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Potentials of Web 2.0 as Efficient Tools in Broad base Agricultural Extension Delivery System in Nigeria Baba, D.

, Iyiola-Tunji, A.O., Aregbe, B.E., Arokoyo, T.J. and Onagwa, G. National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria Corresponding author: dahirugombe@gmail.com Abstract Web 2.0" refers to the second generation of web development and web design, characterized as facilitating communication, information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web. This second generation communication platform is mainly being used today for social networking among the teeming youths and a large percentage of educated Nigerians. Meanwhile, the applications (tools) have other great uses in agricultural information sharing and technology transfer. For example, there are remote collaboration tools such as google document and wikis, Voice-over Internet Protocols (VoIP), online mapping, blogging, etc. One important feature of Web 2.0 tools is the possible contributions of the endusers in the development of the information packaging and utilization. This is in line with the participatory approach to extension delivery system. This paper intends to highlight the unique features of Web 2.0 and how they can be put to the best of use by extension service providers and other stakeholders in the sector to improve timely and effectively. Introduction The Internet was first made possible through the effort of US Department of Defense in 1960 to link computers of Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA)-funded universities and research institutes. Computers were connected with communication lines for the transfer of information from their different military formations, these technology prove effective and beneficial for quick and easy communication through electronics mails; indeed even todays internet derived the benefit of emails, instant messaging and file transfer by allowing more than billion people worldwide to communicate with each other (Deitel and Deitel, 2009). Furthermore, advancement in the technology of information sharing awaken different category of people to rapidly realized that by using internet they could improve their operations and offer new and better services to their client hence many started to invest large sum of money to develop and enhance their internet presence through the world wide web using web pages which allows computer to locate and view multimedia base documents on almost every subject,
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perhaps in spite of the establishment of internet three decades ago the evolution in information sharing is low people transported disk back and forth between computers to share information through what is called sneakernet as was described by Deitel and Deitel, but with the introduction of worldwide web in 1989 a technology for sharing information through hyper linked text documents (html) becomes the backbone for hypertext transfer protocol http which was later introduced in 1994 by 3wc consortium. In 1994 another technology for the worldwide web was introduced which makes the web a universally accessible to everyone regardless of disability, language and culture. This sets another list of most creation of mankind. As the world wide exploded in popularity in 1993.(Deitel and Deitel 2009). Many software vendors saw the possibility of using some facilities to add dynamic contents, interactivity, animations and likes to web pages which generates interest among internet users because of the commercial potentials of web. In the past most computer operate on stand alone, sharing information is only using disc, later other devices for sharing information were evolved discovery makes those obsolete or they were discover to be in efficient in information sharing. But today application can be written and communicate with millions of computers world wide and efficiently through web. In effect web makes information instantly and conveniently accessible to large number of people enabling even individual and small organization to achieve world wide exposure, this therefore present a greatest evolution in changing the way affairs were conduct. All the above effort were successful through the effort of computer professionals who communicate with the computer through instructions in the form of command, pseudo codes and codes using different computer language which are only understood, accessible, updatable by them. The conventional web or the early generation web application has a strict ownership structure where only particular individual can upload, moderate contain. The web contents was usually managed by so called webmaster. The web masters update web pages using simple text editor like notepad or advance web management system like dream weaver; Java as claimed by Deitel and Deitel. Consequently these limit and narrow the scope of interaction, collaboration resulting on only users being the consumers of information. On the contrary the present internet revolution result in unprecedented rise and change in practice of internet given a new type called web 2.0

