Regional IPM Webinars Reach Large Extension Master Gardener Audiences Mary Hockenberry Meyer, Jeff Gillman, Michelle Grabowski, University of Minnesota; Karen Jeannette, eXtension; Rhoda L. Burrows, South Dakota State University; Pamela J. Bennett, The Ohio State University Introduction Webinars can be an effective, efficient means of reach- ing large audiences (Rich et al., 2011). Using a modest grant from the North Central Integrated Pest Manage- ment (IPM) Center, the North Central Consumer Horticulture Working Group developed two webinars: one on Growing Tomatoes with IPM and a second on Growing Shade Trees with IPM. These plants were suggested by Extension Master Gardeners (EMG), as popular plants with many cultural and pest issues typically grown by gardeners and homeowners. Research has shown EMG request and need ongoing diagnostic training in IPM (Meyer et al., 2010). Our goal was to teach IPM to Extension Educators and EMG and to reach the largest audience with the most efficient means. Webinars are a relatively new means of teaching, can reach new audiences and enhance the value, availability, and sustainability of Cooperative Extension programming (Allred and Smallidge, 2011; Stone et al., 2010). 211 Materials and Methods The tomato and shade tree webinars were promoted through EMG coordinators and the national learn.eXtension.org website where anyone could register for the presentations. The webpage at the learn.eXtension.org site contained all the webinar information, including the link to a Google Doc for registration. For the tomato webinar, people registered and then did not attend the actual live webinar, so we modified the shade tree webinar registration. We continued to allow host sites free registration, but asked individuals to pay $10 (within eXtension via Paypal) for their participation in the webinar. Thirty-nine people paid the fee for the shade tree webinar. The Google Doc in excel was an easy way for participants to register and give their contact, county and state information. The addresses on the registration form were then used to send participants the url for the live webinar, along with any pre-webinar instructions. Pre- and post-tests were developed in Survey Monkey, Inc. to measure participants’ pre- and post- IPM knowledge of tomatoes and shade trees. The links to these surveys were sent to participants prior to (pre-test) and immediately after (post- test) the webinar. Both 90-minute webinars were hosted with UMConnect (Adobe) at the University of Minnesota. Cost was a $75/hr technician fee for 200 online connections. Participants used their computers for both audio and video broadcast of the webinar. Presenters used a telephone conference call to connect into the webinar for higher audio quality. Presenters did their presentation from their home offices and broadcast to anyone connected online for the webinar. Host sites were locations where Extension Educators were encouraged to promote the webinar as local EMG training or a gardening class open to the public, thus maximizing the efficiency of each online connection. Both webinars began with a short introduction followed by three 15–20 minute content sections. Each content session concluded with questions from the audience using the chat feature of the UMConnect software and audio answers from the presenters.. The green ribbon shows the soil line when the tree was in the container in which it was purchased Participants change in IPM knowledge level before and after the webinars. Challenges for Future Webinars: Participants’ technical understanding Accurate live webinar attendance Gathering accurate pre- and post-test information Interaction between participants and presenters Adding local host site activities to improve the educational experience Literature Cited: Allred, S. B. and P. J. Smallidge An educational evaluation of web-based forestry education. J. Extension. 3 July Meyer, M., R. Burrows, K. Jeannette, C. Welty, A. Boyson Master Gardener’s confidence and use of integrated pest management. HortTechnology 20: Rich, S. R., S. Komar, B. Schilling, S. Tomas, J. Carleo, and S. Colucci Meeting extension programming needs with technology: A case study of agritourism webinars. J. Extension. 3 July Stone, A., D. Treadwell, A. Formiga, J. McQueen, M. Wander, J. Riddle, H. Darby and D. Heleba eOrganic: The organic agriculture community of practice for eXtension. HortTechnology 22: Knowledge change of participants on one test question, before and after the webinar, Growing Tomato using IPM, (Pre-test: n = 257; Post-test: n = 267).