Not too long ago, I transitioned into the world of non-profits.  Recently joining an organization to help support and manage the transition towards upgrading its online presence, updating its digital media solutions to showcase and highlight its projects and research, and providing a more integrated network to meet its many operational, communication, and strategic needs, has introduced me to an area of technology that is focused on the non-profit world.

How one approaches not only their web design, but also how they reach out to their target audience (or constituents) is very different.  A non-profit’s brand is closely intertwined with its identity, and in turn, its identity – what it does, what it stands for and represents, what it creates and produces, what it defends – speak directly to a certain group of individuals.  And it is these individuals who will provide the kinds of brand-building, presence-developing, and ultimately, fund-raising, that most, if not all non-profits depend on.

The ownership of ones’ brand is extremely important, but in some respects, I find that the need to truly own one’s identity, to truly identify what one actually does and specifically, provides and offers, is of particular significant to a non-profit organization.

Certainly, it is increasingly easier and cheaper to spread the world about non-profits.  The lack of resources (both personnel and monetary) are no longer barriers that are insurmountable.  Twitter and its kind (twitpic)

An example of using YouTube to support non-profits (it’s a dated video, but I think still relevant):

I’ll elaborate more about how digital media (and all its fun, related aspects such as online marketing and campaigns, community building, etc.) come into play as non-profits seek to expand their networks, fundraising capabilities, and brand presence.  For the time being, I’ve listed some information here that could be a helpful start.

Useful links:

NTEN: Nonprofit Technology Network

Wild Apricot: a non-profit technology blog

Big Duck: communications for non-profits blog

Mobile Active: global network of non-profits applying mobile tech to serve their needs (this is definitely something I’m very interested in exploring)

It doesn’t surprise me that universities and other institutions of higher education are pursuing strategies and projects to bring the courses, curriculum, and programs from their on-campus settings to the Internet.  As someone who has engaged in on-line learning – taking credited courses in topics such as cognition and ethics in educational technology – I’m not surprised by this topic, but it is certainly interested to see not only how and where online learning stand in higher ed, but that may mean for other areas of learning (e.g. corporate training).

Perhaps, though, it challenges some current perceptions of higher education (and education, in general) and the sorts of practices that both learners and instructors/teachers/other educational professionals engage and participate.  I remember the perplexity and confusion that rose from M.I.T.’s announcement of their Open CourseWare project.  The thought of posting curriculum and courses for free, enabling individuals from all over the world to access content and information from such a prestigious and arguably, exclusive, institution – what does that mean?  Would people even bother to pay and physically attend a college anymore?  Obviously, this project has not made M.I.T. seem any less desirable for thousands of prospective students each year, but it does bring up some interesting considerations.

Still, how does the Internet and open learning impact, influence, and inform the kinds of ideas we have on learning, information and knowledge acquisition, and content creation?  In a broader, perhaps more far-reaching scale, how does this entire process impact the lives and livelihoods from social and economic perspective?  I’m only in the beginning of this conversation, but I welcome the opportunity to probe further at how the changes in the educational arena will, can, and are currently impacting our world.

Additional info: here

Here are some online health games that I’ve played, experimented, and used in part of a school research project. Try for yourself!

Humana Games
Playnormous
Nutrition Explorations
Nourish Interactive

With more to come at this year’s Games for Health conference

A NY Times article, Teachers Defy Gravity to Gain Students’ Interest, suggests that there are alternative and different approaches to engage students with the sciences.  This article focused on an effort to make the sciences seem fun and interesting to students by having science teachers participate in the Weightless Flights of Discovery Program.  The video published with this article show just how much fun the teachers are having, and in that turn (the hope is that) the students, too, would get excited watching their floating teachers.

Here’s another video; it’s a bit dated, but still great fun to watch:

Many of the interviewed teachers and students, and comments, point to the need for inspiration, to make learning science fun and “cool.”  I’m reminded of my days in Science Olympiad and attending competitions where identifying leaves and types of rocks felt exciting, where you got to wear T-shirts with the words Science Olympiad Team printed on it (which you wore proudly to school), and where you got to spend time with fellow teammates playing silly games on the bus rides to competition.  I still have my bronze medal (from the leaf-identify competition, as it turns out) somewhere in a box.  Beyond being a token of winning something, it reminds me of how science – engaging in your environment, exploring and questioning your world, and experimenting and testing new ideas – inspired me while growing up.

I think this idea of inspiration, of being motivated to engage in learning, to be so involved in this other world of knowledge and information, is something that is common, something that many of us seek.  I know it’s something that I’ve sought throughout my professional and academic career.  When I’m working to put together health educational content to be published on the Internet, to be shared and showcased to the public, how do I know if that information and knowledge is being reached to my target audience?  How do I know that they “got” whatever message or story or information I’m trying to bring across?  Perhaps I can research and conduct a survey for feedback, but how does that assess or even capture that essence of inspiration?  That moment where acquiring knowledge, acquiring facts and bits and bytes of information, because a stimulus for something much more?

And quite often, it’s come down to having a teacher, instructor, or mentor who’s been able to find that fire in your belly, who gets you to open up your eyes and see something in an entirely new way, who gets you so jazzed, so psyched about something that you anxiously seek out more information.  I’ve been fortunate that I’ve had a few teachers like that, and because of them, I’ve learned about topics and histories that I didn’t even know existed.  I suppose what one can draw from this article and similar stories, is that there are so many possible, non-traditional approaches to engage and inspire learners, just as there are multiple ways for teaching and instruction to be done.  This can involve having teachers participate in more social media such as using wikis and blogs to exchange thoughts on lesson plans or to brainstorm ideas, or using games and other online environments to introduce different ways to learn a subject matter – highlighting the idea, that, hey, a game can actually support team-building and strategy-making skills!  Or, maybe all it could be is seeing your own floating physics teacher trying to juggle in zero gravity.

Saying we need to reform the forms of educational practices and institutions we currently have is rather redundant.  There are differing opinions on how to address all this (and while much focus has been on the K-12 educational structure, there ought to be consideration towards all kinds of training and development, namely in the workplace where many of us spend the vast majority of our time).  When do we stop talking and start acting – I note the irony in my writing about it.  How do we deal with the disconnect from all this research and conversation of change, and implement it institutions and systems that need and want to change, but can’t and aren’t?

An article from FutureLab summarizes some of the major thoughts regarding a global perspective on education and what needs to be reassessed and reconsidered.  The author brings forth the concept of “Education 3.0,” re-conceiving what education in the 21st century may and/or should mean.  This relays to efforts by Cisco to support the transformation of this so-called global effort to rethink how we can prepare students and teachers (and for that matter, how can we prepare individuals outside of the formalized learning to be better equipped) with the knowledge and skills to understand, engage, participate, perform, and compete in today’s global economy.   Surely, the theory and the research can convey the possibilities, urgency, and expectations of the future of education, but where is the practice?  Who is right?  Does that even matter?  How do individuals of all ages adapt and respond to all the changes in their environment?  What are some examples of responses that confront the demands of the 21st century?