Archive for the 'Topics' Category

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Wiggly Wigglers: A Success Story

Published on 2 December 2009 in Emerging Technology, Facebook, Information Management, Knowledge Management, Reference, Social Inclusion, Social Media, Topics and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

 

Wiggly Wigglers is a company that cropped up more than once at the Digital Britain briefing. Heather Gorringe founded the sustainable gardening business in 1990. Based on a farm in rural Herefordshire, she started selling worms for compost bins and now has a turnover of £2.5m offering everything from goats’ hair socks to plants and bird food.

Using online technology, Heather made her business a success. Being based on a farm, she had no passing trade therefore relied on the internet. She states ‘To us, there’s no difference between DM, email, web, blogs, podcasts, videos and Facebook – they all bring us feedback and sales’.

Another key move in her path to success was letting customers being a part of the idea generation process. They built their catalogue within a private wiki web page where customers request what they want, for example one customer requested a push lawnmower which Heather had not thought of, but it ended up being an excellent addition to the range. Having communication and engagement with the customers allowed the business to grow, using simple online social networking. Keeping up interest with blogs and podcasts, Wiggly Wigglers is still growing.

The speakers at the briefing used this success story to highlight how big a part broadband played in this story, and without it rural areas, small business such as farms, are getting left behind and being put at a disadvantage.

Along with this I see this story as an excellent example of what can be achieved using social media. The use of blogs, podcasts and social networking on Facebook and Twitter creates interest, engagement and communities. By combining the use of all these resources one person can tell a message to a million people, the opportunities are endless and there isn’t a better time to get on board than now!

Website – http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/

Blog – http://wigglywigglers.blogspot.com/

Podcast – http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/podcasts/

Twitter – http://twitter.com/wiggled

People’s Voice Media

Published on 1 December 2009 in Emerging Technology, Social Inclusion, Social Media, Topics and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

Gary Coptitch, Chief Exec of ‘Peoples Voice Media: Connecting Communities’ gave a presentation at the Westminster Briefing.

 Who are they…..?

  • PVM are a ‘not for profit’ community development organisation that uses social media to support digital inclusion and online social networking.

 What do they do….?

  • They support individuals and communities to have a voice, and to create relationships and dialogue, forge new relationships and develop their own solutions
  • Aim for individuals to become the ‘Reuters of the Community’ enabling communities to create content for themselves and for a wider audience

 Objectives….?

  • to provide opportunities for people to develop ICT skills, access information, contribute to their communities and participate in society
  • to highlight community activity, bring people together and support community regeneration through the use of Social Media
  • to build the capacity of the community and voluntary sector, providing information and promoting services utilizing current and emerging technologies

 Gary stated that technology does not just mean computers, he talked about ‘technology on the pocket’; mobile phones, cameras, audio and video recorders. He stressed that anyone can create content whether it be a video clip with no audio, just an audio clip, just text and picture or all these things together. Each person is different and so is the content they create.

He works with individuals and other organisations to create audio application forms and video CV’s and working together to make them widely accepted. There are many jobs where the candidate does not need to be able to read or write, see or hear, and therefore there should be an application process which matches this.

 PVM also have Social Media Centres that run Drop-in sessions, accredited and informal learning and training, ability to access and create a social space and have peer support. They have community reporters who create the content, dialogue and discussion for community websites, community newspapers, e-newsletters, Internet TV and Internet Radio Stations.

 In particular I found Gary’s summary very useful and believe it is in such a format that I can apply to the work that I am doing:

 Involve:

As many people as possible

Create:

Content that is relevant, user generated and multiplatform

Discuss:

Create dialogue and discussion online and offline

Promote:

Distribution channels up, down and sideways

Measure:

Through qualitative and quantitative evaluation

 To find out more go to the website http://peoplesvoicemedia.co.uk/ or the Twitter http://twitter.com/peoplesvoice

‘Why do we need a Digital Britain?’

Published on 1 December 2009 in Emerging Technology, Information Management, Knowledge Management, Social Inclusion, Social Media, Topics and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

I attended a briefing called “A Digital Britain for Everyone: Innovating Public Service and New Business Opportunities through Access and Skills for All” last week in London.  The briefing was about having broadband and computers in every home across Britain to help families, communities and small businesses take advantage of modern infrastructure.

Something which has stayed with me from the briefing was one of the first questions that was asked: ‘Why do we need a Digital Britain?’. In response to this the speaker showed this quote by Charles Darwin;

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

This idea of adapting to change stands out to me, I am frequently questioned upon the need for internet and emerging technologies in education and it is often those who are resisting change that ask. However those who are adaptable to change are the ones who are benefiting the most.
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This is something that I will keep in mind when presenting new ideas to others, and ask them to also consider this.

 Further details on the speakers will follow

What are ‘Emerging Technologies’?

Published on 25 November 2009 in Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

With regards to MSF&R Youth Engagement I consider the use of Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, podcasts and social networking to be ‘emerging technologies’.

Although these ideas have now been around for the last couple of years and have been embraced by some, it is only recently that these technologies have been recognised as potential tools for educators and implemented into the educational system. Therefore I strongly believe that despite these technologies being well established in our lives, the inclusion of them in education is still emerging.

