To-do lists. Bullet journaling. Old-school planners. The tools available to stay organized are endless. But as the world moves further into the digital age, mobile applications can help make supervised agricultural experience (SAE) record keeping a painless and everyday part of an FFA member’s routine.
Digital and mobile applications today are a far cry from the early SAE record-keeping books. Rather than spending numerous hours with a pencil and industrial eraser entering figures and hours onto a carbon copy financial form, FFA members today can keep their records right in their pockets.
Through the Agricultural Experience Tracker, or AET, members can manage their finances and time, earn recognition and generate reports from their smart devices. When it comes to keeping track of SAE figures, students can monitor not only income and expenses, but also capital items such as equipment, livestock and buildings. Generating a report becomes as simple as clicking a button to better understand a project’s current status and communicate its accomplishments. When it comes to preparing for awards season, members can access the app to apply for FFA awards and connect with the colleges and companies that relate to their interests.
Today, nearly 165,000 students have used simple tools such as AET to keep track of their projects and hours in addition to the jam-packed schedules that certain seasons can bring. Setting aside just a few minutes every week can help save numerous hours when the time comes to close out the record books or tally up facts and figures for awards and degrees.
Additionally, anyone who has completed a proficiency award before the advent of apps knows that tracking down photos and videos and writing captions and descriptions related to an SAE can be cumbersome. Through components such as Project/Experience Manager Videos, Reflection Tools and SAE Planning Tools, all these components are stored in a safe and secure place.
Whether you spend your time doing research, building a business or managing a placement SAE, check out theaet.com to learn more and help yourself stay organized this year.
