WEB 2.0 Capacity Workshops

Group 3: The Rebels November 29th 2012

Members:
Joshua Vernor
Gordan Cazaubon
Millines Herman
Charis Auguste-Powell

“So you thought you knew it all, huh?” was what came to my mind when I watched a video presentation called Social Media Revolution 2012 during the workshop. To be honest, I felt like a fossil at the moment. I thought I knew it all, being young and energetic but I had no idea of the impact of this workshop, until Wednesday Evening.

That evening I visited our newly constructed Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Veterinary-Livestock-Services-Division and saw 22 likes on the page and I got excited. Then I went to view our blog http://sluvetservices.blogspot.com/ and saw a comment. These pages were less than 24 hours old and they had already received an international audience.

Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity Workshop was amazing. It was everything a consultant ‘robbed’ from our pockets and more.

I felt that this training was long overdue. Dropbox will make my life so much easier since I always forget my pen drive. I really wish Google Map was more advanced. It would probably help me find my pen drive. Well we still have to wait for that feature although there are ways to track your cars and phones with satellite systems.

Being in the field of Agriculture we need to keep abreast with trends, technologies, etc., and the use of Google Reader made this possible for me. I used it from the first day it was formally introduced, and I believe that my coworkers will like this too.

How many times do we have to sign and re-submit reports? Not anymore thanks, to Google Drive. This is a tool secretaries would love to teach the Permanent Secretaries to use, and it would save our planet a lot of trees.

Being a field officer, I like my work to be Wiki; speed is a must in this day and age. It was unfortunate when our internet was down during the workshop. It slowed down the mood of Workshop, but thanks to but Training team our spirits stayed up. Could we get a “WIKI BUTTON” for Lime St. Lucia Ltd? They are truly limited.

I came into this workshop as a zero, and am leaving as a nine. The ten, I will be given after I pass on this training to my department. Your time spent was not spent in vain. It was energetic, empowering, fun, in other words amazing.

In closing we would like to thank you for everything, Team Web 2.0.

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.

 

Making the Web 2.0 Link with Agriculture

The Web 2.0 Making the Link with Agriculture

                                                                           from

Team  Syndicate

St. Lucia is the first Island in the OECS, to be part of the Web 2.0 Learning opportunity which is part of CTA initiatives that support the development of partners in networking, accessing and disseminating information more effectively.

This workshop which was organised by the host institution - Ministry of Agriculture, Food Production, Fisheries and Rural Development - in collaboration with the OECS, CARDI and CTA; with training facilitation by INFOCOMM Technologies Ltd (ICT Ltd) and ran from November  26th - 30th, 2012.

Team Syndicate members have had many "wow" moments throughout the week of learning. Dropbox, blogging, wikis as well as mapping, google drive, alerts and readers are recognised to be valuable web based tools that we can used in our respective workplaces. Without a doubt, the Web 2.0 learning opportunities has provided all participants with the necessary tools to network, disseminate and access information in the field of Agriculture.

Members of Team Syndicate, are very excited for this opportunity which they have received, and we are equally excited to venture out into the wider community to share and promote the use of these ICT tools to students, (young) professionals and women in the rural and agricultural sector.

The Web 2.0 tools provides countless opportunities for the transfer of technology in real time and the development of smart networks that contribute to participatory rural and agricultural development in the areas such as agricultural marketing, food safety, food /nutrition security 

Already, the students within the Division of Agriculture at the SALCC has been engaged in the application of one of the tools that was learnt this week and there is the commitment to encouraging optimal use the internet tools and electronic devices familiar to them for optimal learning in the short run and the technological advancement of the sector in the medium to long term.

COMMENTS ON WEB 2.0 LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

From the Group  Belle Jardin

The Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity workshop which took place in Saint Lucia 26 – 30 November, 2012, was timely for us in the sense that, although some of us use computers daily at work and home, we may not be aware of new developments and tools in the use of the internet and World Wide Web.

