NAAE’s much-used professional networking site, Communities of Practice, http://communities.naae.org got a major upgrade in mid-March. The updates have made the site more powerful and user-friendly, so it’s an even better way to find resources and connect with other agricultural educators.

No more site-blocking issues

We’ve changed the site address to communities.naae.org to address the issue that was causing the site to be blocked at some schools. If you had trouble accessing the site before, give it another try.

Easier to find things

Updated community structure

Communities are now organized with a nod to the keys to local program success – Experiential Learning, FFA, Instruction, Marketing, Partnerships & Advocacy;  NAAE, Professional Development, and Program Planning. Within each of these broad categories you’ll find sub-communities that are more focused on a specific topic.  Click here to see a community map.

Better searching and browsing

Use the search bar that’s at the top of every page, or click browse and use the many filtering and sorting options to narrow your search.

Watch this video to learn more about finding content on Communities of Practice.

Easier to keep up with things you find and do

Bookmarking and Tracking

Once you’ve found great stuff, use the bookmarking and “track this” tools to put it where you can find it again. You can also install our bookmarklet to bookmark any site on the web and keep that information in your account. 

What Matters Sections

What Matters activity, communications and actions ensures that you keep up with developments on anything in which you’re involved. Whether it’s a new response to a discussion you’re following, a notification to work on a collaborative document, or the latest acclaim on your content, stay on top of what’s happening without spending a lot of time.

Watch this video to learn more about the What Matters sections.

Easier to connect with people

There are tons of ways to connect with your colleagues on Communities of Practice. 

Social features you probably recognize from Facebook or Twitter:

• Write a status update – include a photo, link or tag other users
• @mentioning – tag other people or content with the @ symbol
• Comment on discussions and documents other users create
• “Like” a piece of content
• Share content with the click of a button or flip of a box
• Define your privacy settings
• Edit your preferences for receiving e-mail digests of information on CoP and following activity threads

Additional social features on Communities of Practice:

• Manage Collaboration – define who (if anyone) can edit your posts and discussions
• Download a V Card so you can stay in touch with someone outside of CoP, whether by phone or e-mail
• Branch a message into multiple threads
• Create and manage your tasks

Watch this video to learn more about the social tools available on Communities of Practice.