This form of internet application is created around the idea that the consumers of information who access internet and uses the information are not passive absorbers on what is posted on the internet rather they too contribute significantly on the post not necessarily that they are computer professionals the tools are user friendly. Therefore extension as an institution for sharing information, knowledge and skill necessary for agricultural development may take the advantage of the new generation web for effective and efficient delivery of extension messages to the millions of clients. Obviously, weak linkages in research extension farmer input linkage system(REFILS) in Nigeria was prominent as was attested by Arokoy 2005 and also emphasis that this major causes limiting the increased food productivity and sustainable food production development. He further showed that direct relationship between research and utilization of research findings existed. In his opinion a strong linkage and flawless information flow will be enhance with an effective use of information and communication technology by extension service, will boost agricultural production and increased rural livelihood in developing country. Coincidentally, Web 2.0 as one of the product of information communication technology may stand a bridge in bringing the needed positive changes. This will obviously go alone way with the present increased trend in used of ICT facilities in almost all spheres of rural live in developing countries. Nevertheless, Arokoyo 2005 views the primary objective of agricultural extension in developing country as: to improve the productivity (i.e. attain food self sufficiency/Security) and increased livelihood of rural farm families. Achieving this will be possible only if extension has carryon, the exchange and sharing of information, Knowledge and skills as its major task. Consequently poor performance of ADPs as was depicted by performance indicators for 2010 agricultural performance survey, captured the assessment of ADPs outputs. The number of frontline extension workers (BES, BEAS, VEAs), farm visits, extension agent to farm family ratio, number of farm families, and number of farmers groups were taken into consideration. The result shows that across the ADPs, number of VEAs and other front-line extension agents did not improve. For instance Kano State which recorded the highest number of VEAs in the country, had a short fall of 50 VEAs this year compared with 2009, while Edo state recorded the lowest number of 25 VEAs. The ratio of extension agent to farm families also increased. Anambra state recorded the poorest ratio of 1:9409. The recommended ratio for Nigeria is 1:1500 which is not
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being realized owing to inadequate recruitments and retirements of experienced EAs. With this phenomenal issues, extension delivery is absolutely at stake.(NAERLS and NPFS 2010). Certainly with the above scenario extension become difficult to perform and cover the needed task for sustainable agricultural development through contact, communication and participation but if properly utilized web 2.0 will play a pivotal role in the process. The technology (web 2.0) have been hailed as a new paradigm in Internet communication which offer a web-based experience that encourages user-generated data, active engagement with the material, and sharing of ideas, thoughts and information. Often referred to as the social web, these(web 2.0 tools) tools are open to anyone to access, critique, comment on and reproduce, it form a vast network of collaborators and partners, with a keen interest in sharing knowledge to improve rural livelihoods. Therefore, disseminating and promoting the use of these cheap conveyance means, to stake holders in extension profession like Extension specialist, Researchers, Teachers of Agriculture, Block extension agents, and Area extension agents will improve the extension delivery in Nigeria and it will be made more efficient and effective. Indeed most internet user in Nigeria are ignorant of second generation web tools or they know them but were un able to use them because they lack the capacity to used them or consider them for entertainment, not knowing that they can be used to facilitates information sharing and collaboration especially on extension. The World Wide Web has changed dramatically in recent years, not just in its sheer number of users, but in particular, in the new forms of participation it offers. Sometimes referred to as the read and write web, these technologies now make it potentially possible for every Internet user to have a voice and a worldwide audience linking people from around the world in an unforeseen way. Similarly the tools are free or low cost, interactive web applications that are increasingly available to the public. These innovative services allow individuals and organizations to work together in creating, sharing, collaborating on and publishing digital information on the Internet. Web 2.0: Concept and Definitions The term deals mainly with Web design, aesthetics, and the interconnection of everyday objects with the Internet; it envisage the widespread use of portable Web-ready devices. The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate interactive systemic biases, interoperability,
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user centered design, and developing the World Wide Web. A Web 2.0 site allows users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as consumers of usergenerated content in a virtual community, in contrast to websites where users (prosumers) are limited to the active viewing of content that they created and controlled it can be perceived as second generation of web development and design that facilitates communication, secure information-sharing, cooperation and collaboration on the World Wide Web (CTA and IIED 2009). It is sometimes referred to as the read and write web, it has led to the development and evolution of web-based communities, hosted services, and applications. The term "Web 2.0" was coined in January 1999 by Darcy DeanNucci, a consultant on electronic information design (information architecture). In her article, "Fragmented Future", DiNucci writes. The Web we know now, which loads into a Web Browser in essentially static screenfulls, is only an embryo of the Web to come. The first glimmerings of Web 2.0 are beginning to appear, and we are just starting to see how that embryo might develop. The Web will be understood not as screenfulls of text and graphics but as a transport mechanism, the ether through which interactivity happens. It will appear on your computer screen, on your TV set your car dashboard your cell phone handheld game machines maybe even your microwave oven Boulos, M.& Wheeler, S. (2007; CTA and IIED 2009. In 2003, the term began its rise in popularity when O'Reilly Media and MediaLive hosted the first Web 2.0 conference. In their opening remarks, John Battelle and Tim O'Reilly outlined their definition of the "Web as Platform", where software applications are built upon the Web as opposed to upon the desktop. The unique aspect of this migration, they argued, is that "customers are building your business for you". They argued that the activities of users generating content (in the form of ideas, text, videos, or pictures) could be "harnessed" to create value. O'Reilly and Battelle contrasted Web 2.0 with what they called "Web 1.0". They associated Web 1.0 with the business models of Netscape and the Encyclopedia Britannica Online. However, A great deal of definitions have been put forward by many IT practitioners as pertaining to web2.0 and its capabilities. To mention but a few, some of the definitions and descriptions put forth and how they differ from the conventional web practice, include but not limited to: Participatory web User-generated and user-centred web
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Data driven web Read/write web because as well as viewing websites, anyone with internet access can create their own content and tailor pages to suit their own particular needs. In effect, within 15 years the Web, it has grown from a group work tool for scientists at CERN, into a global information space with more than a billion users. Currently, it is both returning to its roots as a read/write tool and also entering a new, more social and participatory phase. These trends have led to a feeling that the Web is entering a second phase a new, improved Web version 2.0. But how justified is this perception (Anderson, 2007) The general accepted view on it was, there are a number of Web-based services and applications that demonstrate the foundations of the Web 2.0 concept, and they are already being used to a certain extent in our day to day life even before web 2.0 was known. Although they are not really technologies as such, but services (or user processes) built using the building blocks of the technologies and open standards that underpin the Internet and the Web. Many of the tools in Web 2.0 technology are relatively mature, having been in use for a number of years, although new features and capabilities are being added on a regular basis. It is worth noting that many of these newer technologies are concatenations, i.e. they make use of existing services. It must be stated that with Web 2.0 the content of the Web is no longer defined by those with programming or Web design knowledge. Anybody can contribute to the Web (with minimal web skills). The conceptual emphasis is on content creation rather than content consumption (Boulos et al, 2007) and on cooperation rather than control (Rollet, 2006). The user is integral to the way the Web evolves. Creative use of a technology, i.e. use not necessarily intended by application designers can feed into new patterns of use and new Web 2.0 applications. The Web becomes an artefact evolving according to shifting user engagement. Web 2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML Web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more organized and is based on serving Web applications to users. Other improved functionality of Web 2.0 includes open communication with an emphasis on Web-based communities of users, and more open sharing of information. Over time Web 2.0 has been used more as a marketing term. Comparison of web 1.0 and Web 2.0 on the bases of Participation and collaboration However, Comparison of web 2.0 and web 1.0, the earlier version of web application were depicted below as was described by Tim O'Reilly 2005.
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Web 1.0 Ofoto Britannica Online personal websites domain name speculation page views screen scraping Publishing content management systems directories (taxonomy) Stickiness --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> -->

