The new e-learning platform Project Cycle Management interactive (PCMi) is online. It’s a flexible platform for blended and self-directed learning. Rate your competencies for an individual study plan or access the material for further reading. (more…)
Social Reporting on and from face-to-face meetings of SDC’s networks became a trendy practice. This blog post looks behind the scenes and reflects on three questions: What is actually Social Reporting? What makes it social? And is it worth the effort? (more…)
Today’s blog post invites you to pause for a second and to think about one of the most used tools of everyday office life. Powerpoint. What once was considered a revolution in presentation technique today often turns out to be a threat to every knowledge transfer. With a short comic strip Nadia von Holzen and Nadia Lanfranchi would like to make you check over your presentation strategies. What is key to an engaging presentation? Are there alternatives to Powerpoint? And what should be considered in order to avoid Powerpoint’s pitfalls? (more…)
A new form of influencing policy-making is emerging thanks to the Internet. The Arab Spring, anti-ACTA protests, the Occupy movement, pirate parties have at least one thing in common: they all share the Internet as an enabler. On the Internet, protest movements coordinate activities and manage to reach out to the global public. Governments and international organisations cannot ignore this substantive change. Jovan Kurbalija, in his contribution, discusses challenges facing governments and organisations in getting involved in the social media space. (more…)
By Nancy White
In our first part on accidental technology stewardship we focused on the technology acquisition and design issues. In today’s post we’ll look at what I think is the really fun stuff: how we build useful practices USING technology together. (more…)
Collegial Coaching is a process that draws on experiences and practices of professional colleagues in order to share new ideas, teach one another or solve a problem. Watch this entertaining clip to get a clear idea of the mechanisms of this useful tool. Or go to the Learning & Networking Website to get more information on Collegial Coaching.
By Nancy White
How many times have you been faced with coordinating work, knowledge sharing or learning with a colleague who is not close by? Of course, we have the magic of the internet, right? Which knits us across countries and contexts, right? Well, it could, but most of us lack the magic wand to make this happen flawlessly. There is a useful practice to picking and using technology in service of groups called technology stewardship. Let’s take a peek into tech stewardship together. We will focus here on definition and some design principles, and look at implementation practices in a second blog post. (more…)
The “Facebook Revolution” is in everyone’s mouth: How come? What does the power of web 2.0 imply for operational activities aiming to increase participation in socio, economic and political change processes? Patrick Kalas (former ICT4D officer/SDC) illuminates the phenomenon, not without sparking a critical reflection on its side-effects, and shares keyfindings from an upcoming SDC workingpaper on the issue.
“……..I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul”
(Invictus by William Ernest Henley)
The genie is out of the bottle. Scanning the news reveals that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as mobile phones, Internet, Satellite television and social media are having an effect on events in the so-called Arab Spring. The “Facebook Revolution” is becoming a buzzword. Not sure how and why, click here. Does this have any practical significance for our operational activities in projects or programs aiming to increase participation in socio, economic and political change processes? (more…)
In the first part of this blog I looked at e-faciliation and how it compares to face to face facilitation. For this second part I asked myself, what are the strengths and weaknesses of the online situation and what would be the content of a twenty minutes crash-course on “the specifics of online facilitaiton”. And as a round-up of both blog posts on e-facilitaiton I share my thoughts on the future prospects of facilitation in cyberspace. (more…)
By Olivia Hartmann, AGRIDEA
The e-factor is omnipresent in the West and increasingly also in other parts of the world. It has become difficult to imagine a life without it.
BUT – the e-factor in facilitation is actually a rather recent development.
A look at a young skill and how to skillfully use it for learning and exchange - Part I.
Looking at the history of the development of communication means I came to realize what a recent development the internet and with that e-facilitation actually is! E-Facilitation - the art of sucessfully planning and guiding online interactions of various kinds and with a wide variety of purposes – has existed for barely 15 years. (more…)
By Corinne Sprecher, AGRIDEA
Creative Commons as an alternative to the conventional copyright
Nowadays there are incredible resources of knowledge easily accessible for anyone anytime thanks to modern technologies. But are we making full use of their potential? The wonderful thing about knowledge is – compared to other resources – that its value increases if it’s shared, used and if new ideas arise from it. So why protecting it? Here some thoughts on copying, reserving rights and alternatives to the conventional copy right.
By Patrick Kalas
Rare snowflakes covered the Victorian rooftops of Royal Halloway College just outside of London, where over 580 international researchers and practitioners in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Development met during the impeccably organized 3rd ICTD conference. Development relevant, because ICTs are enabling tools, which can catalyze social, economic and political change processes through providing timely access to information and knowledge, facilitate knowledge-sharing and learning while amplifying voices of the voiceless. The following is a personal reflection about my perceived heartbeat of the ICT4D community at ICTD in London expanding on the previous blog post “Simple but Not Easy- Why Strategic Integration of ICTs Is Simply Not Easy”. (more…)
By Patrick Kalas
This personal learning reflection and contribution is based on 7 years of engagement within the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Development sphere, including with non-governmental organizations, multilateral and bilateral donor organizations. It aims to spark a critical reflection on initial lessons to be learned exploring (a) why the strategic integration of ICTs is simply not easy while (b) formulating 3 critical lessons learned. (more…)