Progress 08/01/21 to 07/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Extension Agents: 8 (6 Agricultural Agents and 2 Consumer and Family Sciences Educators) that are assigned to the participating communities and therefore could provide ongoing support during and after the project. Graduate students: 15 (2 graduate students from the College of Agricultural Sciences-UPRM and 13 undergraduate students from UPR-Humacao. This represented a change of focus from training only graduate students, to include undergraduate students from the Program of Marine Biology at UPR-Humacao to allow them to expand their expertise to the area of aquaponics.) Community leaders and farmers: 58. These participants live in communities located in the mountains (within the PR Model Forest footprint) with difficult access and therefore with limited educational opportunities. All members of the target audience are Hispanics. Changes/Problems:This project suffered various changes in its time schedule due to a delay of several months in the purchasing process. This was caused by a new state law (Law Num. 73 of July of 2019 Law for the Centralization of All Government Purchases through the General Services Administration) that was applied to the University of Puerto Rico. This law limited the faculty of UPRM researchers to directly buy materials and equipment from regular business and providers in Puerto Rico and forced them to buy from a limited pool of ¨registered bidders¨. As a result, and in many cases, the prices quoted for equipment and materials within this limited pool of bidders would double or triple those obtained in the open market threatening the project to become economically unsustainable. Consequently, our project was affected by the need to wait until a reasonable quotation or adequate materials provider was identified to be able to complete the purchase process. The programing workshops and training activities had to be delayed until the Distance Education Hubs were fully equipped and ready. The time schedule had to be modified to concomitantly train Extension personnel, farmers, and community members to regain most of the lost time. Some adjustments in the type of electronic materials for the Distance Education Hubs, and size of the aquaponic systems had also to be done in order to keep budget within limits without affecting the project goals or outcomes. During the second reporting period there were some difficulties that emerged due to infrastructure problems in some of the remote DE hubs, as well as natural events. Two participant communities confronted problems with their electrical system and one confronted problem with water recollection and storage since they do not have public running water system. With the resources of the project, we were able to assist them in updating and upgrading their electrical system as well as water system. On September 18, 2022, Hurricane Fiona landed in Puerto Rico leaving behind a record thirty inches (30") of rain and a total blackout on this Caribbean archipelago. This event affected our project since the participant DE hubs community-based institutions became first responders after the hurricane hit and all their efforts went to assist and recover their communities. DE training activities were put on hold, resulting in a one-month delay and rescheduling. Puerto Rico also experienced a year characterized by extreme weather which represented a threat to aquaponic systems stability since the excess rainwater affected the chemical balance of the fish-growing-tanks and the lack of electricity presented a threat in some locations where the renewable backup systems failed. Despite land communication to the Distance Education (DE) hubs were cut, the training obtained in DE paid off. Our Specialist in aquaponic production was able to stay in communication through WhatsApp with all hubs from his home base at UPR Humacao, and with the aid of the equipment and training acquired by participants under this grant, he was able to assess damages and needs to correct system performance and save hundreds of fish. During the months of June and July 2023, Puerto Rico experienced a heat wave, establishing high temperature records in many regions of the archipelago. Excess heat prompted the growth of unbeneficial bacteria and stress in some aquaponic systems leading to a sudden death of fish. The emergency chat network between DE hubs, UPR Humacao and UPR Mayagüez, allowed for real-time DE virtual communication and the fast reporting and sharing of information within the network. This led to a quick solution of the situation by temporarily reducing feeding times and amount of food being given to fish, improvising, and increasing shadow areas in the growing tanks areas, and increasing the amount of air being pumped to the systems. The investment provided by this DEG has proven invaluable to the ability of Extension personnel and their community partners to being able to connect, communicate, act quickly and assertively in responding to the ever-growing threats of climate change. Due to these unforeseen environmental and administrative challenges that affected the time frame of the Project, the PI and Co-Pi requested a no-cost extension that was granted for the period of August 1, 2023 to July 31, 2024. During this period the Aquaponic Production Systems were able to complete the construction of their total infrastructure and continue to the stage of hands-on full experimentation in sowing and harvesting the first batch of fish and vegetables. During this period, there was continuous companionship, mentoring and evaluation by the project staff (i.e, Aquaponic