AAFCS + Technology + Teachable Moments = Electronic Communications Savvy

Like many of you, I don’t have time to just sit and learn new technology processes/software/systems for the sake of learning it. I look to technology when I have a need to improve my communications delivery and management. And I can tell you that through my work at AAFCS, I have specifically:
o learned how to create a web-based “Doodle” survey as the most efficient way to get input on people’s availability for a meeting,
o developed my professional contacts database that allows me to easily track interactions,
o created electronic file folders connected to my virtual email “inbox” for access anywhere to time-sensitive information,
o observed successful virtual group brainstorming sessions,
o shared a computer desktop with people from all corners of the nation to simultaneously to review and edit a document,
o experienced an electronic “threaded” conversation,
o gained excitement for the multitude of possibilities for group member interactions via our online Communities shared web space, and
o learned how to blog!

Through all of these uses of technology processes/systems the AAFCS leaders and members with whom I interact learn along with me.

So while we typically think of the professional development provided by AAFCS as content-related seminars, research reports and other information-sharing, your membership in our association can give you a reason to stay state-of-the-art savvy with technology. It’s a skill that increases your professional marketability and boosts your ability to be seen as “current” in the eyes of technology-proficient new professionals.

Won’t you join me today in staying tech savvy through AAFCS engagement? Every member can join an online AAFCS Community. It’s fun! It’s efficient! And it’s a meaningful way to communicate across the nation and around the world!

FCS – We’re Riding High

In a September issue of Newsweek as part of Michael Douglas’ article called, “The Role of a Lifetime,” he says, “There is so much to learn in raising a family.  Where are you going to find out how to do it, especially if you didn’t benefit from proper role models? When I went to college at the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the 1960s, you could graduate with a degree in home economics. It was eventually disbanded largely due to politics and the power of the women’s movement. I’m happy to see that “home ec” is currently being revived at some colleges.”

So Michael called it a revival of our field at institutions of higher education.  We’ve given it a name, “Transforming AAFCS:  New Era of Action.” And at the secondary level, there’s renewed energy with our association’s development of family and consumer sciences pre-professional competency assessments and industry-recognized credentials.  

Call it what you will … but now more than ever, people are seeing the value of acquiring skills that will give them a higher quality of life!  Whether it’s choosing the role of good father, reducing credit card debt, making nutritious and lifestyle choices to prevent diabetes or developing sustainable practices in heating/cooling one’s home, the work of family and consumer sciences professionals is relevant in our 21^st century world.

I, for one, take a lot of enjoyment out of “riding the wave.”  How does it feel, to you?    

 

Douglas, M. (2007, September 17).  The Role of a Lifetime. Newsweek.  Retrieved February, 20, 2008 from: http://www.newsweek.com/id/40725

Are families too wired?

Last week I caught a clip on the Today show titled “Is your family too wired?”  Although we usually think about the ways technology simplifies our life, as with anything, there are drawbacks, too.  This segment highlighted many of the issues that trouble families as we grow more reliant on technology (cell phones, laptops, iPods, etc.).  I’m looking forward to the 2008 Annual Conference focused on evolving technology where we can discuss the issue using research-based information. 

Join us to look at Cell Phone Use by Parents of Young Children, Websites Targeting Seniors: Usability and Credibility, Effects of Internet Use on the Prevalence of Internet Shopping in College Students, Breastfeeding Advice on the Internet: A Content Analysis and Evolving Technologies, and the Digital Divide: The Impact of Ecological Factors on Latino Children and Families.  And that’s just during the research poster sessions! 

In addition, there’ll be key note speakers, educational sessions, and a “Research to Practice” Round on Consumer Privacy and Evolving Technology that will leave you empowered with new knowledge and confidence to manage the impact of technology on families toward positive results. 

The Today show segment coinciding with our Annual Conference theme is another piece of evidence that our FCS-related topics are in the public’s “line of sight.”  Now, what can we do to get the public totally “wired” into FCS as a voice and source for information on issues important to their quality of life? 

Today Show (March 26, 2008). Is your family too wired?  Retrieved April 2, 2008 from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23802779/ 

Project M.O.M. – One AAFCS member makes a big impact

Brian Wansink is an AAFCS member, the best selling author of “Mindless Eating,” and the new director of the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.  His current mission is to make a positive influence on the decisions we make about what to eat in hopes of changing the U.S. trend of expanding waistlines. 

Brian has helped to develop Project M.O.M. (Mothers, Others, and MyPyramid), which will target the gatekeepers, mainly moms, who make the decisions about the food families eat.  Project M.O.M. hopes to provide information to support the gatekeeper’s decisions where they work, play, purchase food and prepare food.  As part of Project M.O.M., they are developing menu plans, partnering with corporations, and developing podcasts to begin the education. 

To learn more about this program, or how you could use these tools when they are launched, checkout their website at http://www.mypyramid.gov/ProjectMOM/index.html 

Squires, S. (2008, February 12).  Bringing Nutrition Home:  USDA expert shares focus on food with his wife the chef.  Retrieved February 20, 2008 from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803449.html 

Your Voice Counts!

Dr. Arthur Brooks, Social Economist and Director of the Nonprofit Studies Program at Syracuse University, studied generational differences relative to participation in associations.  Lessons from his findings show a promising future for the involvement in associations by Generation X, IF the association understands the value sought by younger professionals – and delivers it.   

