Arizona Extension Agents' Use of Communication Technologies

Abstract

Arizona Cooperative Extension strives to address community issues and needs through a research based educational process. The specific foci of the Extension agent gradually changed over time. Today's Arizona Extension agents should have good communication skills as they work to identify community resources, form community partnerships, and develop educational materials, among other things. The study sought to describe how Arizona Extension agents utilize nine communication technologies: cell phones, Smartphones, tablet computers, wikis, blogs, podcasts, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Greater than half of the participants utilized each mobile device included in the study (cell phones, Smartphones, and tablet computers). Facebook was a widely used social media tool. The researcher suggests that funding and professional development may play key roles in Arizona Extension agent technology adoption. Communication technology use should be considered within Cooperative Extension work in order to help agents better serve the clientele.