Specialist, Extension Agents, Research Assistants and Project Directors), both online and in site, that guaranteed the expected project´s outputs and outcomes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has provided 33 hours of online training: 6 contact hours on the use of Distance Education Technology (DET) which included basic uses of the Microsoft Teams platform and Moodle Community (the UPRM platform that provide access to non-formal education online courses to participants out of the university formal settings). Participants also learned about other platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom and Facebook Live and WhatsApp. The project also provided 17 contact hours in Aquaponic Production Systems (APS), topics included: introduction to the APS; local and federal regulations for APS; construction and maintenance of the APS; Biological filtration and Nitrogen cycle; Plants' nutrition; Fish and Plants production and biosecurity in the APS. In addition, provided 8 contact hours on Ethical Principles for Agriculture and Entrepreneurship fundaments and two hours in the basic elements to produce short videos. During the last year an additional topic was added about tools for effective communication to strengthen teamwork. A virtual library website was created to include the educational materials and videos developed for the project. A three-hour conference was offered to participants on the topic of Farm to School: Fish production for schools, with speakers from the Food and Nutrition Service, Puerto Rico's Department of Education and the Administration for the Development of Agricultural Enterprises. On going mentoring activities were conducted during the project period through eight WhatsApp groups created: one for each community, one for the Extension personnel, one for all communities and one group created to address emergencies that could occurred in the APS and needed to be solved in a short period of time. Through these groups, participants could ask for any advice on issues related to the APS or DET as well as any other relevant information, therefore providing continuous counseling and mentoring in real-time. Also, through these chats, participants could share successful strategies implemented in their projects. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Two info-graphic posters were developed that illustrate the major results of the project. One infographic illustrates the results for the DET training. It presents data on the products of the project including the total of people reached, the number of classes that were offered and the number of chats created. It also presents data on major knowledge changes in the pre and post-tests. A QR-code was included in this infographic for participants to have quick access to the Virtual Library, where all the educational material of the project can be found. A second infographic illustrates the major results in knowledge change for the APS training, as collected in the pre and post-tests. Pictures of all APS units were included. The Infographics were presented and discussed with the participant communities and handed to them to be displayed in all the DE Hubs. An article about the project, written by the PI and the Co-PI, was published in Puerto Rico's Agricultural Extension Service Newsletter which reached the general public. In addition, all the educational materials and videos developed are shared in an online webpage about the project (https://www.uprm.edu/edpac). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Train five Extension Agents from the UPRM Agricultural Extension Service in the use of DE technology and aquaponic production systems to become distance educators and conduct online Aquaponic production courses. Eight Extension Agents (6 Agricultural Agents and 2 Consumer and Family Sciences Educators) participated in the online training. They received a total of 33 contact hours in the use of distance education technology (DET); on the Aquaponic Production Systems (APS); the basic elements to produce short videos and entrepreneurship fundaments. They learned the skills necessary to use online platforms to offer future online courses for their Extension audiences. A project's Virtual Library was created to include all the online classes. After completing the online training, all eight Extension Agents passed an online test and received certifications for APS and DET. They are now recognized as the experts in aquaponic systems in Extension and will be able to continue expanding this knowledge through further training and individual support. Objective 2: Train twenty graduate students of the College of Agricultural Science in the use of DE technology and methods to become distance educators. Two graduate students from the College of Agricultural Sciences and thirteen university students from University of Puerto Rico-Humacao also participated in the online trainings and received 25 contact hours in the topics of DET, APS and the production of short videos and received certification on DET and APS. Objective 3: Train fifty new Extension Leaders (farmers and/or community members) in five communities within the BM footprint in the use of DE methodology and aquaponic production. Fifty-eight farmers and community members participated in the online training and received a total of 33 contact hours in the use of DET, APS, the production of short videos and entrepreneurship fundaments. They also learned important teaching skills and considerations to take when offering distance education courses. Additional training was offered in the last year about tools for effective communication