Wishing all readers a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year! Why not tell us what gadgets or software Santa delivered to you in your stocking, and give us your tips on how you can use them to help your group become more efficient and effective?
I've asked for a wireless key board and mouse, because I'm getting fed up with all those tangled up wires and cables. Only trouble is I will probably need a new adapter for all the extra connections, as I'm running out of USB ports!
Why not use your holiday time to catch up with all those mundane tasks and give your PC a spring clean. Don't forget to back up, surge protect and shut down - remember that transformer plugs still use power even when certain gadgets are not in use - switch it off at the wall! And remember to keep your anti-virus software regularly updated.
Friday, 21 December 2007
Wednesday, 19 December 2007
keywords and labels
I'm getting good feedback about the blog, but would like to ask readers' advice on the most effective labels and keywords. What buzz words do you find are the best to get good Google results?
eCommunities event March 2008
We are planning an exciting event which is to be held at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, in South Skye, on 7th and 8th March 2008. The event will aim to help our communities exchange information, free up resources, and find new and better ways of working by showcasing a wide range of ICT possibilities. The event is open to representatives of community organisations, and attendance is free (we will also offer support for those travelling from further afield).
While the event programme will be based on the findings of our research in Skye & Raasay, we are also interested to know about other problems and challenges faced by rural, remote and often isolated communities, and how ICT can be used to address these. This could be related to lack of services, skills and training needs, access to equipment, security issues, and all manner of other things.
We are planning to run a couple of sessions where questions can be posed to a panel of experts in ICT, the voluntary sector and community development. Questions will be collected on a graffiti board throughout the event, but we'd like to start the ball rolling by inviting your comments and questions here on this blog, so please post your points!
While the event programme will be based on the findings of our research in Skye & Raasay, we are also interested to know about other problems and challenges faced by rural, remote and often isolated communities, and how ICT can be used to address these. This could be related to lack of services, skills and training needs, access to equipment, security issues, and all manner of other things.
We are planning to run a couple of sessions where questions can be posed to a panel of experts in ICT, the voluntary sector and community development. Questions will be collected on a graffiti board throughout the event, but we'd like to start the ball rolling by inviting your comments and questions here on this blog, so please post your points!
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
Show me the money!
The worldwide web is a powerful tool for finding out information. Looking for funding sources for your community project is something that the internet can make easier. Many of the national funding sources invite first interest via the web or by email, and application forms are available for download.
The Big Lottery is probably the body which offers the widest range of grants to community projects - http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/ and you can download an initial proposal form that can then be sent for assessment.
For more specific grant sources, try entering a simple search into a search engine. I entered "community grants scotland" and got the following number of results:
Google http://www.google.co.uk/ 228,000
Ask Jeeves http://uk.ask.com/ 714,700
MSN http://www.msn.com/ 5,070,000
Yahoo http://uk.yahoo.com/ 7,060,000
Of course sifting through all these pages would take forever, so try to narrow down your search by including keywords referring to the detail of your project - for example "children", "ICT", "food", "environment". Selecting pages from the UK only before you hit "search" will also give fewer results.
The Community Toolkit (if available in your area) is regularly updated with local and national funding news - see http://www.slcvo.org.uk/ctoolkit
See also the Rural Gateway http://www.ruralgateway.org.uk for regular funding updates.
What is your experience with accessing funding online? Do you know of any funding bodies that accept online applications? Do you think the internet makes it easier or just even more confusing? Post your comments!
The Big Lottery is probably the body which offers the widest range of grants to community projects - http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/ and you can download an initial proposal form that can then be sent for assessment.
For more specific grant sources, try entering a simple search into a search engine. I entered "community grants scotland" and got the following number of results:
Google http://www.google.co.uk/ 228,000
Ask Jeeves http://uk.ask.com/ 714,700
MSN http://www.msn.com/ 5,070,000
Yahoo http://uk.yahoo.com/ 7,060,000
Of course sifting through all these pages would take forever, so try to narrow down your search by including keywords referring to the detail of your project - for example "children", "ICT", "food", "environment". Selecting pages from the UK only before you hit "search" will also give fewer results.
The Community Toolkit (if available in your area) is regularly updated with local and national funding news - see http://www.slcvo.org.uk/ctoolkit
See also the Rural Gateway http://www.ruralgateway.org.uk for regular funding updates.
What is your experience with accessing funding online? Do you know of any funding bodies that accept online applications? Do you think the internet makes it easier or just even more confusing? Post your comments!
Monday, 17 December 2007
Sustainable community web services
One of the main barriers to embracing ICT to help groups' performance is a lack of funding. But there are clever ways of addressing this, and believe it or not, many free or affordable services available to community groups.
Some communities have used the internet to develop inclusive systems that pull local information together in a "one-stop shop". These web based services are often known as "community portals".
Some examples of these are
Shetland - http://www.shetlandcommunities.org/
Orkney - http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/
Both these sites are managed by the local council for voluntary organisations (CVS) and have the added facility of inviting groups to create their own website via the portal for a small annual fee. This brings income into the project and will allow it to continue once the set-up funding ends.
Caithness.org - http://www.caithness.org/ - is run by a private organisation but is very much a community enterprise and is sustained by inviting advertising from local businesses.
Future sustainability of services is an important consideration for community projects, especially when providing to the voluntary sector which is notoriously tight for cash. Plexus media http://www.plexusmedia.co.uk/ have developed systems such as spanglefish websites http://www.spanglefish.com/ and an image library (see www.thecromartyarchive.org) for an example of how this works), which use Google ads to generate income that will make these services sustainable.