Web 2.0 Flickr Wikipedia Blogging search engine optimization cost per click web services Participation Wikis tagging ("folksonomy") Syndication

The first generation of websites represented a mostly hierarchical approach to disseminating information. Most websites were static, with users unable to interact online with either the content or its producers. Interactivity resided mainly on email discussion lists and webbased message forums. In contrast, Web 2.0 tools herald a new, more informal approach to information-sharing, shifting from a top-down to a more participatory approach to online communication using tools that are typically free or low-cost to use For Web 2.0 advocates, these applications are also more transparent and accountable, because users themselves participate in weaving a web of knowledge, information and perspectives CTA and IIED 2009) Web 2.0 can be described in 4 parts which are as follows:

Rich Internet Application (RIA) - It defines the experience brought from desktop to browser whether it is from a graphical point of view or usability point of view.

Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) - It is a key piece in Web 2.0 which defines how Web 2.0 applications expose its functionality so that other applications can leverage and integrate the functionality providing a set of much richer applications (Examples are: Feeds, RSS, Web Services, Mash-ups)

Social Web - It defines how Web 2.0 tend to interact much more with the end user and making the end user an integral part.

Web 2.0 sites provide users with information storage, creation, and dissemination capabilities that were not possible in the environment previously known as "Web 1.0".
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Features of web 2.0 By and Large all Web 2.0 tools, are encapsulated with the following features and techniques, used with acronym SLATES to refer to them

Search : Links : Authoring :

Finding information through keyword search. Connects information together into a meaningful information ecosystem using the model of the Web, and provides low-barrier social tools.

The ability to create and update content leads to the collaborative work of many rather than just a few web authors. In wikis, users may extend, undo and redo each other's work. In blogs, posts and the comments of individuals build up over time.

Tags :

Categorization of content by users adding "tags" - short, usually one-word descriptions - to facilitate searching, without dependence on pre-made categories. Collections of tags created by many users within a single system may be referred to as "folksonomies" (i.e., folk taxonomies).

Extensions : Software that makes the Web an application platform as well as a document server. These include software like Adobe Reader, Adobe Flash player, Microsoft Silverlight, ActiveX, Oracle Java, Quicktime, Windows Media, etc.

Signals :

The use of syndication technology such as RSS to notify users of content changes.

Present web 2.0 utilization in Agriculture Grassroots activists were the first to tap that potential with very few means you can create an online platform for your cause. One example was cited by CTA and IIED 2009 that one village in Nata, Botswana, Villagers there face severe problems due to poverty and HIV/AIDS. Yet the villagers have a blog, where they describe their daily struggles from their own perspectives. Via this blog, supporters worldwide can engage and follow the latest news on the activities of this group and provide necessary assistance. The use of internet facilities in agriculture were seen in Kenya, south Africa, and Uganda, in Uganda precisely farmers were able to use web 2.0 facilities to enhance their information sharing on production practice and subsequently improve their production status. As such extension service delivery in Nigeria if properly tailored around web2.0 will facilitates delivery and increase the efficiency of the service
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delivery. Currently use of phone bases facilities in agriculture has taken an interesting arena as was observed by Arokoyo 2005. Although the information or contents of these phone base materials were provider driven that user driven and this has serious implication for extension delivery. Now Mobile phone become one of the household commodity and sim cards are becoming a common possession, so far if extension professionals utilizes it in conjunction with other web 2.0 tools like RSS feeds, Twitter or micro-blogging a greater impact may surely prevail among our rural dwellers. Web 2.0 tools and its use in extension delivery With respect to use of Web 2.0 tools use, the interest of extension is communication for improving agricultural productivity defined as an innovative way to reaching and interacting with people more effectively wherever they may be (FAO 1998) and web 2.0 tool may be handy tools in that respect. It was thought that lots of Web 2.0 tools were for entertainment, but they can also be used for other purpose like business, education, research and can be used in extension delivery. Some claims made in retrospective to web 2.0 were, because many Web 2.0 tools are in mass use is difficult to restrict it abused. Because so many Internet users want to use these tools for uncontroversial, mainstream social purposes. Also other views were that there are vast numbers of web available, applications, platforms, and services available. Many of them are free or low-cost and easy-to-use and may make web 2.0 use limited. But Web 2.0 tools and information communication technologies (ICTs) in general, are simply sets of tools, that when combined with the right approaches can facilitate benefits to both lives and livelihoods especially in lifting the Nigerian rural poor through information sharing, collaboration, and feedback. Web 2.0 tools are like any other set of tools, their selection and putting them into used in extension should be based on considerations of power in the process. The following are the most commonly available web 2.0 tools. Blogging Micro-blogging and Twitter Online social networking Wikis RSS feeds Tagging and Social bookmarking

