Web 2.0 Training (26th – 30th November 2012)

In the past, the integration of ICT and Agriculture were not seen as something that was a big deal because they both seemed like two completely different entities which may have not been good together.  Over time, that perception changed because of the evolution of Technology and the way in which it is utilized.  Agriculture has become a bit dependent on Technology because experts have found ways to make the agricultural process a lot easier using these technologies.

 

Web 2.0 training began on Monday, 26th November 2012 promptly at 9:00 a.m. with an opening ceremony by partner organizations.  An introduction of what to expect for the tenure of the workshop was done.  Web 2.0 was introduced as an interactive medium using the internet to connect people to one another, share files/documents, photos, and videos and create applications that will assist in making their lives a lot easier.  The week continued with the group of participants all engaging in hands on experience of the various applications, which are all free and which enables persons to build an organization or an individual’s image.  They can all be used as marketing and efficiency tools to enhance the look and operations of a company.

 

The only setback, which was of no fault to the facilitators, was the constant interruptions in the internet service for the first three days.  Although this tried to slow down the progress, we were told that the St Lucia team was way ahead in the training than previous participants.  By Thursday morning, the technician was able to resolve our internet issues and the day went by very smoothly.

 

The entire workshop covered topics such as:

1.       Wikis
2.       Google Drive
3.       Google Maps
4.       VoIP (Skype)
5.       Blogging
6.       Social Networking (Facebook, LinkedIn)
7.       iMark

The facilitators made things easier with their explanations.  They were thorough and precise and they knew exactly how to handle our questions by giving answers that explained things clearly.  It was a workshop that allowed all of us, including the facilitators, to learn from each other as the feedback from everyone was on point.  We felt quite comfortable and learnt quite a lot within the five days.

 

This training was welcomed and very well received by the participants.  Many of us will leave on Friday, 30th November 2012 with a better understanding and appreciation of these applications and we vowed to pass on our knowledge to others in order to have them understand exactly what we learnt.