to strengthen teamwork. The participant communities include: four communities within the Puerto Rico Model Forest footprint in the mountains (CMTAS, COSSAO, AgroSairam and Bucarabón) and one in the UPR-Humacao which serves as the demonstrative project for all the communities and as a workshop for the students. A sixth community, in the municipal Island of Vieques, which is not part of the Forest Model footprint, was highly interested in the project and thus were allowed to participate in the trainings. All the online training was offered through the Microsoft Teams platform. Participants attended the DE Hubs in each community or could connect synchronically through their own devices. Each training was recorded and uploaded in the Moodle Community (University Platform) for further review or for those participants that needed to connect at another time. Individual or group assistance was offered by the graduate students whenever the participants needed any help with the online platforms. Participants learned about access to the project's Virtual Library which was created to include all the online classes that were edited in shorter modules of about 15 minutes. After completing the online training, all fifty-eight participants passed the online test and were certified as DE Extension Leaders and Aquaponic Systems operators. To demonstrate their newly acquired skills, participants in each community posted videos of their APS in the WhatsApp chats of their communities. Therefore, in this project, a total of 81 individuals participated in the online trainings. A pre-test to measure self-rated knowledge and skills on DET and APS was administered to participants before the trainings and a post-test was administered at the end. Results showed that 89% of the participants (vs 33% at pre-test) learned how to connect and use Moodle Community platform; 81% (vs 55% at pre-test) learned how to create a meeting in the Teams platform; 98% (vs 86% at pre-test) learned how to create groups in WhatsApp; 97% (vs 81% at pretest) learned how to add photos and videos in WhatsApp; 91% (vs 8%) learned how to build an aquaponic system; 86% (vs 14%) learned how to manage the APS; 83% (vs 14%) learned how to produce fish and 92% (vs 14%) learned how to produce plants in the APS. Seven months after the online training, a follow-up survey was administered to a sample of participants to determine the level of confidence they have to put in practice the knowledge and skills gained to become distance educators in their communities. More than 75% indicated that they can manage on their own, without any help, to do the following tasks: create a meeting in Teams; navigate in the Moodle platform; create a WhatsApp group; send messages in WhatsApp; load pictures and videos in WhatsApp; make short videos. Ninety percent of these sampled participants indicated that they feel confident to educate others through distance education, without any help. The Virtual Library created has been used by some of the communities to train new members in the project. Objective 4: Establish five DE hubs and demonstrative aquaponic systems within the Model Forest footprint to become centers of distance learning training and aquaponic production in the central cordillera. Five DE Hubs were established in the participating communities that served as the Centers of Distance Education Learning resulting in "shortening" physical distances and barriers to educational opportunities. All Hubs were equipped with a 65 inches tv, an omnidirectional wireless microphone, a web camera, two laptop computers and one Tablet computer. Seven months after the completion of the online training, a follow-up survey was administered to a sample of participants (35% of farmers and community members) in order to evaluate how participants are making use of the DE hubs after the completion of the online training. Results showed that 80% of the sampled participants had visited the Hubs for meetings through the virtual platforms; 75% used the computers provided by the project to look for information on the Internet; 65% participated in other virtual trainings and 55% had used the Tablets provided by the project to record videos. In addition, five demonstrative aquaponic systems have been established in the participating communities, each with three to four aquaponic units. An additional unit was established in a nearby community in the municipality of Santa Isabel as some of the participants in the CMTAS Hub live in that area. During the last year the APS reported their first fish production for a trimester which was 126 pounds of Tilapia and an estimated of 400 pounds of vegetables including lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro and sweet peppers generating additional income for the communities. After overcoming various difficulties during the previous months, it is expected that production will increase significantly. The participants have therefore learned how to build and maintain an aquaponic production system allowing them to increase and diversify high quality protein and horticultural production. Through this project, PR Extension has contributed to strengthening the capacity of difficult to access communities in the mountains to be connected to scientifically based educational opportunities, and to be able to generate and conduct their own DE educational opportunities. Further, PRAEXS has contributed to improving agricultural diversification by broadening the availability of locally produced high quality fish protein, therefore increasing food security in Puerto Rico. The APS have become demonstrative models and have received over 200 visitors from PR and abroad. One of the communities has reported receiving additional funding to expand the APS to benefit additional families in the community.