AI Essentials for Extension Professionals

Program Goals

  1. Enhance AI Literacy: Increase foundational knowledge and practical application skills of AI among extension agents and other stakeholders within the agricultural sector.

  2. Promote Adoption of AI Technologies: Encourage the implementation of AI tools and strategies in agricultural and extension activities to improve productivity, sustainability, and decision-making processes.

  3. Foster Continuous Learning and Collaboration: Build a community of practice that supports continuous learning, sharing of best practices, and collaborative AI-related projects across the agricultural extension network.

IST Schedule

Each session is designed to last one hour and occurs every two months, focusing on foundational AI concepts and practical applications through interactive activities.

  1. Introduction to Artificial Intelligence (Date: 04/09/2024, 9AM-3PM)

    Topics: What is AI and why is it important?

    Hands-on: ArcGIS, Paper summary tools, etc.

  2. AI in Communication: Chatbots (Date: 09/17/2024, 10AM-11AM)

    Topic: Role of AI in enhancing communication.

    Hands-On: Create a basic chatbot using platforms like Chatfuel or ManyChat

  3. Introduction to Automation Tools (Date: 11/19/2024, 10AM-11AM)

    Topic: Overview of AI and automation.

    Hands-On: Experiment with IFTTT or Zapier to automate everyday tasks.

  4. AI for Data Analysis: Simple Analytics Tools (Date: TBD)

    Topic: How AI simplifies data analysis.

    Hands-On: Use Google Analytics to understand consumer behavior or agricultural data trends.

  5. AI in Scheduling and Management (Date: TBD)

    Topics: AI applications in time management and scheduling.

    Hands-On: Set up and use AI-based scheduling tools like x.ai or Calendly.

  6. AI and Social Media Insights (Date: TBD)

    Topics: How AI is used to analyze and optimize social media.

    Hands-On: Use tools like Buffer or Hootsuite for content scheduling and insights.

  7. Introduction to AI in Media (Date: TBD)

    Topic: Overview of how AI is transforming media creation, including video editing and image processing.

    Group Activity: Participants will be divided into small groups to create a short promotional video or a photo collage about an extension program or service.

  8. Ethical Considerations and Future of AI (Date: TBD)

    Topics: Discuss the ethical implications of AI and its future developments.

    Hands-On: Workshop on ethical decision-making using AI scenarios.

We Value Your Input

Are there any AI tools or technologies you've heard about or want to learn more about? Whether it's for enhancing your daily work or simplifying tasks, we want to hear from you! Your suggestions will help us tailor our sessions.

Please share any specific tools, applications, or areas of AI technology you would like us to explore in our upcoming workshops.