Comm Tips – Previous Series
Comm Tips Spring 2013
Feb. 20: Windows 8 Tips —
Joe Lear, KSRE Technology
View Recording
Feb. 27: Android Smartphones Tips and Apps —
David Dunn, KSRE Technology
View Recording
March 6: iPad Productivity Tools —
Gerry Snyder, KSRE Technology
View Recording
March 13: Newsletter Content Basics —
Susan Berhow, KSU Foundation
View Recording
March 20: No Program
March 27: Smart Shopping with Smartphones —
Valerie Edwards, KSRE Johnson County
View Recording
April 3: iPad User Tips —
Dennis Devenney, KSU College of Education
View Recording
April 10: Planning Your Communication Strategy —
Sarah Caldwell Hancock, KSRE Publications
View Recording
April 17: Where to Get Social Media Content —
Elaine Edwards, KSRE News
View Recording
Comm Tips Fall 2012
Oct. 3: Windows 7 Tips —
Russ Feldhausen, K-State Research and Extension Computer Support Specialist
Want to learn how to use Windows 7 to make your life easier? This issue covers all sorts of tips and tricks for using Windows 7 PC to efficiently perform many common tasks, and save time. Go to Recorded Program.
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Oct. 10: Photo/Image Editing —
Jared Wasinger, Intern, and Gerry Snyder, K-State Research and Extension Media Lab Coordinator
Want to know how to improve the digital photos from your phone or digital camera? Paint.net is a free, full-featured program with tools to edit, crop, brighten, and enhance your digital images. This demo of Paint.net, includes tips on improving photos. Go to Recorded Program.
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No program October 17 (K-State Research and Extension Annual Conference)
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Oct. 24: Check the Facts for Newsletters —
Nancy Zimmerli-Cates, K-State Research and Extension Publishing Leader
Do you — or worse, your readers — find errors after you've mailed your newsletters? Wrong date? Wrong name under the photo? Use these quick tips to check facts, figures, and faces before you print. Go to Recorded Program.
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Oct. 31: Join the Online Conversations —
Elaine Edwards, K-State Research and Extension News Media and Marketing Services Leader
Listen to online conversations using tools such as Twitter, GoogleAlerts, and SocialMention. It is a way of learning what is important to neighbors and clients in your subject area. Go to Recorded Program.
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Nov. 7: KSRE Image Library —
Gerry Snyder, K-State Research and Extension Media Lab Coordinator
Find high-quality photos for your newsletters, fliers, reports, or presentations. The Image Library is a collection of digital images that represent many facets of K-State Research and Extension. Kansas State University holds the copyright for these images, so no reprint permission is required for use in documents published by the university or the organization. Go to Recorded Program.
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Nov. 14: iPads for Extension Educators —
Wayne Ohnesorg, University of Nebraska Extension Educator, Madison County
An iPad is part of the tool kit for University of Nebraska educator Wayne Ohnesorg. Learn how he is using the iPad in his work with pest management and scouting, and other iPad ideas he has for extension educators. Go to Recorded Program.Copy of Program (pdf). For more information, see http://ianrnews.unl.edu/static/1108111.shtml and http://ianrnews.unl.edu/static/1208022.shtml . Go to UNL Tech Training programs.
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No program November 21 (Thanksgiving break)
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Nov. 28: Trinkets and Treasures —
Gina Nixon, Business Manager; Mandy Wilson, Bookstore Manager; and Pat Melgares, Marketing Coordinator
Department of Communications and Agricultural Education, Kansas State University
Everyone loves giveaways. Learn about specialty items available from the K-State Research and Extension Bookstore and how they can add value to your local unit or program. Learn about bulk discounts and how to order specialty items. Go to Recorded Program.
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Dec. 5: Technology Purchasing and Vendors —
Russ Feldhausen and Gary Kepka, K-State Research and Extension Computer Support Specialists
Learn how IT staff can help you purchase technology without stress to get the most out of your budget. They work closely with vendors to find the best deals on equipment that will last. We'll cover the basics of what we can do for you and how to locate equipment using our quotes and vendors. Go to Recorded Program.
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Comm Tips Spring 2012
Feb. 2: Creating and Remembering Secure Passwords - Russ Feldhausen
Having secure passwords and changing them often helps keep your data private and secure. Learn how to create strong passwords that are easy to remember but difficult to guess, and see how programs such as LastPass can help you keep track of all your passwords easily and securely. Watch Recorded Program
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Feb. 9: Socialize Your Web: Adding Social Media to Your Website - Russ Feldhausen
Have you always wanted to add social media such as Twitter or Facebook to your Web page? This 20-minute session will show you how to add social media elements to your site's pages. Watch Recorded Program
Helpful links for adding social media to your website...
- KSRE Social Media Page Example- http://www.ksre.k-state.edu/p.aspx?tabid=272
- Facebook Plugins - https://developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/
- Facebook Comments Plugin- https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/comments/
- Facebook Like Box Plugin - https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like-box/
- Twitter Profile Widget - https://twitter.com/about/resources/widgets/widget_profile
- Flickr SlideShow Widget- http://flickrslidr.com/index.php
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Feb. 16: Social Media Matters - Lauri Baker and Elaine Edwards
Can you evaluate extension's social media relationships? This session looks at the impact social media has in getting information to multiple audiences and also give you ideas to be successful in applying social media. Watch Recorded Program.