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Rodr�guez, M.C., Rodr�guez-P�rez, R & Reyes-Pesaresi, P. (2022). Educaci�n a Distancia para la Producci�n Acuap�nica Comunitaria. Revista del Servicio de Extensi�n Agr�cola (4), pp. 8-10. (Distance Education for Community Aquaponic Production. Extension Newsletter).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Serrano Cort�s, Neishaly, Usando la Educaci�n a Distancia para Incrementar la Producci�n Acuap�nica en el Bosque Modelo de Puerto Rico. (Using Distance Education to Increase Aquaponic Production in the Puerto Rico's Model Forest). Presented at the First Congress of Community Work and Development at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. October 2022.
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Progress 08/01/22 to 07/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Extension Agents: 8 (6 Agricultural Agents and 2 Consumer and Family Sciences Educators) Graduate students: 15 (2 from the College of Agricultural Sciences-UPRM and 13 from UPR-Humacao) Community leaders and farmers: 58 All members of the target audience are Hispanics. Changes/Problems:This reporting period was characterized by some difficulties that emerged in the DE aquaponic training face of the project. Hands-on training on aquaponic installation and operation was delayed due to infrastructure problems in some of the remote DE hubs. Two participant communities confronted problems with their electrical system and one confronted problem with water recollection and storage since they do not have public running water system. With the resources of the project, we were able to assist them in updating and upgrading their electrical system as well as water system. On September 18, 2022, Hurricane Fiona landed in Puerto Rico leaving behind a record thirty inches (30") of rain and a total blackout on this Caribbean archipelago. This event affected our project since the participant DE hubs community-based institutions became first responders after the hurricane hit and all their efforts went to assist and recover their communities. DE training activities were put on hold, resulting in a one month delay and rescheduling. Puerto Rico also experienced a year characterized by extreme weather which represented a threat to aquaponic systems stability since the excess rainwater affected the chemical balance of the fish-growing-tanks and the lack of electricity presented a threat in some locations where the renewable backup systems failed. Despite land communication to the Distance Education (DE) hubs were cut, the training obtained in DE paid off. Our Specialist in aquaponic production was able to stay in communication through WhatsApp with all hubs from his home base at UPR Humacao, and with the aid of the equipment and training acquired by participants under this grant, was able to assess damages and needs to correct system performance and save hundreds of fish. During the months of June and July 2023, Puerto Rico experienced a heat wave, establishing high temperature records in many regions of the archipelago. Excess heat prompted the growth of unbeneficial bacteria and stress in some aquaponic systems leading to a sudden death of fish in two of the DE hubs. Realtime DE virtual communication, video-based reports, and the existence of a chat network between DE hubs, UPR Humacao and UPR Mayagüez; allowed for the fast reporting and sharing of information within the network. This led to a quick solution of the situation by temporarily reducing feeding times and amount of food being given to fish, improvising, and increasing shadow areas in the growing tanks areas, and increasing the amount of air being pumped to the systems. The investment provided by this DEG has proven invaluable to the ability of Extension personnel and their community partners to being able to connect, communicate, act quickly and assertively in responding to the ever-growing threats of climate change. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A total of 81 individuals have participated in the online trainings including: 6 Extension Agricultural Agents, 2 Consumer and Family Sciences Educators, 2 graduate students from the College of Agricultural Sciences, 13 graduate students from UPR-Humacao and 58 farmers and community members. In this two-year period, the participants completed 33 contact hours on the use of Distance Education Technology (DET) and Aquaponic Production Systems (APS). Topics in the online trainings included: basic uses of the Microsoft Teams platform and Moodle Community as the main platforms for the DET trainings and the sharing of educational materials; different platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom and Facebook Live; WhatsApp; the basic elements to produce short videos; introduction to the APS; local and federal regulations for APS; construction and maintenance of the APS; Biological filtration and Nitrogen cycle; Plants' nutrition; Fish and Plants production and biosecurity in the APS; Ethical Principles for Agriculture and Entrepreneurship fundaments. A pre-test to measure self-rated knowledge and skills on DET and APS was administered to participants when registering in the trainings. A post-test was administered at the end of the online trainings. Results showed that 89% of the participants (vs 33% at pre-test) learned how to connect and use Moodle Community; 81% (vs 55% at pre-test) learned how to create a meeting in the Teams platform; 98% (vs 