TNT September 2005

Welcome to TExAS! The Texas Extension Accountability System

Centra Central- Evaluations & Surveys

4HPlus! E-mail Configuration

Introducing the Texas Extension Accountability System by Larry Lippke

“Welcome to TExAS.” These are the words used to introduce the Texas Extension Accountability System. So far, this welcome has been extended during twelve district meetings and campus meetings. After two years of planning and about eight months of computer programming, we are excited to be able to release the planning modules for this system. At the time this article was written, 579 separate plans, including over 2500 different tasks, have been entered. And we are learning a lot through the process. Through frequent system reviews by the Accountability Task Force (ATF), and through a series of pilot tests, this system is designed to meet the needs of both the individual employee and the agency. But there is nothing like a real-world test to really see how well it works and where improvements can be made. And, we thank you for the great feedback we are getting.

Now the focus turns to the development and implementation of the reporting modules which will be available beginning January 2006. The ATF has identified the various individual, management, and agency needs, and we will do our best to meet those needs through the design of reports to be submitted and report retrievals.

For those who are technically curious, here is a little description of the various technologies used to support this system. First, the machine hosting this system is a MicroAge rack mount server operating in the server room in the TAES Annex Building on campus. It uses Windows 2003 Server as an operating system. The primary computer code in the system is Cold Fusion from Macromedia, the same software running the TCE Bookstore and TECO. However, embedded in the code are various Java applets that do things like check validity of dates, present the popup calendars, and many other functions. Data is maintained in a database

application called MySQL, a very popular open source database system. Finally, there is a separate database that contains employees’ names. This is the same database used to create the Extension directory, so the names appear just as they do in that directory.

As a reminder, specific questions or comments about TExAS should be sent to texasmail@tamu.edu. Quick Guides and other documentation are linked from http://extensioneducation.tamu.edu and frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) are available at http://erc.tamu.edu/texasfaq . And, of course, the link to TExAS itself is http://texas.tamu.edu . Hopefully you will find the system to be both simple to use and effective.

Events & Updates

TExAS is here! Texas Extension Accountability System training has begun! For more details or information visit http://extensioneducation.tamu.edu/

Element K online training available For more information on what’s available contact Jennifer Jahedkar at 979.845.2290 or Susanna Coppernoll at 979.845.2250.

The Brazos Valley Macromedia Users Group- Summer Wilson The Brazos Valley Macromedia User’s Group will meet Sept. 20 from 11:45 to 1:00pm at MicroAge in College Station. For more information visit http://bvmmug.tamu.edu

The Brazos Valley Web Guild-Summer Wilson The Brazos Valley Web Guild will meet on Oct. 7 . For more information visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bvweb/

 

 

Centra Central - Evaluations & Surveys - by Jennifer Jahedkar

Evaluations and surveys are both useful tools in Centra, and great ways for leaders to promote interactivity! There are some differences in the two, and their names aren't really indicative of what they can do.

The main difference is that survey responses aren't retained, while evaluation responses are available, even from recorded sessions, in Manage Events, Reports. Surveys are best for quick polling, or to get a topic started or jump start a discussion. Evaluations can be used to evaluate the session, but they can also be used as pre and/or post-tests to evaluate what's been learned.

Enroll or browse upcoming events or learn more about Centra by clicking the Centra Symposium link from the EIT webpage or going directly to http://eit.tamu.edu/centra.html. Playback any of the 100+ recorded sessions from the Public Recordings link at http://centra.tamu.edu/main/tce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tip of the Month: 4HPlus! E-mail Configuration- by Greg Thomas

County based TCE faculties discover that many 4-H members and adult leaders prefer receiving club related information and announcements by e-mail rather than traditional postage. Considerable cost savings can be realized through reduced use of letterhead, envelopes, postage and time. 4HPlus! can send e-mail items from within the program itself. This also allows users to take advantage of many data management and SQL features in 4HPlus!.

The following steps illustrate e-mail configuration in 4HPlus!.

  1. This process begins in the 4HPlus! “Main” window by clicking on Goto in the menu bar and then on Utilities in the pop-down menu.
  2. In the Utilities Data window, click on SetUp Email in the menu bar.
  3. The next window allows you to enter items about the way you connect to the Internet, as shown in figure
  4. Select the radio button next to Dialup / Modem or LAN / DSL. If your office is networked, you should select LAN / DSL and skip down to step five.
  5. For Dialup / Modem access you should enter your Password and ISP Phone Number. Note: these items are supplied by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
  6. For both LAN and Dialup configurations, enter the county email address: (county name@ag.tamu.edu)
  7. Next, enter your Mail Server. This is supplied by your ISP.
  8. Next, enter your county User Id. This will be the same one that you use to login to your ISP. Entering a Domain is usually unnecessary.
  9. Click on the Exit button to complete the process and return to the 4HPlus! Main window. Tip: Use SQL in 4HPlus! for building a list of members or leaders who match some criteria and then select them to receive an item by e-mail. This same function also allows printing of mailing labels for those members who require postage mailings.