Farm Pulse Financial Management – Adapting Curriculum for Online Learners
Agricultural Economics & Community Development
Katie Wantoch
Farm Management Professor of Practice
UW-Madison Division of Extension
Menomonie
Abstract
Imagine sitting down at a computer to complete an online course and instantly becoming confused, overwhelmed, and frustrated with the amount of information. While farming is high-tech, most farmers have limited experience with online education as compared to accessing the internet to check email, pay bills, or simply browsing the web. Online courses should be fun, engaging, and interactive, rather than a source of frustration and stress. Farmers are already experiencing a prolonged period of significant financial stress that has contributed to farmers reevaluating their financial situation and business plans. The Farm Pulse: Financial Management curriculum looked to adapt and update written workshop materials into a more relevant format for use in-person, as stand-alone educational videos, and an on-line course. This curriculum was developed to assist farmers in identifying strengths and weaknesses of their business in order to assist them in making decisions that will improve their farm profitability. This session will highlight the intentional approach used to redesign farm financial management content for an online environment; how we updated course goals, assessments, and beginning farmer learning experiences; integrated technology intentionally for use with multiple devices; and put structure and support in place to promote self-directed learning, including video segments, interactive quizzes and activities, case study examples of dairy, beef and vegetable farms, and application exercises for participants to utilize knowledge gained in evaluating their financial situations. The session will also review the initial results from a pilot group of farmers who participated in the online course.
Authors: Katie Wantoch
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Katie Wantoch Associate Professor, Agriculture Agent, UW-Madison, Division of Extension, Wisconsin, 54751