact of Online Extension Programs

Documenting the Impact of Your Research for Promotion and Tenure

Scholarly Impact: Altmetrics

Tools for Authors: Enhancing Your Impact

Thanks to the following contributors for sharing the tools they use:

Jennifer Alexander, Jerry Buchko, Anne Clarkson, Jared Egan Decker, Paul Hill, Jeff Hino, Susan Kelly, Jamie Seger, Donna Shanklin, and Heather Wallace