New Voices Technology Resources

How can non-profits take advantage of free, powerful Web 2.0 technologies?

colinmbill — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 17:16:51 +0000

Ken Williams, Director of AED’s New Voices project, would like to explore how new Web 2.0 technologies can help, support, and empower:

the fellows participating in the New Voices project, and
employees of other non-profits that are looking for simple and inexpensive ways to increase their impact.

The objective is to create a “toolkit”, offered both digitally and as a paper-based booklet, that outlines free technologies that non-profits can use to help with common needs and tasks, such as budgeting, collaborating, team building, file sharing (documents, photos, etc.), product distribution, project management, and networking.There are tools to match many specific tasks, such as creating an online survey converting currency, or recording Skype conversations.

These are tools that the beginner and intermediate computer user can figure out and benefit from quickly. Hence, a non-profit with a tight budget may be able to have their “non-techy” staff come up with free in-house solutions.

Resources in this toolkit will be laid out similar to an annotated bibliography and categorized in topics such as Online Document and File Sharing, Finance, Creating Websites, Using Audio and Video, Teambuilding and Leadership, Organizing and Sharing your Favorite Websites, etc. It would aso be helpful to have the tools searchable and in an index.

Computer Cleanup

colinmbill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:35:40 +0000

Restoration, Recover deleted files–or delete them for good–with this small program.
CCleaner, Remove useless files from several applications, including Microsoft apps.
Ad-Aware Anniversary Edition Free, Remove spyware and protect your privacy with this popular free anti-spyware program.

What are your needs?

colinmbill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:24:52 +0000

Once we understand these new and powerful technologies, the big question is how can we use them to support our social and educational development efforts. These technology tools are just that – tools to help us complete a task or solve a problem more effectively and efficiently. The true value of these free online tools lies in their application to real, every-day problems/issues. In order to identify tools that can make your work and life easier, you should first think about and identify true needs that you have. For instance:

If you have difficulty sending large files over the Internet because of email file size restrictions, a great free solution is YouSendIt.com, which.

If you want several people separated by time and/or space to create and edit a document, GoogleDocs or a Wiki are great solutions.

If you want to engage a group in a team building exercise , have members submit words that encompass the topic and then create a Wordle together and discuss.

If you want to connect to the youth in the new realm of social networking, create a podcast or set up a group in Facebook.

colinmbill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:25:34 +0000

http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=what_is_linkedin&trk=hb_what

Kiva

colinmbill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:21:38 +0000

http://www.kiva.org/about

Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world.

Paypal

colinmbill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:21:05 +0000

Paypal

Bittorent

colinmbill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:18:43 +0000

BitTorrent is the global standard for delivering high-quality files over the Internet. With an installed base of over 160 million clients worldwide, BitTorrent technology has turned conventional distribution economics on its head. The more popular a large video, audio or software file, the faster and cheaper it can be transferred with BitTorrent. The result is a better digital entertainment experience for everyone.

http://www.bittorrent.com/

Various

colinmbill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:16:13 +0000

Facebook, MySpace and Orkut [three major social networking sites]
DGroups [The major mailing list for development practitioners. An offshoot of Bellanet, it's particularly useful - thanks to its limited graphics - to people using low-bandwidth connection. A space for reflection and dialogue on development issues]
Elgg [An open-source platform for software that allows people to connect and share resources]
Helpalot [a social networking site where NGOs can register for free and advertise their work, receiving support from community members]
ShareIdeas.org [online community and wiki where to share ideas and resources on the social use of ICT tools]

Joomla, to create a more robust website

colinmbill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:15:04 +0000

Joomla is one of the most used Content Management System (CMS) that will help you build websites and other powerful online applications. Joomla is an open source solution, freely available to everybody.

Other

colinmbill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:05:31 +0000

Basecamp for project management
Google Docs & Spreadsheet for online document collaboration,
Wild Apricot for non-profit websites and administration
RegOnline for online registrations,
eTribio Suite for online fundraising.
OpenOffice.org

New Voices Technology Resources

How can non-profits take advantage of free, powerful Web 2.0 technologies?

Computer Cleanup

What are your needs?

LinkedIn

Kiva

Paypal

Bittorent

Various

Joomla, to create a more robust website

Other