Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity - Final Training Workshop

Participants of the third and final Web 2.0 Training Session, January 2013

A Wonderful Experience in Use of Web 2.O Tools

3 training workshops on the use of Web 2.0 tools were held during the following periods: 9-13 July 2012, 23-27 July 2012, and 14-18 January 2013, at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius. They were organized jointly by the University of Mauritius (UoM) and the Food and Agricultural Research Council (FARC) and were fully funded by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Netherlands.

The Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity has been a wonderful experience for participants, trainers and the organisers. The success of uptake of these Web 2.0 tools will depend on how the trainees will put them into use in their daily activities to contribute to agricultural development.

From the trainers’ point of view, upon completion of the training, the participants were confident in their ability to develop and exchange and disseminate contents, to increase their contacts with peers around the world, and are more confident in using online applications.

The series of practical based exercises had enabled them to grasp skills in the way information could be created, organised, shared and accessed. Their parent organisations will undoubtedly benefit from increased work efficiency, lesser communication costs and boosted outreach. While this is the start of a capacity building process in Web 2.0 technologies, it is expected that agricultural and allied institutions in Mauritius will appreciate the effectiveness of such tools and adopt them strategically for their own benefit and that of their stakeholders. The trainees have generally shown a keen interest in acquiring skills and knowledge on Web 2.0 tools. The Faculty  and the participants thank the CTA for their sponsorship and giving us an opportunity to discover Web 2.0 tools.

Training in WEB 2.0 Tools in January 2013

DEAR VALUED GRADUATES, PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS

The Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Mauritius in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Research Council (FARC) will be holding the third and final training workshops on the use of Web 2.0 tools Agricultural and allied sectors on the 14-18 January, 2013.  The aim of the workshop is to help our stakeholders to better manage information, improve its dissemination as well as improve collaboration among various stakeholders. 

I consider that your exposure to web based tools will consolidate YOUR capacity to facilitate information exchange and sharing in the agricultural and associated area at the national, international and regional level.

I therefore wish you will avail of this opportunity to get trained in this fast moving area.

Warm Regards and Best Wishes.

 Professor Yasmina Jaufeerally FAKIM

Dean of Faculty

APPLICATIONS

How to apply

If you are interested in applying, please click on this link to complete the online form.

Deadline for applications: 3 December, 2012

Feedback

The organisers will inform successful applicants about the status of their application two week before the commencement of the course. Successful applicants will receive confirmation emails and others will be duly informed of the results of their application.

 TRAINING DETAILS

Venue: Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius, Réduit, Mauritius

Dates: 14-18 January, 2013 (9:00 - 17:00)

Technological innovation is taking place at a breath-taking pace. Simple, open source internet-based applications and services designed to enhance on-line collaboration are now available to the wider public at little or no cost at all. These new online technologies known as Web 2.0 and Social Media enable people to collaborate to create, share and publish information.

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation EU-ACP (CTA) has a mandate to facilitate access to and dissemination of information in the fields of agriculture and rural development in 78 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). Supporting the adoption of Web 2.0 applications represents a great opportunity for meeting it.

The Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius (UoM) in collaboration with CTA and the Food and Agricultural Research Council (FARC) will host a 5-day  Web 2.0 and Social Media Learning Opportunity on 14-18 January 2013. Participants will be introduced to selected web 2.0 applications including social media and will learn how to use them hands-on.

The Learning Opportunity will cover advanced online searching, getting information served via alerts and RSS, collaborating remotely using wikis and Google Docs, using VoIP, online mapping and social networking. Participants will get a chance to see what others have done, get hands-on experience on how to use innovative applications, and assess how they could adopt these innovations within the context of their work and organisation.

This Learning Opportunity forms part of CTA initiatives that support development partners in networking, accessing and disseminating information more effectively.

Programme of the Learning Opportunity

·         Introduction to the participatory World Wide Web (Web 2.0)  and to social media;

·         Search Magic: How to conduct advanced multilingual online searches;

·         Information Self Service: How to get selected information served to you via alerts and RSS feeds;

·         Remote collaboration: How to develop content remotely using wikis and Google Docs;

·         Online mapping: How to locate your organisation and your projects on an online map;

·         How to communicate voice over the internet at no cost;

·         Online publishing (micro-blogging and blogging);

·         Professional / corporate social networking (LinkedIn and Facebook);

·         Web 2.0 self-instruction (introduction to IMARK)  

Participants - Eligibility and responsibilities

Participation in the Learning Opportunity is free of charge, but subject to acceptance by the organisers. 

Eligibility criteria

·         be computer literate and conversant with browsing the Internet;

·         have regular access to a computer (ownership of a computer is an advantage);

·         be competent in  the use of the English language;

·         have an active personal e-mail account;

·         be actively engaged in agriculture and rural development / natural resource management / biodiversity conservation in the domains of ICT for development (ICT4D), policies, markets; publishing, communication and media; and

·         be resident in the Republic of Mauritius.

Responsibilities

Accepted participants will be responsible for all costs related to their travel to and from the venue at the Faculty of Agriculture, their accommodation, breakfast and supper and their daily subsistence allowances.

Entitlements

During each event, the organisers will provide access to computers, lunch and refreshments, and distribute copies of CTA publications and instructional material.