Firefighters and Social Networking

Published on 24 November 2009 in Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

Screengrab of Pc Ed Rogerson's twitter page, Ed Rogerson

PC Ed Rogerson is one of a growing number of Police Officers using social networking whilst out on patrol. He uses Twitter to give local communities updates of where he is patrolling, information on incidents he has been involved in and advice. Quoted from the BBC, he said “It works on a far more local level than the force-wide Facebook group…It’s local to Harrogate and our problems.” By using technologies that residents are comfortable with and use frequently he can engage and communicate with them effectively. Having a local officer providing the information it also gives the community ownership of the updates and a sense of belonging. PC Rogerson maintains that this is not a replacement to traditional methods of communicating with the public but is to be used alongside other methods; “Doing either in isolation might be fine, but by doing both we can spread that warning even further.”   

Social Networking could be used in a similar way to communicate and engage with the public in the Fire Service. Firefighters could communicate with the public via Facebook about what they have done on their shift, the areas they have visited, advice specific to the area they cover and updated information on that particular area. The residents could then also respond to the Fire Fighters and ask them questions or advice which hasn’t been covered. This open communication would build relationships between the Fire Service and the public and encourage engagement, utilising technology which is fast growing and already embedded into many people’s lives.

Podcasts and RRS

Published on 24 November 2009 in Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

An internet technology which has become increasingly popular over the last year or so is the ‘podcast’. A podcast is a small digital media file (audio and/or video) which can be downloaded from the internet. These podcasts can also be embedded in an RRS feed so that users automatically receive the podcasts periodically. Because the files are small they download quickly without hassle and can be stored on the users device (PC / mp3 player, etc) with ease. A podcast can be made by anyone with access to a recording device, i.e. PC with a mic, an mp3 player with a recording device. They are completely free to make and free to distribute.

A popular example of podcasting is Radio One’s ‘Chris Moyles Show’. They release a podcast daily so that listeners who may miss an interview or such alike can catch up with the show and listen to it as and when they wish.

 

With regards to education many university lecturers are now recording their sessions and making them available for students to download for reference. This does not only act as a learning aid for students when they either miss a lecture or are revising for an exam or essay, but is also creates an archive of material for the university staff for future use and reflection. Furthermore, educators also release podcasts embedded into RRS feeds or emails with updates, news or reminders. This saves the hassle of writing out everything and then sending it around everyone, instead, every time a lecturer may think of something they simply record it and send it to students.

 With regards to MSFR Youth Engagement Programmes, podcasting could be used a useful tool for students to document their progress on a course and record and present their evidence. The podcasts can then be used in their presentations and archived for each individual’s reflection and for the staff’s evidence.

ThinkuKnow Banner

Published on 23 November 2009 in Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

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This banner is designed to be displayed on websites to direct young people aged 8-10 to the ‘Cyber Cafe’ where they can get information on internet safety and advice in a fun, friendly way.

Don’t Assume… Ask!

Published on 23 November 2009 in E-Safety, Emerging Technology, Facebook, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service, Projects, Social Media and Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

I have created a questionnaire to assess young people’s computer skills and internet safety knowledge.

The purpose of this is to compare the results of a group who are just finishing a Princes Trust Course to those of a group next year that would have been exposed to emerging technologies throughout the course. Another purpose of the survey was to confirm which social networking sites are most popular and how the students access the internet and e-mail.

 The questionnaire was given out to nine Princes Trust students aged 17-23. I hope that when I compare these results to the next group, a clear difference will be visible in internet skills and capabilities using technologies.

One of the questions was ‘Which Social Networking Sites Do You Use?’, if students used more than one they were able list them.

 graph 1

The findings shown below clearly show that Facebook is the most popular site and that more people do not use any at all than use MySpace, Bebo or Twitter.

 I also asked how the young people access the internet. Over half of the students had a PC at home and a third had their own laptops. The use of the internet and Facebook is increasing on mobile phones and some of the students used their game consoles for the internet.

 graph 2

 Other interesting results included; over 75% of the students used hotmail for their email and 33% of the students didn’t have access to the internet at home.

This backs up our idea to set each student up with a professional e-mail address not only as some hotmail addresses can be unsuitable but also so that those without the internet are not excluded from applying for training, information and employment online. With many companies using e-recruitment and e-mail as contact it is important that are students have the right skills and knowledge to do this.

My results also showed that many of the students lacked computer skills that a lot of young people would take for granted and are essential when applying for training or employment. By incorporating computer skills into the programme the students would leave with invaluable experience and knowledge that will help them progress to the next stage of their lives.

The New Updated WordPress

Published on 23 November 2009 in Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

This week I took on the challenge of updating the version of Word Press that we use. Having started this blog over 2 years ago, it was extremely dated and lacked many of the features that the new versions had.

Although the blog may not look radically different to viewers it was quite a task to back-up, update and launch the new version which is completely different from an admin perspective! 

After running into a number of compatibility issues and having a few scares I am pleased to announce that we are up and running and ready to go!

Police Open up to Social Media

Published on 23 November 2009 in Youth Engagement. 0 Comments

This is one of the many examples of how social media is spreading across organisations and being used as a resource for communitities.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8363064.stm