We have some exciting news to report regarding one of our principles of the redesign, “enhancing technology.” While there are many ways to measure our use of technology in carrying out our mission, one metric is the use of eXtension, the Internet-based collaborative environment where land-grand university content providers exchange research-based knowledge solving problems in real time. The 2010 report is out, and we’re surprised and encouraged by the progress we’ve made since our eXtension Institutional Team was formed in October 2009. This progress is thanks to many of YOU who are answering questions through Ask an Expert, leading and participating in Communities of Practice (CoP) with colleagues across the country, and offering national webinars to colleagues and the public. Here are some of the highlights of the most recent report comparing 2008–2010 data.
| Metric | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Total Site Visits (number of individual sessions initiated by visitors to eXtension from Michigan) | 25,626 | 54,069 | 66,589 |
| Total Pageviews (number of pages viewed while at the eXtension site) | 59,708 | 116,248 | 138,505 |
| Answers to FAQs (frequently asked questions) Published by MSUE (peer reviewed and part of CoP) | 35 | 17 | 58 |
| Total Number of Questions Resolved by MSUE | 152 | 264 | 723 |
| eXtension IDs (total number of participating MSUE staff) | 30 | 131 | 188 |
Additionally, Michigan State University is represented by 146 eXtension members in 29 of the 47 approved Communities of Practice. And there’s more! To see the total state and institutional report for Michigan for the year 2010, go to the following website: http://tinyurl.com/eXtensionreport
Also note that the Ask an Expert feature is now on the new MSU Extension website and Lela Vandenberg and Liz Wells are training an increasing number of individuals to respond to questions that come in through this feature as well as the Ask an Expert feature on the national website.
MSU Extension Spotlight 