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December 18, 2007
Thoughts from Cindy
One of the most fascinating things about 4-H is its multifaceted nature. Yes, we are several million strong, but those several million are literally all over the country, in all walks of life. I’ve often heard that “4-H is your first class at __ University.” It’s true. Through 4-H we're connected to the land grant university system, which is where a great deal of innovation takes place. But rather than simply receiving a class, what would happen if we were the ones teaching each other?
I tend to get excited over academic and technological things. A bit of news that came up this week involved Google’s “cloud computing” approach.
Google's approach suggests, rather than build a single supercomputer to calculate an impossible number, why not take just a fraction of a percent of computing power from thousands of computers to calculate the number in the same amount of time? You’d get far more functionality from those computers, and the user at each one wouldn’t experience any change in processing speed. Most importantly, you can accomplish more things with less effort through this kind of technological teamwork.
Now apply that to 4-H.
Each of us is completely immersed in our 4-H experience. If we could spend just a tiny fraction of our daily 4-H time in a comprehensive online environment like the one ACCESS envisions, we could share the best practices, the tools, the activities, and the joy of our 4-H work... and contribute to an EXTREMELY effective youth development program.
Imagine being able to reach out with just a keystroke or two to a fellow 4-Her doing a project that you’re interested in trying. To a university’s library search systems for your class research project. To a 4-H friend from a conference that took place years ago. The only real obligation would be to join this network. To make yourself available to others who could benefit from your help.
There wouldn’t be much required from each of us – just a minute or two a day, if that. But in that minute, we could help one another and create a powerful new paradigm for 4-H in the digital age.
Posted in category Our Thoughts at 05:18 PM