86% at pre-test) learned how to create groups in WhatsApp; 97% (vs 81% at pre-test) learned how to add photos and videos in WhatsApp; 91% (vs 8%) learned how to build an aquaponic system; 86% (vs 14%) learned how to manage the APS; 83% (vs 14%) learned how to produce fish and 92% (vs 14%) learned how to produce plants in the APS. A follow-up survey (7 months after the online trainings) was administered to a sample of participants to determine the level of confidence the participants have to put in practice the knowledge and skills gained to become distance educators in their communities. More than 75% of these sampled participants indicated that they can manage on their own, without any help, to do the following tasks: create a meeting in Teams; navigate in the Moodle platform; create a WhatsApp group; send messages in WhatsApp; load pictures and videos in WhatsApp; make short videos. Ninety percent of these sampled participants indicated that they feel confident to educate others through distance education, without any help. The Virtual Library created has been used by some of the communities to train new members in the project. The project also provided an opportunity for four Engineering undergraduate students to develop their capstone projects in one of the participating communities. The students designed and developed the automation for one of the APS including an automated feeder, oxygen maintenance, pH meter and water levels monitoring. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Two info-graphic posters were developed that illustrate the major results of the project. One infographic illustrates the results for the DET trainings. It presents data on the products of the project including the total of people reached, the number of classes that were offered and the number of chats created. It also presents data on major knowledge changes in the pre and post-tests. A QR-code was included in this infographic for participants to have quick access to the Virtual Library, where all the educational material of the project can be found. A second infographic illustrates the major results in knowledge change for the APS trainings, as collected in the pre and post-tests. Pictures of all APS units were included. The Infographics were presented and discussed with the participant communities and handed to them to be displayed in all the DE Hubs. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?A no-cost extension was requested for the next reporting period. This will allow us to complete Objective 4 in order to finish the establishment of the APS units in all the communities. It is expected then, that full production on the aquaponic systems will be in place. This will allow us to collect data on expected outcomes for vegetables and fish production. Additional online training sessions, conducted on the DE Hubs, will be offered to participants on topics such as effective communication strategies, team work, basic food safety skills, and developing recipes for the fish grown in the APS. It is expected that certified participants will teach new participants through distance education, in order to continue expanding this project.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1: Train five Extension Agents from the UPRM Agricultural Extension Service in the use of DE technology and aquaponic production systems to become distance educators and conduct online Aquaponic production corseess. Eight Extension Agents (6 Agricultural Agents and 2 Consumer and Family Sciences Educators) continued their participation in the online trainings during this reporting period. They received three contact hours in the use of distance education technology (DET) where they learned additional tools for distance education including different platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom and Facebook Live, in addition to Microsoft Teams. They also learned important teaching skills and considerations to take during distance education courses. Extension Agents learned about access to the project's Virtual Library which was created to include all the online classes that were offered in the project. These were edited in shorter modules of around 15 minutes. The virtual library can be accessed at the YouTube channel. These knowledge and skills will help them as they develop as distance educators and can continue sharing the knowledge gained in this project. The Extension Agents also received nine contact hours on the Aquaponic Production Systems (APS). Topics included were Biological filtration and Nitrogen cycle; Plants' nutrition; Fish and Plants production and biosecurity in the APS as well as three contact hours in Ethical Principles in Agriculture. In addition, they received six contact hours in entrepreneurship fundaments. After completing the online training, all the eight Extension Agents passed an online test on APS and received two certifications of the training completion for APS and DET. Objective 2: Train twenty graduate students of the College of Agricultural Science in the use of DE technology and methods to become distance educators. Two graduate students from the College of Agricultural Sciences and thirteen university students from University of Puerto Rico-Humacao also participated in the online training and received three contact hours in the use of DET. They also received nine contact hours on APS. Objective 3: Train fifty new Extension Leaders (farmers and/or community members) in five communities within the BM footprint in the use of DE methodology and aquaponic production. Fifty-eight farmers and community members continued their participation in the online