What are blogs and Micro-blog and how to use them in extension delivery?. Blog (short for web and log) is a website like an online journal. Blog, was coined by Jorn Barger in 1997 and refers to a simple webpage consisting of brief paragraphs of opinion, information, personal diary entries, or links, called posts, arranged chronologically with the most recent first, in the style of an online journal (Doctorow et al., 2002). This posting and commenting process contributes to the nature of blogging (as an exchange of views) in what Yale University law professor, Yochai Benkler, calls a weighted conversation between a primary author and a group of secondary comment contributors, who communicate to an unlimited number of readers. It also contributes to blogging's sense of immediacy, since blogs enable individuals to write to their Web pages in journalism time that is hourly, daily, weekly whereas the Web page culture that preceded it tended to be slower moving: less an equivalent of reportage than of the essay (Benkler, 2006, p. 217).

Blogging means to maintain or add content to a blog. Provided you have Internet access, you can easily and freely create a blog on any topic. Blogs radically changed the way in which the Internet was used, by allowing people to publish their own content on a webpage, without the technical expertise needed to set up a website or the funds to rent web space. A blog is usually maintained by an individual, but can also be done by groups or organizations. In blogging, each post is usually tagged with a keyword or two, allowing the subject of the post to be categorized within the system so that when the post becomes old it can be filed into a standard, theme-based menu system. Clicking on a posts description, or tag (which is displayed below the post), will take you to a list of other posts by the same author on the blogging softwares system that use the same tag. More to that, Linking is also an important aspect of blogging as it deepens the conversational nature of the Blogosphere. Blog content is regularly filed so that only the latest content is available from the homepage. This means that returning to a blogs homepage after several weeks or months to find a particular piece of content is potentially a hit and miss affair. The development of the permalink was an attempt to counter this, but has its own inherent problems. Blog software also facilitates syndication, in which information about the blog entries, for example, the headline, is made available to other software via RSS. This content is then aggregated into feeds, and a variety of blog aggregators and specialist blog reading tools can
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make use of these feeds. To facilitate retrieval and referencing of information on different blogs the following were created: *The permalink - URI *Trackback (or pingback) - referring post. * The blogroll - bookmark or favourites list. Blog users can set up a blog on an existing blog platform, or download blog software to run on their own web space. Most blogging platforms are free-to-use. Blog authors can allow others to comment on their posts and engage in discussion. If a blog is popular, it will be linked to by a lot of other blogs. Search engines like Google prioritize websites(blogs) with more links. The blogosphere is a collective term encompassing all blogs and their interconnections. It is the perception that blogs exist together as a connected community (or as a collection of connected communities). Using blog search engines, you can track the interconnections between bloggers and topical trends and find other blogs by topic.

Never the less, Micro-blogging tools allow you to send and receive short posts via the Internet or a mobile phone. They may be more appropriate for low bandwidth bloggers. Micro-blogging is a form of blogging where users mostly publish very short text updates.Twitter.com is one of the best known services. Users can send short 140 character text updates (known as tweets) via SMS on their mobile phone or a computer connected to the Internet. Updates will appear on their Twitter page and be visible to any other Twitter member who is following them (i.e. subscribed to them). Since Twitter allows people to submit updates via SMS it can also be a very powerful tool for on the ground citizen journalism, protest coordination and campaigning, situation monitoring and for keeping in touch over distances as well as extension delivery. Users can search everyone elses updates in real time for keywords, as well as subscribe to other users updates, meaning that it can also be very useful for sharing and monitoring breaking news or particular topics of interest. Since updates can only be 140 characters long, people use URL shortening services like Tinyurl.com to enable them to send webpage links in their updates. In twitter, Putting a hash symbol # in front of a word is used to denote that it is a keyword tag, to make searching for relevant messages easier.

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However, to every good thing some must find a way to misused it, micro-blog fall within such misused web 2.0 tools, Cybercriminal exploit the tools to exhort and cheat people by sending them some text messages of wining some money or answer some questions in which they may used to traced their clients bank account and withdraw his money.