The Web2.0 allows us to interact and collaborate with each other as opposed to the old fashion way of where we were limited  to just viewing information. It promotes the benefit of working co-operatively with tools that demonstrates the organization or individual research interests and enhances learning for all.  It is substantially different from previous web technologies. The presentations on the different applications made us aware that, instead of simply using these tools individually, there is the possibility to use many of them together and also “integrate” the use of them, making our tasks much easier. We are now able to create applications and websites that will gain more credibility.

We learned how to conduct searches, subscribe to feeds, and make use of Google reader and Google alerts. We also learned about Drop Box, Face book, how to blog and make use of Google maps and Google drive. We were introduced to Wikis and LinkedIn. We were shown the possibilities of collaborating with colleagues on documents at the same time and also in short time spans from different locations on the world. We were also exposed to the world of Skype and virtual conferencing.

Web2.0 engages participants in learning by having us assume some of the responsibility for integrating and maintaining the social software systems.  The web is now a major driver of education and research and this offers new perspectives to students. It supports a positive approach to learning, by allowing us to share publications, ideas and links to relevant resources.

Overall, it was a great workshop. More time however, will be needed for some participants to practice the different applications that we were introduced to.

Maybe, the workshop, in future, could concentrate on ensuring that participants have the foundation upon which to progress individually, and also as collaborators in the future. Finally, participants should commit to sharing what they have learnt with colleagues, friends and families!

Current State in Related Sectors

There is a strong need to enhance the involvement of Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in agricultural value chains in the Caribbean. They dominate the agricultural sector and make a significant contribution to the Region’s economic growth and development, food security and employment. However, they have traditionally faced many, sometimes crippling, challenges due to their restricted size and reach; they are poorly serviced, fragmented, located on less productive soils and are lacking basic production infrastructure. (CARICOM Regional Transformation Programme for Agriculture, Competitiveness Study, Dec 2007).

ICTs can play a key role in this approach as they provide effective channels for connecting stakeholders and conveying the information flows which favour the emergence of new services, thus strengthening the value chains. As indicated in the Mapping Study on Value Chain Initiatives undertaken by CTA in 2011, « ICT has the potential to improve efficiency by reducing the cost of doing business along the agricultural commodity value chain and improving conversion of inputs into outputs (horizontal integration). It can also facilitate vertical integration by small-scale farmers and entrepreneurs in value chains ».

However, the manner in which these integrations in the chains or in the sector as a whole, are being operated and how they can be further consolidated, is sparsely documented and hardly understood by Caribbean actors.

It is therefore crucial to fully understand how to better harness ICTs in agricultural value chains, identify, share and support the deployment of innovations, promote the design and implementation of adequate ICT strategies and strengthen stakeholders’ capacity needs.

 

ICT Ltd. Facilitates Regional Dialogue on ICT in Agriculture

Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) dominate the agricultural sector and make a significant contribution to the Region’s economic growth and development, food security and employment. However, they have traditionally faced many, sometimes crippling, challenges due to their restricted size and reach; they are poorly serviced, fragmented, located on less productive soils and are lacking basic production infrastructure.

At the same time however, the phenomenon of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) has been accelerating throughout the world as well as in the Caribbean. This phenomenon has opened up a world of opportunity, especially for smaller firms, to overcome some of their traditional disadvantages and so be able to compete on more of a level playing field with their larger counterparts. Small firms now have access to affordable yet powerful ICT equipment. Moreover, in many countries, virtually all individual farmers now have access to mobile phones which are recognized tools for easing trade transactions.

During the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (Oct 2012, INFOCOMM Technologies (ICT) Ltd., facilitated a Technology in Agriculture Value Chains workshop. This consultation brought together several Caribbean agricultural value chain experts representing the major sector stakeholders together with regional ICT experts toward:

 

 

•  Determining how ICT interventions impact; regional agricultural policy and value chains, sector players (public and private), technology innovation, infrastructure, market sensing and market reach;

• Developing a coherent regional strategy and policy to marry ICTs into the fabric of regional agricultural value chains;

• Prioritising and facilitating the implementation of ICT innovations;

• Strengthening CARDI’s capacity to better respond to stakeholders’ needs regarding the relationship(s) between ICTs and agriculture; as well Caribbean stakeholders needs.