Creating a new group and recruiting new members to Ask Extension can be a large undertaking. This page will help get you started if you would like to create a new group in Ask Extension.
Creating a new group typically requires someone who is willing to be the group leader. The group leader will recruit new Ask Extension group members and ensure questions are assigned and answered by the group.
Create an Ask Extension Account
The first step is creating an Ask Extension account. If you already have an Ask Extension account you can skip this step, otherwise. If you know someone who is an Ask Extension “super” expert they can create an account for you, or you can email askhelp@extension.org and request a new account.
Create a new group
Groups are typically created based on either a geographic location like a county or are based on a topic like goats or pecans. Either way, you will want to recruit group members who have expertise based on that criteria.
Creating a new group is as easy as going to the groups page in Ask Extension and clicking the “Add New Group” button. From here you will fill out the Group information including your group name, state and county. Note that you have a “National” option. National groups can receive questions from anywhere.
Adding Members
You will want to add members to your group on the Members tab. A group requires at least one member to be active. You may add tags that allow other groups in your state or nationally to find your group. The “Embed Widget” tab provides the code snippet you will use to embed the question widget on a web page.
Members can be added to a group on the Members tab of a group, and members can also add themselves to a group on their user’s profile page. When a member added themself to a group they can choose to be a part of a round-robin assignment by checking the auto-assignment checkbox. If this box is not checked the user can only be assigned questions manually by another expert or they can assign themselves a question.
Receiving Questions
Once the group is saved, it is automatically active and able to receive new questions either from the front page of ask2.extension.org or via the widget (available on the “Embed Widget” tab on your Group page) if you have installed it. You can disable the group on the group profile page if you do not want the group to receive questions.
You can learn more about managing group settings, and managing and reassigning questions on our How To Page. If you have any questions or would like to set up a zoom chat we are here to help you get started! Just send us an email at askhelp@extension.org with any questions you may have. Also, here is a video I did with the leader of a new group where I talk more about the process.