The beneficial side of this to extension delivery is it can be used through exchange for time sensitive information e.g. market price, disease outbreak, early warning for disaster, Peer to peer sharing and exchange among extension professional and farmers. Rationale for creating Blogs and Micro-blogs for extension delivery The following are some rationale for creating blogs and Micro-blogs on internet. v Can regularly disseminate information v Encourage others to participate v Can be used for raising awareness v Help to inform, trigger and foster debate and/or mobilize action v Allow us to participate in ongoing conversations online, blog are use to Highlight and add to existing discussions There are specialized search engines for blogs. v Link to other related blogs to form new online networks and information pathways v Add content regularly and answer any comments and feedback. v Become part of a network by linking to your favourite blogs. v Develop your own style of blogging (writing), which suits you. v Stay focused. Write consistent, interesting and useful content. Try not to over-generalize. v Twitter also provides RSS feeds of users updates, or of the results of searches for keywords, enabling the stream of messages to be displayed on other websites. v Users can also feed Twitter itself with an RSS feed by using services such as Twitterfeed.com or Rsstotwitter.com. What are online social networks and how to use it for extension delivery? Online social networks are a new generation of online community platforms which are similar to websites but offer specific interactive features and tools. An online social network brings people together and enables them to find others who share common interests or activities and who are
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interested in learning more about each other and what they do. They enable users to establish and make visible relationships, discuss topics of interest, access material, find contacts and encourage the growth of networks of people. Membership can be restricted or open. You can start a new group of people with similar interests on an existing social networking website or create your own using free-to-use platforms.

Social networks can range from friends and family, small dedicated communities of practice or interest, professional networks, to networks with global membership. Most online social network services provide a variety of ways for users to interact, such as messaging and instant messaging, membership profiles (sometimes including curriculum vitae), online discussion forums, blogs, photo- and video sharing, and other digital resources. These services are designed to be straightforward to use, from signing up and logging on, creating a profile and inviting people to access it, through to interacting with friends, colleagues, partners, and even people you have never met. Connecting practitioners working on similar issues across the World makes it possible for a growing number of these practitioners (currently in excess of 300 from 48 countries) to upload information, event announcements and work opportunities, discuss key issues, access reports and practical manuals, share photos and videos and send personal messages to other site users members to interact and facilitate collaboration. (CTA and 2007) What is a community of practice? Extension as a community of practice (CoP) will exploit this vital platform on interaction with Farmers, policy makers, Researchers, students and all that stakeholders on improving farming in Nigeria. A community of Practice (CoP)is simply made out of people with the following characteristics: Bond on a voluntary basis by exposure to common problems Share a common sense of purpose Use common practices and language Embody themselves a store of knowledge Hold similar beliefs and value systems Collaborate directly, share knowledge and learn from each other (Wenger 2002). Why use online social networks for extension delivery in Nigeria ?
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Online social networks can be used to : Target, create or enhance networks or communities of practice. Foster and enhance participation and collaboration and promote a sense of membership and solidarity within these networks . Interact with particular audiences e.g. Farmer groups, policy makers, Students, Researchers private sector. Facilitate better linkages between groups, for example partners, service providers and decision makers. Easily share and access information from event announcements, work opportunities and reports to practical manuals, photos and videos . Enable greater information-sharing and support dialogue on key issues within the network . Build capacity by providing information and resources on particular topics. Learn about the professional background of people sharing your interests and establish professional. Wikis and how to use in extension delivery These are online collaboration workspaces that are simple text based web page or collection of pages where teams of people can work together online from different physical locations. The are like very basic websites in style and structure, designed to read and edited using a web browser. The major point of departure from norm of conventional websites is that anyone with internet access ca write, edit, discuss and comment on the wiki content including each others contribution. However, wikis can be public or private when administrators choose to so that only particular group of persons can contribute and edit. Collaborators can monitor and compare recent changes or revert to older versions if need be. Interesting uses of Wiki technology a. British Council Case Study on using a wiki technology to promote collaboration at the office. b. Conference planning, see for example Wikimania 2006 c. Wiki as an online presentation tool demonstrated by Meredith Gorran Farkas, a distance education librarian. d. Open Streetmap is a wiki project to provide free geographic data such as street maps to anyone who wants them.
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e. The Wealth of Networks WikiNotes - This Wiki is an invitation to collaborate on building a learning and research environment based on Yochai Benkler's book, The Wealth of Networks:

A wiki is a web site that is generally editable by anyone with a computer, a web browser, and an internet connection. Wikis use a quick and easy syntax to allow users to apply formatting to text and create links between pages. This simple formatting syntax means that authors no longer need to learn the complexities of HTML to create content on the web. The main strength of a wiki is the ability to work collaboratively on the same document with a Internet browser. Consequently wikis are used for a variety of purposes. If you make a mistake, its easy to revert back to an earlier version of the document.

The name "Wiki" was chosen by Ward Cunningham -- the creator of the first Wiki. It is a shortened form of "wiki-wiki", the Hawaiian word for quick.(Encarta online, 2007). A wiki is an online collaborative workspace. A wiki is a website that allows users to add, remove, edit and change content. It also allows for linking among any number of pages. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring. The term wiki also can refer to the collaborative software itself (wiki engine) that facilitates the operation of such a website, or to certain specific wiki sites.