trainings and received, as well, three contact hours in the use of distance education technology (DET) where they learned additional tools for distance education including different platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom and Facebook Live, in addition to Microsoft Teams. They also learned important teaching skills and considerations to take when offering distance education courses. Participants learned about access to the project's Virtual Library which was created to include all the online classes that were offered in the project. These were edited in shorter modules of about 15 minutes. The virtual library can be accessed at the YouTube channel. It is expected that these knowledge and skills will help them as they develop as distance educators and can continue sharing the knowledge gained in this project with other members in the community. Farmers and community members also received nine contact hours on the Aquaponic Production Systems (APS). Topics included were Biological filtration and Nitrogen cycle; Plants' nutrition; Fish and Plants production and biosecurity in the APS as well as three contact hours in Ethical Principles in Agriculture. In addition, they received six contact hours in entrepreneurship fundaments. After completing the online training, all fifty-eight participants passed the online test on APS and received two certifications of the training completion: one for APS and one for DET. To demonstrate their newly acquired skills, participants in each community had to post videos of their APS in the WhatsApp chats of their community and they were motivated to maintain active participations in their chats. An Emergency Chat was developed to share any critical situation in the APS as well as successful strategies employed in solving these issues. The participant communities include: four communities within the Puerto Rico Model Forest footprint (CMTAS, COSSAO, AgroSairam and Bucarabón) and one in the UPR-Humacao which serves as the demonstrative project for all the communities and as a workshop for the students. A sixth community, in the municipal Island of Vieques, which is not part of the Forest Model footprint, was highly interested in the project and thus were allowed to participate. They are covering their own expenses on DET and the materials for the APS. All the online trainings were offered through the Microsoft Teams platform. Participants attended the DE Hubs in each community or could connect synchronically through their own devices. Each training was recorded and uploaded in the Moodle Community (University Platform) for further review or for those participants that needed to connect at another time. Individual or group assistance was offered by the graduate students whenever the participants needed any help with the online platforms. All of the recorded lessons are available in the Virtual Library on the YouTube Channel. Objective 4: Establish five DE hubs and demonstrative aquaponic systems within the Model Forest footprint to become centers of distance learning training and aquaponic production in the central cordillera. As accomplished in the previous reporting period, five DE Hubs were established in the participating communities (CMTAS, COSSAO, AgroSairam and Bucarabón) and in UPR-Humacao that are functioning as Centers of Distance Education Learning for the online trainings. A follow-up survey (7 months after the completion of the online trainings) was administered to a sample of participants (35% of farmers and community members) in order to evaluate how participants are making use of the DE hubs after the online trainings. Results showed that 80% of the sampled participants have visited the Hubs for meetings through the virtual platforms; 75% used the computers provided by the project to look for information on the Internet; 65% participated in other virtual trainings and 55% had used the Tablets provided by the project to record videos. During this reporting period, five demonstrative aquaponic systems have been established. In the communities of AgroSairam, Bucarabón and UPR-Humacao, four units of aquaponic productions have been established and have started their fish and vegetables production by the end of this reporting period. The facility in COSSAO had several issues with electricity which delayed the installment of three of the units. For the next reporting period they will be in operation and will begin full fish and vegetables production. In CMTAS community, three aquaponic units have been established and have started production. The fourth unit was established in a nearby community in the municipality of Santa Isabel as some of the participants in the CMTAS DE Hub live in that area. This unit has also started production.
Publications
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Progress 08/01/21 to 07/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Extension Agents: 8 (6 Agricultural Agents and 2 Consumer and Family Sciences Educators) Graduate students: 2 from the College of Agricultural Sciences-UPRM Community leaders and farmers: 59 All members of the target audience are Hispanics. Changes/Problems:The Government of Puerto Rico approved Law number 73 of July of 2019, known as "Ley de la Administración de Servicios Generales para la Centralización de las Compras del Gobierno de Puerto Rico de 2019" (Law for the Centralization of All Government Purchases through the General Services Administration). This new law was applied to the University of Puerto Rico system that it is considered a government agency under this law. This limited the faculty of UPRM researchers to directly buy research