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open access and capacity building in ict4d some apc projects (& personal perspectives) ann tothill, 6 September 2005 http://www.apc.org/. apc.
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open access and capacity building in ict4dsome apc projects (& personal perspectives)ann tothill, 6 September 2005http://www.apc.org/
apc The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is an international network of civil society organisations dedicated to empowering and supporting groups and individuals working for peace, human rights, development and protection of the environment, through the strategic use of information and communication technologies… Association for Progressive Communications
technology practice and policy • National, regional and international ICTs policy advocacy • Strategic use and capacity building • Development of open source software tools • Aggregation of resources • Training/informational materials development • Training • (Analysis) Association for Progressive Communications
open access for capacity building • Opening up access to… • Physical infrastructure • Tools • Capacity building • Information/knowledge • Opportunities to create and share knowledge • Publishing is only one element Association for Progressive Communications
itrainonline • 5-year old partnership initiative of organizations working in development internationally • Core partners APC, Bellanet, FAO, IICD, INASP, OneWorld, UNESCO • ItrainOnline information gateway • Multimedia Training Kit (MMTK) Association for Progressive Communications
itrainonline information gateway • Many online ICTs capacity building resources (training, informational), but • Not always appropriate for CSO and ICT4D contexts • Duplication of effort among partners • Joint clearinghouse for online resources on strategic use/ICT4D needed • Result: ItrainOnline portal (English, French and Spanish)http://www.itrainonline.org/ Association for Progressive Communications
ITO portal (continued) ITO OS section graphic Association for Progressive Communications
birth of the mmtk • ItrainOnline partners • “Why don’t we develop training materials in a common format for ItrainOnline?” (and hey, leave a few stroopwafels for me). • UNESCO • “Why don’t we support the development of a toolkit to help community media practitioners and telecentres bridge the gap between and new media?” • = MMTK momenthttp://www.itrainonline.org/itrainonline/mmtk Association for Progressive Communications
mmtk principles • Reusability reduces duplication of effort • Adds value to training initiatives • “Mediated” use by trainers, but of value to end user • “Open content” approach • Extends reach • Essential for adaptation / contextualization • Seemed like a good idea at the time • (Public funding) • Modular • “Mixing and matching” • Contextualization / localization / translation • Repackaging • User contributions / updates • Good training practice • No frills • Focus on substance • Bandwidth • Ease of reuse Association for Progressive Communications
components • Session plan • Handout • Slides • Exercises • Case studies • Evaluation tools Association for Progressive Communications
scope • Technical skills • Content production • Organizational development • Legal and ethical issues Association for Progressive Communications
growth spurt • Projects / organizations • Content areas • Target audiences • Languages • Training format / duration • Cross-pollination with other types of toolkits and materials collections • Next: more materials, industrial strength backend • (Sky = limit?) Association for Progressive Communications
back to earth • Open access publication is one aspect of open access • E.g. • “Physical infrastructure • Tools • Information/knowledge • Skills to use effectively • Opportunities to create and share knowledge” • Tensions are possible • Open access is not an end in itself • “Open interventions” not always most effective means to end Association for Progressive Communications
“open juggling” • Open access does not necessarily mean accessible • Bandwidth • OSs etc. • Navigation • Documentation/support • Users with disabilities • File formats • Open access publication/open source software financial sustainability • Balancing aspects of OA, and OA with other requirements & long-term concerns • Accessible now does not necessarily mean accessible tomorrow • “Open quality”? • User/contributor understanding of licensing provisions (CC) Association for Progressive Communications
on balance • Need to increase awareness of complexity of broader open access terrain • Our projects span the broad open access terrain, and struggle with balance, competing demands • No doubts about appropriateness/value of OA publication for our current materials projects • Approach important to achieving ICT4D and broader capacity development goals • No revenue loss • Commitment to “MMTKing” materials from face-to-face training is attractive to donors Association for Progressive Communications
open access and capacity building in ict4dsome apc projects (& personal perspectives)ann tothill, 6 September 2005http://www.apc.org/ Association for Progressive Communications