Wikis can be beneficial in many faces like quickly and informally develop, share , organize ideas and information together online. Enhance online participatory and collaborator y working from individuals, project teams, community groups, and organizations. They are good in developing complex documentations where many users input various data like documents and picture. Can be used to collate resources from project information, online meeting minutes, and travel reports and photos. Why use a wiki for extension delivery in Nigeria? Wikis can be used in extension delivery because of the following benefits: v Quickly and informally share, develop and organize ideas and information together online, v Foster participatory and collaborative working online from individuals,

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v Project teams, community groups and organizations to international networks and the general public, Collate resources from project information and meeting minutes to trip reports and photos, v Create and edit content from sharing ideas, developing projects, and writing documents to developing online training manuals v Enable project partners to contribute and provide a workspace for them to adapt content to local conditions v Find agreement and/or consensus among users v Easily create simple community or project websites and jointly develop content on them Examples of Wikis Internet Encyclopaedias is called Wikipedia. Wikipedia is, for the most part, editable by anyone in the world with a computer and an internet connection and, at the time of this writing, it contained over 1,500,000 pages. One and a half million pages in English! There are also more than 250,000 articles in German, French, Polish, and Japanese; and more than 100,000 articles in Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portugese, Russian, Swedish, and Chinese. That's nearing 2 million articles or pages as it was claimed by Rzepa, C. 2006 Wikipedia's mission is to create an encyclopedic resource of knowledge, wikis can be used for a variety of purposes and are quickly becoming the defacto technology for collaborative group work online. They can be of great social tools for classrooms, teams, community groups, or can even be configured to provide easily updatable web sites for organizations. Other examples of Wikis include the following : v Wikitravel v WikiWikiWeb v eXe Project v Auckland.Wiki v Wikimedia project v Wikinews v Wikimedia Commons v Wikiversity v Wikiquote v Wiktionary
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v Wikibooks

Noted that important capability for collaborative work in wiki was the Google document where these are found, spreadsheet which is like the conventional excel spreadsheet with all the features and attributes of excel, form like conventional Visual basic forms used in designing students entry forms and application forms, online questionnaire for survey, and presentation power point presentation with all the attribute and features of PowerPoint presentation, others were the Word processing tool which is similar and open word processing application with all attribute of word all these were packed for use to the internet user. The wiki also provides tools to facilitate communication and conversation amongst participants on real time. We have already mentioned the collaborative nature of authoring content on the wiki and will now look in greater detail at some of the tools that are available to facilitate communication and interaction between authors and collaborators. Besides checking the Recent changes page there are a number of ways to keep closer track on what is being changed on the wiki, as well as tools and spaces where discussion about content development and projects can take place. However, In Wikis word documents format must be an open document format like note pad, rich text ,etc not Microsoft word is closed documents or else it may not work with some application also all images and diagram must be properly labeled. Advantages on the use of wiki on extension a. Anyone can edit b. Easy to use and learn c. Wikis are instantaneous so there is no need to wait for a publisher to create a new edition or update information d. People located in different parts of the world can work on the same document e. The wiki software keeps track of every edit made and it's a simple process to revert back to a previous version of an article f. Widens access to the power of web publishing to non-technical users g. The wiki has no predetermined structure - consequently it is a flexible tool which can be used for a wide range of applications h. There are a wide range of open source software wiki's to choose from so licensing costs should be a barrier to installing an institutional wiki
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Disadvantages on using wiki for extension Advantages in one context may be a disadvantage in another. a. Anyone can edit and may be too open for some applications, for example confidential documentation. However it is possible to regulate user access. Open to SPAM and Vandalism if not managed properly. There are easy ways to restore a page however, and on WikiEducator you must be logged in to edit pages so this reduces vandalism by automated spam bots. b. Requires Internet connectivity to collaborate, but technologies to produce print versions of articles are improving. c. The flexibility of a wiki's structure can mean that information becomes disorganized. As a wiki grows, the community plans and administers the structure collaboratively. Creating educational content on WikiEducator is quite different from what you may be used to. WikiEducators' contributors may come from many different countries and cultures and have different views, perspectives, and backgrounds, sometimes varying widely. RSS Feeds and how to use in extension RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a data format that can be for syndicating where material from one website is automatically made availed to multiple others websites and blogs. Individuals can subscribe to feeds or feeds can be incorporated to other sites and blogs. They are extremely useful and popular with users who want to keep track of news and new contents posted on a websites that one has intrinsic interest in. These could be latest stories, weather reports, press releases, latest publications etc, Users can use feed reader to subscribe to and view different RSS feeds. A feed can either be online or some software downloaded and installed on your computer. Some installed feed reader can download content and store it in your computer for offline viewing.

