Reporting for Duty
Amid the flurry of New Year’s Resolutions you might have made (and maybe already broken) for 2020, be sure to include reporting your Master Wellness Volunteer activities!
As a gentle reminder of how to do that, we’ve updated the video on entering hours and activities via the online reporting form.
Using the online reporting form to report activities can help you ensure you keep that resolution. SUCCESS!
Now where did I put my healthy snack and my gym membership card…
With Apologies to Billy Joel
I love a good rut. It’s not that I’m complacent. I just like things to be consistent. So that line in the Billy Joel song Just the Way You Are “don’t go changing…” really resonates with me.
But change is good sometimes and this year we’ve seen a lot of it here at Master Wellness Volunteer World Headquarters. And there’s more to come. In brief, here are some things we have in the works as we prepare for the 2020 program year:
- A single registration process. In previous years, MWV trainees needed to register twice: once with conference services, once with the online course system. Beginning Fall 2019, trainees will only register once via the new http://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu
- A new way to train online. Speaking of the new http://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu – now there is only ONE Master Wellness Volunteer online course that has all 16 or so modules embedded in it. So rather than a bunch of difference courses to complete in random fashion, the one new course has modules that open on completion of the previous, helpfully guiding you through the training process.
- The 3rd Annual Master Wellness Volunteer Statewide Training. Building on the success of previous years, we will begin a new training cohort 21 January, 2020, and run through 03 March, 2020. Registration should open on/about 14 November, 2019. The cohort will consist of two in-person days (21 Jan and 03 Mar) at your county Extension office and completion of the above referenced online course.
- Existing MWVs will be welcome to attend. In an effort to ease satisfying the annual continuing education requirement, we’ll open the first/final training days to current MWVs to brush up on their skills, learn new things, meet new people and get those sweet sweet required continuing education hours.
- But wait. There’s more! Including incentives for current MWVs to attend the in-person days. To be announced at a later date. Stay tuned.
Don’t go changing… Maybe it’s not so bad after all.
New System, New Account
Have you ever regretted your choice of an online username? Like that one account I created in college that perfectly reflected my personality at the time and now, twenty years later, hasn’t exactly aged well? I feel you.
Well, it’s your lucky day!
With the launch of the new AgriLife Online Course System you’ll need to create a new user account (who says you don’t get second chances in life?!). A colleague (hey, Shawna) has created a helpful tutorial to walk you through the steps. You’ll only need to do this once in the new system and then you will have access to all the great online courses you know and love.
Watch the video and then head on over to https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu to get your new account set up today!
New Learner Account from Howdy Health on Vimeo.
Patience is a Virtue
I chuckled when I looked at the post below, lining out the (ambitious?) timeline for the new learning management system (LMS). But, in the end, patience pays off and I’m pleased to report that the new and improved LMS with the new and improved Master Wellness Volunteer (MWV) Online Training is now up and running.
You can access the MWV training suite by clicking on the “Online Learning” tab above; or, to see the full compliment of courses offered on the new LMS, including MWV, go to https://agrilifelearn.tamu.edu
As with your patience during the transition, we’re asking for your patience as we get the new training suite up and running. Sure, it’s worked great with just me pretending to go through the courses but now we have to see how it works with real people doing it.
One of the first things you’ll notice is that the new training suite is made up of individual modules – so there’s only one “course,” not more than a dozen individual courses; and the modules build on one another, so you can’t go to two until you finish one, three is available when you finish two, and so on. I know this will make it challenging for episodic learning but it seemed like a smart way to organize the training. Some of our more popular modules we’ll (eventually) break out into stand alone courses again so that they’re easier to access.
Please let us know if you have questions or need additional information as we start using the new LMS. I’ll put together a guide on creating an account, enrolling in courses, accessing them and anything else I can think of in the coming weeks.
Out with the Old, In with the New
Three years ago we revolutionized the MWV training process by introducing the ability for trainees to get 60% of their training hours online. The Agency’s learning management system (LMS) provided an excellent home for us; but, we and all the other programs that use this LMS have grown so much we are bursting at the seams (literally – we’re breaking the LMS from so much use). A good problem to have, no?
So we here at Master Wellness Volunteer World Headquarters are pleased to announce the Agency is transitioning to a bright, shiny, new LMS – and we’re moving, too! The new LMS is going to provide a better training experience as well as a more reliable, stable platform, both for the trainees and course developers. The transition won’t be without its issues – getting everything moved, learning a new system, training everyone on its use, etc., etc., etc. – but certainly a net positive.
Now some bad news: there will be a brief gap between the current/old LMS shutting down and the new LMS coming online (see note above about literally breaking the current LMS). The current/old LMS will shut down 21 Mar (in fact, it is now closed to new enrollments), the new LMS will not come online for a few weeks.
We appreciate your patience with us as we work to re-revolutionize the MWV training experience. Onward!
