Book Title: e-Extension

Author: Professor Basavaprabhu Jirli

Book Description: Information and communication technologies have revolutionized the process of communication. Extension Education and Extension Service activities are largely involved in the dissemination of innovations among various stakeholders. Changing climate and other natural factors, widening extension worker to farmer ratio, farmers demand for specialized information services, etc. force the adoption of e-Mediated extension services. Since the beginning of ICT revolutions, experiments are being conducted to exploit the potentials and make its effective utilization in extension service mechanism. As a student of agriculture and allied sciences or as an extension professional it is essential to know the historical aspects of e-Extension, how the journey was made to arrive at the current status. Understanding the favourable as well as limiting conditions to exploit the potentials of ICTs for extension services are also essential for stakeholders. How education and extension services can be extended beyond the limits of four walls and in such exercises how information technology can act as a tool are the key issues. Development of appropriate content suitable for the specific stakeholder is the challenge for the agricultural researchers and extension service providers. Extension educationists are creating such platforms wherein professionals can come together and using IT tools provide e-Extension services to the communities. This is the video book version of lectures in the MOOC on the same topic.