Here is another source that offers free websites to community organisations
http://www.communitykit.co.uk/
Is your group interested in developing a site like the examples above? Is it already doing so? If so we would love to hear from you - please leave your comments!
Some communities have used the internet to develop inclusive systems that pull local information together in a "one-stop shop". These web based services are often known as "community portals".
Some examples of these are
Shetland - http://www.shetlandcommunities.org/
Orkney - http://www.orkneycommunities.co.uk/
Both these sites are managed by the local council for voluntary organisations (CVS) and have the added facility of inviting groups to create their own website via the portal for a small annual fee. This brings income into the project and will allow it to continue once the set-up funding ends.
Caithness.org - http://www.caithness.org/ - is run by a private organisation but is very much a community enterprise and is sustained by inviting advertising from local businesses.
Future sustainability of services is an important consideration for community projects, especially when providing to the voluntary sector which is notoriously tight for cash. Plexus media http://www.plexusmedia.co.uk/ have developed systems such as spanglefish websites http://www.spanglefish.com/ and an image library (see www.thecromartyarchive.org) for an example of how this works), which use Google ads to generate income that will make these services sustainable.
Here is another source that offers free websites to community organisations
http://www.communitykit.co.uk/
Is your group interested in developing a site like the examples above? Is it already doing so? If so we would love to hear from you - please leave your comments!
Thursday, 13 December 2007
Blogging
A blog, or "web log", has become a popular way of keeping a journal of information. Blogging is a great way of creating a two-way line of communication - it's really a simple form of an interactive website which is edited, monitored and controlled by the blogger, but invites comments from readers.
There are many sites which offer members a free blog, such as this one http://www.blogger.com/, also http://www.blog.co.uk/ and http://www.typepad.com/. Enhanced features and multiple blogs come at a cost, but it is easy and FREE to create a page with a choice of layouts and designs, and it is a brilliant way of communicating. There are also features you can add such as introducing RSS feeds from other sites (we will come to this in a later posting), widgets and uploads such as video and podcasts.
Creating your blog is the easy part - the challenges are planning and managing the content and keeping it regularly updated. Here's a link to some helpful advice for creating your community group blog: http://www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/bloggingandpodcastingtips. It's easy, try it!
There are many sites which offer members a free blog, such as this one http://www.blogger.com/, also http://www.blog.co.uk/ and http://www.typepad.com/. Enhanced features and multiple blogs come at a cost, but it is easy and FREE to create a page with a choice of layouts and designs, and it is a brilliant way of communicating. There are also features you can add such as introducing RSS feeds from other sites (we will come to this in a later posting), widgets and uploads such as video and podcasts.
Creating your blog is the easy part - the challenges are planning and managing the content and keeping it regularly updated. Here's a link to some helpful advice for creating your community group blog: http://www.icthubknowledgebase.org.uk/bloggingandpodcastingtips. It's easy, try it!
Wednesday, 12 December 2007
Social Networking
As part of the eCommunities project we have surveyed over 100 community group members in the islands of Skye and Raasay. Initial findings show that although the level of skill within the sector is fairly high, groups are restricted from participating in ICT due to a lack of resources such as time and funding. Community groups are aware of the benefits that can be presented by engaging in ICT but are perhaps not aware of the range of free or affordable products and services that are available to them.
Many groups feel that their website is not well designed; others do not have a website at all but would like one. Very few respondents are stating that they use online resources such as discussion forums or social networking sites to aid communication between group members.
Check out these social networking sites:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/
Bebo http://www.bebo.com/
MySpace http://www.myspace.com/
Ning - http://www.ning.com/
It's free to open an account, and it would be a simple way of communicating with members, as well as promoting your group.
ITSON, a community group based in Skye & Lochalsh, has its MySpace and Bebo pages which it uses to keep in touch with its members through blogs and discussions - http://www.myspace.com/itsonhighland and http://www.bebo.com/ITSON-ITSOM
Many groups feel that their website is not well designed; others do not have a website at all but would like one. Very few respondents are stating that they use online resources such as discussion forums or social networking sites to aid communication between group members.
Check out these social networking sites:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/
Bebo http://www.bebo.com/
MySpace http://www.myspace.com/
Ning - http://www.ning.com/
It's free to open an account, and it would be a simple way of communicating with members, as well as promoting your group.
ITSON, a community group based in Skye & Lochalsh, has its MySpace and Bebo pages which it uses to keep in touch with its members through blogs and discussions - http://www.myspace.com/itsonhighland and http://www.bebo.com/ITSON-ITSOM
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
welcome
Welcome to this blog about the e-Communities project which has been set up by Highlands & Islands Enterprise to look at the opportunities for our rural communities to use information and communications technology (ICT) in order to make their work more efficient and effective. Over the next few months we will highlight the various issues that communities face, provide signposts to possible solutions, and invite comments to help us further our understanding of needs and challenges.
We are currently analysing a recent survey of the sample islands of Skye and Raasay which will help build a picture of ICT activity among the community sector. We invite comments from across the Highlands and Islands, and indeed across the globe. We are very interested to find out about ICT projects which aim to:
We are currently analysing a recent survey of the sample islands of Skye and Raasay which will help build a picture of ICT activity among the community sector. We invite comments from across the Highlands and Islands, and indeed across the globe. We are very interested to find out about ICT projects which aim to:
- improve communication and the exchange of information
- make better use of restricted resources
- create new and better ways of working
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