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Feb. 23: KSU Social Networking? What's all the Yammering About? - Cathy Rodriguez
Yammer is a private social networking tool that many K-Staters are using — to communicate with co-workers, project team members, and the campus community. Join this session to learn the basics of getting started with Yammer. Join the conversation! Watch Recorded Program.
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March 1: Improve your Writing Skills - Sarah Hancock
Communicate better by learning easy tips to improve your writing: avoid common mistakes, improve clarity, and review some grammar basics.
Watch Recorded Program.
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March 8: An Editor's Top 10 Style Tips - Linda Glimore
Do you wrestle with where to put quotation marks or the difference between "affect" and "effect"? Have you given up on style and grammar because you think you can never remember it all anyway? My 10 most useful style tips can help you focus on a few small things that make a big difference in your writing. Watch Recorded Program.
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March 15: Mailing Newsletters and Saving Money - Mandy Wilson
Do you send lots of newsletters and mailings? Learn how the KSRE Bookstore and Mail Center's bulk mail service can save you time and money by labeling and mailing your newsletters, and gain a better understanding of the costs associated with bulk mailing. Watch Recorded Program.
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No program March 22 (Spring Break)
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March 29: Educating Through Blogging - Rebecca McMahon
Learn the do's and don'ts of a successful educational blog from Rebecca McMahon, Sedgwick County Extension Horticulture Agent. Rebecca has been blogging professionally since 2009 at The Demo Garden blog, (http://thedemogarden.org). Watch Recorded Program.
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April 5: Working with iPads - Applications to make your job easier - Lauri Baker
The iPad has revolutionized on how we work, teach, and even play. This session highlights many of the app tools used to make your job easier. Watch Recorded Program.
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April 12: Creating a Listerv list for communications and marketing - Larry Havenstein
Listserv e-mail lists are useful for marketing and communicating with clients and groups. We will show you how to easily create and manage your group lists on the K-State Listserv system. Watch Recorded Program.
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April 19: Working with University Printing - Greg LeValley
The session will cover the mission and unique services of University Printing. This session will cover ways clients can contact the staff and what kind of information is needed to provide an estimate and complete the task. We will also look ahead at some of the services to be offered in the near future. Watch Recorded Program.
Comm Tips Fall 2011:
Sept. 7: Perfecting Your Elevator Pitch - Elaine Edwards/Pat Melgares
It can happen so quickly. You meet someone who asks you what you do. You only have a few seconds to explain what you do and explain why they should care. Called an elevator speech, your short explanation needs to be passionate, to the point and relevant. , Recorded Program
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Sept. 14: Communicate your Public Value - Elaine Edwards/Pat Melgares
K-State Research and Extension employees must be able to tell the public value story of the impact of our work and share that with our stakeholders. Recorded Program
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Sept. 21: Wordmark Templates - Pat Melgares and Pat Hackenberg
During the summer, K-State Research and Extension changed to a new wordmark. This session, presented by Pat Melgares and Pat Hackenberg, covers the proper usage of this KSRE branding mark with tips on how to use the wordmark with newsletters, letterhead, flyers and other print and web materials. Recorded Program
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Sept. 28: KSRE Image Library - Gerry Snyder
KSRE has a new photo database containing non-copyright images for flyers
and newsletters. Several of the library categories cover animals, community, crops, insects, lawn and garden, and Kansas scenic photos. Recorded Program
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Oct. 5: Mobile Device Round-up - Russ Feldhausen
Mobile Devices are becoming more and more common, but how can you know which one is right for you? This session will cover many of the current device options including smartphones, tablets and PDAs, as well as a few must-have apps to get you started. Recorded Program
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Oct. 12: PowerPoint Tips - Gerry Snyder
PowerPoint has been around for some time. How can you use it more effectively? What are several of the new features? This session focuses on how to get the most out of this visual communication tool. Plus how to use our new KSRE PPT templates. Recorded Program
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Oct. 19: No Program Scheduled (Annual Conference)
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Oct. 26: Snappy Titles and Headlines - Nancy Zimmerli-Cates and Elaine Edwards
Tips on how to capsulate your message quickly and clearly. Recorded Program
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Nov. 2: eXtension - Elaine Edwards
What is it and how you can tap into all the information within it. Recorded Program
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Nov. 9: Helpful Zimbra Tips - Russ Feldhausen
K-State Zimbra is a powerful tool that you can use to not only manage your own data but share any data with other users. This session will cover many simple tips and tricks to get the most out of K-State Zimbra and help you use it more fully in your daily routine. Recorded Program
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Nov. 16: Travel Security Tips - Russ Feldhausen
As the holiday travel season approaches, it is time to start thinking about safety while on the road. This session will cover several ways you can protect yourself and your data while traveling, including using the new K-State VPN system to securely connect to campus from anywhere. Recorded Program
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We hope you enjoy this series and find it beneficial.
If you have any feedback and requests for topics for next semester, please contact Gerry Snyder, gsnyder@ksu.edu, Elaine Edwards, elainee@ksu.edu, or Russ Feldhausen, russfeld@ksu.edu.