materials and equipment from regular business and providers in Puerto Rico and forced them to buy from a limited pool of ¨registered bidders¨. As a result, the purchase process would be delayed for months, and in many cases the prices quoted for equipment and materials within this limited pool of bidders would double or triple those obtained in the open market threatening the project to become economically unsustainable. Consequently, our project was affected by the need to wait in many of the purchases until a reasonable quotation or adequate materials provider was identified to be able to complete the purchase process. These delays and red tape put this project into a five-month delay since we could not start programing workshops and training activities until the Distance Education Hubs were fully equipped and ready. The PIs of the project decided to change the time schedule to concomitantly train both Extension personnel, farmers, and community members to regain most of the lost time. Some adjustments in type of electronic materials for the Distance Education Hubs, and size of the aquaponic systems had also to be done in order to keep budget within limits without affecting the project goals or outcomes. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A total of 69 individuals have participated in the online trainings including: 6 Extension Agricultural Agents, 2 Consumer and Family Sciences Educators, 2 graduate students from the College of Agricultural Sciences and 59 farmers and community members. So far, they have completed 13 contact hours on the use of Distance Education Technology (DET) and Aquaponic Production Systems (APS). Topics in the online trainings included: basic uses of the Microsoft Teams platform and Moodle Community as the main platforms for the DET trainings and the sharing of educational materials; WhatsApp; the basic elements to produce short videos; introduction to the APS; local and federal regulations for APS; construction and maintenance of the APS. A pre-test to measure self-rated knowledge and skills on DET and APS was administered to participants when registering in the trainings. The post-test will be administered during the next reporting period when they have completed the online trainings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To accomplish goals one through three, the online trainings will continue on a weekly basis. By mid-October participants will have completed an additional nine contact hours on APS; six contact hours on entrepreneurship skills and business plans; two contact hours on bioethics and ethical handling of living organisms. Two additional contact hours on distance education technology will focus on providing skills to the participants to become distance educators in order that they can share their new knowledge with their communities and others. Topics will include: the importance of becoming a distance educator, how to use basic tools for distance education (example: Microsoft Teams, Google, Zoom, emails, WhatsApp, Facebook life), how to share educational materials through these platforms, development of the virtual library for the project. Therefore, by the end of the next reporting period, participants will have completed a total of 33 contact hours on the online trainings. For objective two, an additional group of 13 university students, that started the online trainings in August, will complete all the contact hours of the online trainings. By the beginning of November, it is expected that all communities will have their APS built and will start their fish and vegetables production. Participants will complete a post-test that will be compared to the pre-test from the previous recording period to determine changes in knowledge and skills. An additional exam will be administered to measure knowledge on basic concepts of the APS. Participants will also present their APS through short video documentaries. A virtual library will be created on the website of UPRM-Extension to include all the educational materials, recordings of the online classes, community's videos, and any other relevant material for continue access by the participants and for the public as well. All participants that completed the online trainings and participated in the installation, maintenance, and production of the APS in their communities will receive a certificate as APS Operator and Distance Educator Extension Leader.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
IMPACT STATEMENT For farmers living in remote areas, traveling long distances to obtain training in production and best practices can be a time consuming and even sometimes, a dangerous process. This is the situation for farmers and communities living in the Puerto Rican central mountain range, therefore becoming a challenge for both, the farmers and University-Extensionists. Technology has come to fill up that gap, shortening distances through computers and electronic devices that conveniently get together groups of people from farther areas in one place. Long distance education has become an effective strategy in formal education such as university settings. However, how this strategy can work for the non-formal education setting such as those teachings offered by Extension may pose some challenges, particularly when people are not familiarized with the technological tools available. One of the main objectives of this project was to train farmers, community members, Extensionists and university students in the basic tools on Distance Education Technology (DET). As a result of this project, five distance education centers, with state-of-the-art technology, have been