Hooked into Hygiene

impact ’99

A report on HES Extension programs serving Missouri’s families and communities

Penny sherman, a nutrition education assistant, uses computer graphics and a TV monitor to help get the message across to kindergarten students	Hooked into hygiene Laptops help students learn more during Worms or germs presentation
The 20 little faces, momentarily filled with dislike and disgust didn't seem to discourage Kristi Bliley or Penny Sherman from doing their presentation. Having completed dozens of similar sessions, they know the reaction to “nasty germs” is only natural. Nutrition education assistants Bliley and Sherman are two of 21 extension staff members who teach “Don't Eat Worms or Germs” at schools in Northwest Missouri. The lesson educates children in kindergarten through second grade on the importance of proper handwashing and the prevention of spreading germs. From March to May of 1998, the 15 counties in the region successfully piloted the program, testing whether the use of laptops enhances the presentation. “I felt we had an opportunity to update our presentation using more technology rather than using flipcharts and overheads,” said Karma Metzgar, nutrition specialist in Nodaway County. “By adding another dimension of teaching, the computer assisted learning dimension, we key into the seeing and hearing to build the person's knowledge base, as well as provide them pictures on applying the information.” The laptops enabled the presenters to show water, soap, paper towels and imaginary creatures that represent germs on a television screen. The children were also able to test what they had learned by placing specific actions in chronological order.
Kindergarten students, at Pershing Elementary School in St. Joseph, answer questions at a “Don’t Eat Worms or Germs” presentation.	For example, the children were shown illustrations of a used paper towel, hands being rinsed with water and hands with bubbles, then asked to put the pictures in the proper order. “Kids really catch on with pictures more than before,” said Bliley. “The laptop also helps to keep me on track by reminding me to cover all the necessary information.” With a standardized presentation, the same information is given to the children no matter who the presenter is, said Janet Hackert, a nutrition specialist in Harrison County. The added visuals also helped the presenters to retain the children's attention span, said Metzgar.
“When we talked about germs, they were imaginary pictures,” she said. “When working with kids, they put pictures with words they know. Nutrition, healthy, nutrients and germs are words which they don't have concrete mental pictures for yet, much less even know how to spell.” In the fifth year of the program, extension staff members visited over 100 classrooms and over 1,500 children during the 1997-98 school year. According to evaluation data, nearly three times as many children learned more with the laptop presentations than without. Since the pilot program was a success, a disk with the laptop presentation has been distributed to nutrition specialists across the state. Laptop presentations are being considered for other lessons in the Family Nutrition Education Programs (FNEP) as well, said Barbara Willenberg, state co-coordinator of FNEP. “Using the laptops is just one more way of teaching,” said Willenberg. “It's a delivery method into the future and can enhance the several curricula that are offered.”
The “Don't Eat Worms or Germs” computer assisted learning presentation was created by Metzgar and Hackert, who are the co-coordinators of the program, along with a regional technology specialist and six nutrition education assistants. Fifteen youth education assistants in the Northwest region also help with presentations. “Don't Eat Worms or Germs” is one of five lessons in the Food Safety Express program and is targeted to first graders. Family Nutrition Education Programs such as the Food Safety Express and Professor Popcorn are administered by the College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Missouri-Columbia and University Outreach and Extension in 90 counties throughout the state.	One of the simplest messages that sherman delivers is the importance of hand washing in fighting germs.

For more information about the Family Nutrition Education Program contact: Barbara Willenberg or Jo Britt-Rankin, Food Science and Human Nutrition 308 Gwynn, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211 phone: (573) 882-2399 Fax: (573) 884=5449 E-mail: willenbergb@missouri.edu britt-rankinj@missouri.edu

Impact Table of Contents
HES Extension Site Administrator Jeanne Bintzer bintzerj@missouri.edu