RSS is a family of formats which allow users to find out about updates to the content of RSSenabled websites, blogs or podcasts without actually having to go and visit the site. Instead, information from the website (typically, a new story's title and synopsis, along with the originating websites name) is collected within a feed (which uses the RSS format) and piped to the user in a process known as syndication. Technically, RSS is an XML-based data format for websites to exchange files that contain publishing information and summaries of the sites
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contents. Indeed, in its earliest incarnation, RSS was understood to stand for Rich Site Summary (Doctorow, 2002). For a variety of historical reasons there are a number of RSS formats (RSS 0.91, RSS 0.92, RSS 1.0, RSS 2.0) and there are some issues of incompatibility. It is worth noting that RSS 2.0 is not simply a later version of RSS 1.0, but is a different format. As it has become more widely used for blog content syndication, in later versions RSS became known as Really Simple Syndication. A lot of blogging tools now create and publish these RSS feeds automatically and webpages and blogs frequently display small RSS icons and links to allow a quick process of registering to get a feed from the site. Merits. Feeds can: a. Improve the visibility and accessibility of agriculturally related content online. b. Promote agricultural, news, campaign, project or ideas by allowing other websites to automatically incorporate content from your website. d. Keep level of content received manageable, targeted and relevant since information overload is real problem to many web users. Why use RSS feeds for extension delivery? With RSS feeds you can extension can : a. Improve the visibility and accessibility of agriculturally related content needed by the farmers, extension agents and specialist online b. Promote agricultural related, news, campaign, project or ideas by allowing other websites to automatically incorporate content from your website c. Add value to websites by automatically incorporating relevant information from other websites d. Keep the level of content received manageable, targeted and relevant using filters dont forget that information overload is a real problem for many web users. e. Improve information-sharing, especially with the combined use of tags, social bookmarks and RSS feeds. Other Web 2.0 tools Online maps and how to use in extension delivery
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These are maps provided free for non commercial purposes where one can locate their projects, areas of operation, locations of collaborators, partners, clients and charcatrizing farmers , extension blocks and agents etc. Once located, these maps have the capabilities to show directions to a project, say from an airport to an area where the project is located. They can also be viewed in various formats like satellite, Terrain, traffic, map etc. Google e-mails Alerts and how to use in extension delivery. These are tools that enable one to get instant notification(or according to set out parameters, like daily, weekly depending on urgency, importance etc.), usually sent to ones email account,or feeds page, or brought to ones website as RSS(discussed above) when something for which one wants to be alerted about happens. For instance, one can create an alert with his/her name, agriculturally related, topic of interest e.g. Commodity price situation and agricultural production, Production Technology and get alerted immediately anything is published online anywhere in the world concerning that which one has sought after. This can enable one to follow up on a topic of interest as it unfold, take remedial or counteractive measures in case the post is malicious or malignant in nature and likely to cause injury to ones business or enterprise or reputation. Translators and how to use it in extension delivery. These are tools that allow searching and having information delivered to them translated in a language of their choice, usually, one of the major languages of the world or alternatively, one can upload a document or a web page and it will be translated from its original language to a language that one will choose on the drop down menu. Currently Google Nigeria has the three major languages in Nigeria as such even researchers , extension agents and other extension specialist will derived this for beneficial purpose on interacting with community that they dont understand the local language of that community. What is social bookmarking and how to use it for extension delivery? Social software has emerged as a major component of the Web 2.0 movement. The idea dates as far back as the 1960s and JCR Lickliders thoughts on using networked computing to connect people in order to boost their knowledge and their ability to learn. The Internet technologies of
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the subsequent generation have been profoundly social, as listservs, Usenet groups, discussion software, groupware, and Web-based communities have linked people around the world. During the past few years, a group of Web projects and services became perceived as especially connective, receiving the rubric of social software: blogs, wikis, trackback, podcasting, videoblogs, and enough social networking tools like MySpace and Facebook to give rise to an abbreviation mocking their very prevalence. Social bookmarking allows users to tag and save links to web pages and online documents in the form of bookmarks that they want to remember and/or share.