That’s precisely one of the goals of the “Your Voice Counts” surveys we recently launched with both AAFCS members and non-members working in the field of family and consumer sciences (FCS).  To provide your perspective, please click on the appropriate link and submit your information by April 7, 2008.  

For AAFCS members, the survey can be accessed at:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=hg_2bxZz4TXeeqowWE5JuS_2fw_3d_3d  

For non AAFCS members working in the FCS field, the survey can be accessed at:https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=XAOMMa_2fp7oM6vxV9Hudcxg_3d_3d 

Generational differences mean that we need to think about association benefits in a new way.  As an association that takes pride in our field’s research-based information, collecting data on professionals in FCS is a big step towards AAFCS developing high-value services and benefits in our “New Era of Action!”

No longer a standard precursor to majoring in FCS

I must admit to being somewhat shocked and amazed when I heard from several administrators in higher education of the high percentage of FCS majors at the collegiate level that had never taken an FCS course while in middle and/or high school.  Assuming this is reflective of programs nationwide (and if someone has such statistics, I’d love for you to share them with me), what are the implications for FCS post-secondary coursework?

Do we assume students have acquired FCS-content knowledge taught in the secondary level through other venues?  Are we spending too much time in entry-level FCS college courses teaching content which could have been learned on the secondary level?  Could we do more to recognize FCS knowledge gained by students on the secondary level with greater numbers of articulation agreements and/or “quiz out” options?  Will the pre-professional assessments and credentials that AAFCS is developing, be useful in determining the knowledge of incoming college freshmen to align coursework with their competency level?  

The trend toward the initial exposure to FCS in college also impacts our assumptions of FCS professionals in the future.  We cannot assume that professionals were involved in and exposed to the traditional core FCS settings (secondary schools, FCCLA, 4-H or Extension Service) from when they were “knee high to a grasshopper” like I was.  While we hope to instill an understanding of the value of traditional program settings in these professionals, we can also benefit from their diverse perspective to improve what’s been a traditional place of gaining FCS knowledge in the future.

FCS Secondary Programs as the “Marque” of Our Field

I’ve heard it said, “As goes family and consumer sciences in the secondary schools, so goes the field of FCS.”  With 5.5 million secondary school students across the United States being enrolled in an FCS course, the sheer volume of persons being exposed to an FCS curriculum alone may be reason enough to substantiate this statement.  Presumably, the opportunity for each and every student to take an FCS course as part of their standard education through high school graduation increases the chance that decision makers like Senator Clinton (see previous blog entry) are aware of our field and understand its value to building people’s daily skills for living.

I’m proud that AAFCS is supporting FCS secondary education with a new pre-professional program.  This program will develop assessments and credentials for pre-professionals in the broad field of FCS and in content-specific FCS areas that will fulfill a requirement for Perkins funding and hence, sustain FCS programs at the secondary level.  No matter what your practice setting in FCS, what are you doing to support our programs at the secondary level?

Have Flash Drive, Will Travel

I’m writing this while traveling to state affiliate conferences with laptop in tow, and I can’t help but think about the topic for our 2008 Annual Conference, where we’re going to explore the impact of technology on individuals, families and communities.  I keep asking myself questions about how technology impacts our members who attend our affiliate and national conferences…  

Do we fully leverage the expenses involved in business travel when we keep one foot back in the office doing work remotely?  Are we fully “present” at an out-of-town meeting when we constantly check cell phone and/or email messages?  Have you ever been to a learning session where the room cleared out entirely during a break, not because people were headed to the refreshment table but rather, because everyone went to the hallway to check their messages?   Have you ever turned down the opportunity to go out to dinner with colleagues at a conference because you needed to put the finishing touches on a proposal that you didn’t get done before leaving town? If we constantly “connect” while on the road, are we sending an unintended message to colleagues or staff with whom we work that we don’t trust them to handle situations in our absence?  

Bottom line, if developing relationships with colleagues is an important part of what our association provides to professionals, do we fully leverage the chance to do that at Annual Conferences if we stay technologically linked to home? 

The U.S. Economy… We are part of the answer!

As soon as you turn on your TV, you can expect to be bombarded with political news and advertisements about the presidential candidates, with the U.S. Economy as a leading issue.  In an interview by Michelle Singletary (who was the 2006 AAFCS Annual Conference keynote speaker) with presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, some of the grave concerns Americans face were highlighted regarding personal debt caused by mortgage payments, credit cards, college loans and/or medical expenses.  Senator Clinton says,  

“When I was in junior high and high school, we all had to take courses that we used to call home economics.  You were given information about how to manage your home, manage your finances… pay for your lifestyle.” 

While we shutter at the outdated terminology of home economics, this gives us credit for resource management education.  Bottom line, I believe our educational programs are part of the answer to the problem of the U.S. Economy.  How do we make this connection with other key decision makers?  

The AAFCS mission statement says that we are to give you — professionals in the field of family and consumer sciences – leadership and support in your work to “assist individuals, families, and communities in making informed decisions about their … resources.”  In fulfilling this mission, we affirmed Senator Clinton’s quote in Michelle’s nationally syndicated column and we expressed our appreciation to Senator Clinton for her acknowledgement of the role we play in educating students on resource management.   What activities are you engaged in to build this connection with your legislators and press, and what could AAFCS do to support your efforts?   

Singletary, M. (2008, Jan 20).  One Candidate and the Economy.  The Washington Post.  Retrieved February 13 from:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/19/AR2008011900057.html?referrer=emailarticle