The Unconditional Love of Pets
Newly minted Master Wellness Volunteer Kit Darling has a starring role in the #PetTalk article featured below.
#PetTalk: The Unconditional Love of Pets
Kit Darling, #TAMU #CVM #VMTH‘s infection control coordinator, has spent years studying the human-animal bond. “Pets are non-judgmental and provide unconditional love, meaning, and joy to our lives.” Read more at https://t.co/M3rG8ph8eA pic.twitter.com/aCFKI9CW3e— Texas A&M Vet Med (@tamuvetmed) February 19, 2019
2019 State Training Cohort – Final Day: 19 February 2019
Note: this entry, originally posted 12 Feb 19, was updated 22 feb 19.
The final day of the second annual Master Wellness Volunteer Program Statewide Training Cohort was held 19 February, 2019. The final agenda, recorded presentations and handouts related to the day’s sessions may be accessed below.
- Agenda – PDF (102 KB)
- Session 1 – Reducing Food Waste in the Home
- Presenter: Dr. Jenna Anding, Professor & Associate Department Head
- Presentation: https://youtu.be/vSJawb6ufeQ
- Handouts: PDF (892 KB) Food Waste Diary (PDF, 192 KB)
- Session 2 – Why We Don’t Just Do It
- Presenter: Dr. Mark Faries, Associate Professor & Extension Specialist
- Presentation: https://youtu.be/9EnRPBYHN_w
- Handout: PDF (97 KB)
- Session 3 – Creating a Culture of Wellness
- Presenter: Mike Lopez, Extension Program Specialist I
- Presentation: https://youtu.be/VCGiV20-B9w
- Handouts: PDF (4 MB) Walkability Checklist (PDF, 897 KB)
- Session 4 – Working Lunch – Public Speaking: How to Effectively Convey Your Message
- Presenter: Andy Crocker, Extension Program Specialist III
- Presentation: https://youtu.be/EEF2FVaoMpc
- Handouts: PDF (6 MB) Public Speaking Worksheet (PDF, 133 KB)
- Session 5 – The Many Faces of Diversity
- Presenter: Luisa Colin, Special Initiatives Coordinator
- Presentation: https://youtu.be/AipL97yx0vA
- Handout: PDF (5 MB)
- Sessions 6-8 – Public Speaking Practice, Review and Certification Exam
- Host County Extension Agent
And now the really hard/fun work begins as a Master Wellness Volunteer Intern. Be thinking about opportunities with and through your County Extension Agent to start logging those 40-hours of give back required for certification. And don’t forget to report them via the reporting tab at the top of this page. Remember – if it’s not on “paper” it didn’t happen!
2019 State Training Cohort – First Day: 22 January 2019
Note: this entry, originally posted 15 Jan 19, was updated 25 Jan 19.
The first day of the second ever Master Wellness Volunteer Program Statewide Training Cohort was held 22 January 2019. The final agenda, recorded presentations and handouts related to the day’s sessions may be accessed below.
- Agenda – PDF (149KB)
- Session 1 – Welcome and Master Wellness Volunteer Program Overview
- Presenter: Andy Crocker, Extension Program Specialist III
- Presentation: https://youtu.be/LWRNWpFUJ08
- Handout – PDF (4MB)
- Session 2 – Social Determinants of Health
- Presenter: Lisa Washburn, Associate Professor & Community Health Specialist, University of Tennessee Extension
- Presentation: https://youtu.be/M0dwzcAc0Z4
- Handout – PDF (1.2MB)
- Session 3 – Evidence-Based Practice: Science or Science Fiction?
- Presenter: Mark Faries, Associate Professor & Extension Specialist
- Presentation: https://youtu.be/GEb7zr9Mg-s
- Handout – PDF (66KB)
- Session 4 – Working Lunch Discussion: What Extension Looks Like in Our County
- Presenter: Host County Extension Agent
- Session 5 – Walk Across Texas!
- Presenter: Mike Lopez, Extension Program Specialist I
- Presentation: https://youtu.be/Ej5hhXyECvw
- Handout – PDF (3.2MB)
- Helpful URLs – PDF (111KB)
- Session 6 – Better Living for Texans
- Presenter: Renda Nelson, Program Director
- Presentation: https://youtu.be/hm2k4hTaru4
- Handout – PDF (398KB)
- Session 7 – Wrap-up & Adjourn
- Presenter: Host County Extension Agent
- Handout – PDF (140KB)
What’s next? Well you have some work to do between now and our final training day 19 February, 2019, via our Online Course System. If you need help creating your FREE account, please see Accessing the Online Course System (PDF, 1MB).
Thank you for your eagerness and commitment to Help Texans Better Their Lives!
Be a Part of Something BIG – 2019 Edition
Master Wellness volunteer training kicks off statewide in January https://t.co/z5SkS2QkXn
— AgriLife Today (@AgriLifeTODAY) December 20, 2018