Social bookmarking websites have evolved from free online bookmark websites, which simply allowed you to store your web page bookmarks (or favourites) online so you could access them from any computer connected to the Internet. Social bookmarking websites now allow users to tag, organise, search and share their own and other peoples bookmarks, often producing RSS feeds and sometimes allowing comments and discussion of particular bookmarks. People increasingly use social bookmarking to organise, share and promote content. Social bookmarks are saved on a remote web server, not on your computer, so can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection. Most commonly, bookmarks can be either public or private, but it is the ability to share with others that builds collaborative value. Users can view other users bookmarks chronologically and also see how popular different bookmarks are i.e. how many times particular web pages or documents have been bookmarked by others, as well as the most common tags that have been used to classify a particular web page. Tagging is a key element of social, bookmarking. Users can search for bookmarks using one or more tags. Many social bookmarking websites provide RSS feeds for lists of bookmarks created by users or tagged with particular keywords. This allows subscribers to see new bookmarks as they are tagged, saved and shared by other users and for RSS feeds to be incorporated on other websites. Some social bookmarking websites allow features such as adding notes or commenting on bookmarks, rating bookmarks, and saving copies of the content being bookmarked. Why use social bookmarks for extension delivery ? Social bookmarks can be used to a. Organise, structure and share agricultural related content with others b. Follow what websites and documents other people in your field are reading
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c. Enable others to find information on particular themes more easily d. Create collections of popular bookmarks related to agricultural production and Technology of production and share these lists with other users e. Share information in a more powerful way by combining the use of social bookmarks, tags and RSS feeds Mash-Ups and how to used it in extension delivery This is a web2.0 tool for aggregating or combining data from one or more external sources together. It is a simple web page that pulls in different content from multiple RSS feeds (see below for RSS description), such as text, pictures or videos. It allows a user to combine, restructure and reuse different types of information from different sources that are already online. It can be easily seen that it has combined data of interest to different users from various sources i.e World clocks, Google maps, Reader, Translate etc. A mash-up is aggregating or combining data from one or more external online sources together. At its simplest, a mash-up could be just creating a webpage that pulls in different content from multiple RSS feeds, such as text, pictures or videos. A more advanced mash-up is one that actually combines online data sources to produce a new set of data or service that was not provided (or necessarily intended) by the original publishers of the content sources. Podcast and how to used it in extension delivery A Podcast is a series of audio or video digital media files automatically distributed via the Internet. A Podcast is distinguished from most other digital media formats by its ability to be syndicated, subscribed to and downloaded automatically when new content is added via a feed. Like the term broadcast, Podcast can refer either to the series of content itself or to the method by which it is syndicated. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and how to used it in extension delivery VoIP services are free or low-cost online platforms which enable you to make individual or conference phone calls from one computer to another (referred to as PC2PC). Skype is one Features of Web 2.0 tools It is about the impact these technologies can have on our lives, from sharing information and knowledge to improve our livelihoods, to building social networks and
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online communities united in a common cause. Positive change is the goal not just introducing new technologies. Changes in what people do differently (behaviours, actions), while Most Significant Change documents how they perceive and appreciate change. Elements of Web 2.0 tools v They have a clear purpose and real utility; v They create a community around that purpose; v They are free to use or very affordable (usually tiered pricing with free lowest tier of service); v They are easy and fun to join and use; v They connect to or build on other Web 2.0 sites; v They allow anonymous (or pseudonymous) use; v Contributors own and control their content and identity. Adapted from Wikipedia and Kabissa Wiki. The above elements of web 2.0 were closely related to some features of extension principles. Conciliating web 2.0 and extension will provide a smooth sealing in providing the anticipated success in improving the agricultural productivity and food security in Nigeria. Although the funding and staff situation of ADPs across the country which was worsened in 2010. Only 3% and 5% of the ADPs reported having good funding and fair number of qualified extension agents, respectively(NAERLS and NPAFS 2010). This may affect the success of increasing production efficiency and food security situation in Nigeria. As such serious problems are foresee to happen in near future. In effect greatest limitation lying on the poor funding of our ADP, Funding of agricultural extension service and research as was observed in 2010 and the support for National Programme on Agriculture and Food Security (NPAFS) and Fadama III commercial Agriculture programme appears to symbolised the funding crises in the Agricultural Development Authorities across the country, as such, network connectivity and internet may not see light of the day. The issue of fund for extension research, in most Research institutes and universities remain another challenge, the cost of bandswith are becoming exorbitant for our ADPs and research institutes. Although the frontier organization on extension research in Nigeria(NAERLS) has internet connectivity but yet require a broad bandswith to facilitates extension delivery in Nigeria.

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Although, Web 2.0 tools do offer enormous potential in revitalizing extension. However, there remain several significant issues for most anticipated benefit of digital technologies (specifically Web 2.0 technologies) to achieve their potential in bridging the generation gap as a culturally adaptable mode of communication. The process of involvement in digital technology and associated end-products has the potential for developing, building or enhancing individual capacities. Major Constraints and challenges of web 2.0 tools utilization in extension surround internet access, connectivity, Issues of affordable and accessible tools, income, language, literacy barriers/education, Issues of gender, culture, and the difficulty in raising awareness for the use the tools. In spite of this numerous obstacles, yet it is presumed that the web 2.0 use is conceivable in transformation of extension delivery. Potentials of Web 2.0 in Extension Delivery in Nigeria a. Capacity to reach a wider audience b. Used for training and demonstration c. Make extension system and structure more efficient d. Packaging of Information on demand and exploring alternative production options e. Facilitates faster discrimination of information f. Used to efficiently in period of problem to forecast, dissemination g. With Networking and internet connectivity the REFILS linkage will be cohesive and strong through blogging, collaborative work, wiki etc h. Community mobilization learning and action through social platform like facebook, linkedin, myspace etc

Finally, The concept of Web as participation platform captures many important characteristics from which include rich user experience, user participation, dynamic content, web standards and scalability such as openness, freedom and collective intelligence by way of user participation, can also be viewed as essential attributes of Web 2.0. In extension delivery our approach is to work with partners to identify key needs or issues; determine appropriate knowledge sharing and information management initiatives; and then communicate these initiatives in a language that matches the problem being solved and the target group. We might fore seen the tangible benefits that sharing knowledge can have, from farmers who can afford to educate their children and
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provide medical care for their families, to constructing more permanent houses. We fore seen jisc farmers who have benefited from increased farm outputs with each season and diversified their income-generating activities helped by the use of appropriate tools for sharing knowledge and local content.

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