established in five remote communities in Puerto Rico where people come to access online trainings without traveling long distances to Extension offices. Sixty-nine participants have been learning basic skills and tools available that will allow them to be a part of diverse online trainings. They are becoming technologically literate so they can use these tools to communicate within their own communities and be able to further transmit the knowledge gained to others with similar needs. By learning how to be a part of a distance education training, participants are putting in practice their new skills acquired to access an online class on Aquaponic Production Systems (APS). The topic of APS comes as a result of residents expressed needs of promoting economic development through increasing agricultural production of high quality and diversified crops, using sustainable methods that will preserve the forest. By the end of this project, it is expected that participants will have increased their knowledge and skills on DET and APS and will be producing high quality protein through fish grown in the aquaponic systems as well as a diversity of crops in order to produce economic profits for the community and their members. The distance education centers will remain in the communities to continue promoting distance education through online trainings with University Extension as well as many other online tools that can provide access to education in remote areas of the mountain range in Puerto Rico. Results and lessons learned in this project could also be adapted to similar settings. Objective 1: Train five Extension Agents from the UPRM Agricultural Extension Service in the use of DE technology and aquaponic production systems to become distance educators and conduct online Aquaponic production courses. Eight Extension Agents (6 Agricultural Agents and 2 Consumer and Family Sciences Educators) participated in the online trainings. They received three contact hours in the use of distance education technology (DET) where they learned about the basic uses of the Microsoft Teams platform and Moodle Community, the UPRM platform that provide access to non-formal education online courses to participants out of the university formal settings. In addition, practical skills were discussed on the application of WhatsApp to share important announcements, educational materials and questions and doubts that can arise during the project period. They learned the skills necessary to use these platforms to offer future online courses for their Extension audiences. Participants also received two contact hours of the basic elements to produce short videos. The Extension Agents also received eight contact hours on the Aquaponic Production Systems (APS). Topics included were introduction to the APS, local and federal regulations, construction, and maintenance of the APS. Additional contact hours will be offered during the next reporting period. Objective 2: Train twenty graduate students of the College of Agricultural Science in the use of DE technology and methods to become distance educators. Two graduate students from the College of Agricultural Sciences participated in the online trainings and received three contact hours in the use of DET. They also received eight contact hours on APS and two contact hours on the production of short videos. Thirteen additional university students will participate in the online courses during the next reporting period. Objective 3: Train fifty new Extension Leaders (farmers and/or community members) in five communities within the BM footprint in the use of DE methodology and aquaponic production. Fifty-nine farmers and community members also participated in the online trainings and received, as well, three contact hours in the use of DET, and two contact hours on the production of short videos. They also received eight contact hours on APS. The participant communities include: four communities within the Puerto Rico Model Forest footprint (CMTAS, COSSAO, AgroSairam and Bucarabón) and one in the UPR-Humacao which serves as the demonstrative project for all the communities and as a workshop for the students. A sixth community, in the municipal Island of Vieques, which is not part of the Forest Model footprint, was highly interested in the project and thus were allowed to participate. They are covering their own expenses on DET and the materials for the APS. All the online trainings were offered through the Microsoft Teams platform. Participants attended the DE Hubs in each community or could connect synchronically through their own devices. Each training was recorded and uploaded in the Moodle Community (University Platform) for further review or for those participants that needed to connect on another time. Individual or group assistance was offered by the graduate students whenever the participants needed any help with the online platforms. Objective 4: Establish five DE hubs and demonstrative aquaponic systems within the Model Forest footprint to become centers of distance learning training and aquaponic production in the central cordillera. Five DE Hubs were established in the participating communities (CMTAS, COSSAO, AgroSairam and Bucarabón) and in UPR-Humacao that are functioning as the Centers of Distance Education Learning for the online trainings. All Hubs were equipped with a 65 inches tv, an omnidirectional wireless microphone, a web camera, two laptop computers and one Tablet computer. The second part of this objective, the establishment of the APS, will be completed during the next reporting period.
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