Trip Report 2.0 - Feb 20 2009 (BLHSON)

Photos from our Learning Technology Readiness Assessment @ BLHSON.

Here's a direct link to the BLHSON set on Flickr, just in case you don't have Flash.

Trip Report 2.0 - Feb 19 2009 (Lobatse)

Photos from our Learning Technology Readiness Assessment @ Lobatse.

Here's a direct link to the Lobatse set on Flickr, just in case you don't have Flash.

Trip Report 2.0 - Feb 18 2009 (Serowe)

Photos from our Learning Technology Readiness Assessment @ Serowe.

Here's a direct link to the Serowe set on Flickr, just in case you don't have Flash.

Trip Report 2.0 - Feb 17 2009 (Gaborone)

Photos from our Learning Technology Readiness Assessment @ Gaborone.

Here's a direct link to the Gaborone set on Flickr, just in case you don't have Flash.

Trip Report 2.0 - Feb 16 2009 (Francistown)

Photos from our Learning Technology Readiness Assessment @ Francistown.

Here's a direct link to the Francistown set on Flickr, just in case you don't have Flash.

Trip Report 2.0 - Feb 13 2009 (KSDACON)

Photos from our Learning Technology Readiness Assessment @ Kanye Seventh Day Adventist College of Nursing.

Here's a direct link to the KSDACON set on Flickr, just in case you don't have Flash.

Trip Report 2.0 - Feb 12 2009 (Molepolole)

Photos from our Learning Technology Readiness Assessment @ Molepolole.

Here's a direct link to the Molepolole set on Flickr, just in case you don't have Flash.

Trip Report 2.0 - Feb 12 2009 (DRMSON)

Photos from our Learning Technology Readiness Assessment @ Deborah Retief Memorial School of Nursing.

Here's a direct link to the DRMSON set on Flickr, just in case you don't have Flash.

Trip Report 2.0 - 4 Dec 2009 (Mobile Learning & the Mobile Landscape)

Now this is cool! These are pictures of Mukota, the IT specialist in the Jhpiego/Zambia office, accessing on-line learning content using his phone. We didn't have time to go through the entire module - he's a very busy man, cleaning up viruses, solving hardware problems & such - but we did progress through a number of screens (that included some simple graphics) and even answered a few assessment items.

BTW, the phone he is using was actually purchased, along with 99 others, for use specifically in another project (in partnership w/POC-IT, the development & distribution of a digital version of the Zambian HIV/AIDS guidelines) but there's no reason it can't serve multiple purposes :) These phones are not widely available here, or at least aren't very popular, but the POC-IT software currently only runs on PalmOS devices.

While I'm at it, I might as well document some other things I learned from Mukota about the mobile environment here in Zambia...

First, there are two main providers: Zain (Celtel) & MTN. There is a third, less popular provider called Cell-Z. They all provide 3G service (which was first introduced in 2007) but only the first two offer data access. Mukota estimates that national coverage is somewhere around 60% of the geography.

Interestingly, the data access is used mostly to provide Internet access for PC's via a USB device into which the SIM card is inserted - we've used similar devices in Mozambique - because fixed-line broadband acccess is prohibitively expensive. In fact, Jhpiego apparently gives these devices to its technical staff when they travel to the field because it's the most reliable way of accessing the Internet (they can't be sure that the hotels they're staying in will have access or that there will be an Internet cafe nearby).

The most popular handset brands? Nokia (especially the Nseries) & Samsung. Apparently, the Sony-Ericssons are gaining ground, though. And there are same Blackberrys around, too.

Trip Report 2.0 - 2 Feb 2009 (Training Works!)

So, I'm headed to Zambia for a week to provide learning technology technical assistance for two projects: one focusing on male circumcision and the other on antiretroviral therapy. And it just wouldn't be right if I didn't run into someone who was working in the same field (like during my last trip to Ethiopia) or had some connection to Jhpiego. Well, it was the latter this time.

At some point, Maya (my M&E coworker) & I were boarding a plane (I guess it was the one to Zambia) and a girl in front of us who overheard our conversation turned to ask what we were going to be doing. We mentioned that we worked for an NGO at which point she asked, "Which one?" Maya said "Jhpiego," at which point I expected the blank stare of unfamiliarity I get 95% of the time.

But this was one of the 5%. The girl responded, "Oh, I'm heading to Zambia to facilitate an IUD training and I'm using some Jhpiego materials." I just had to know which ones. Working in the Global Learning department, I've become familiar with all sorts of materials that we've developed. She couldn't show me right away (because all of her things were packed away in her carry-on) but I made sure to remember to ask her once we got to Lusaka.

BTW, her name is Pratima but, silly me, I forgot to ask who she works with :P I'll make sure to get that info when I ser her next.

So, what did she have? Training Works. Check it out...

I thought that was pretty cool :) And I imagine that my Jhpiego colleagues will be pretty happy to see that our materials are being put to good use.

Trip Report 2.0 - The architecture

So, how exactly did I make this whole Trip Report 2.0 thing happen? Here's a photo of my whiteboard showing a diagram of the "architecture" (which, BTW, was pretty much made up as I went along, in a totally iterative fashion).

I've classified different components as hardware, software or platform (see the colored dots next to each item) and there are various processes & tools sprinkled between them. Here's what I used...

Hardware:

• IPEVO PoV webcam
• Canon Powershot SD 300
• Sony Ericsson phone (it was Habtamu's & I don't have model information)
  
• iPhone 3G
  

Software:

• Windows Movie Maker
• Super
• Flickr Uploader
• Twitterfeed
• YouTube/Facebook integration
• Flickr Photos (Facebook integration)
• Feedburner
  

Platforms:

• YouTube
• Gcast
• Flickr
• Blogger
• Facebook
• Twitter

As for what I did, if I was creating a video I...

1. Captured the video using my PoV webcam & Windows Movie Maker
2. Uploaded the video to YouTube (using one of the web-based uploaders), provided metadata & added it to a playlist
3. Extracted the audio to MP3 using Super
4. Uploaded the audio to Gcast (using the web-based uploader), provided metadata & added it to a channel
   

If I was capturing images, I...

1. Took the photo (duh!)
2. Transfered the photo to my computer
3. Uploaded the photo to Flickr (using the Flickr Uploader), provided metadata & added it to a set

Once I had the media in place, I embeded it into a post on Blogger. The idea was to aggregate everything in one place where I could also provide a space for comment & discussion.

As for publicizing everything, I used Twitterfeed (to post updates to Twitter) and Feedburner (to provide RSS feeds for & send emails to subscribers) with Blogger. Also, I had already set up YouTube and Flickr integration in Facebook so anytime I uploaded anything my Friends were notified that the new content was posted.

To be honest, the podcasting bit was pretty much overlooked. I created MP3s and added them to a channel so they could be subscribed to using iTunes or any other podcasting tool, but I didn't make much use of the content in that format. I guess I could have embeded them alongside the videos or at least provided a direct link to the MP3s themselves. Maybe I'll go back through the posts and do that.

Oh, and lest I forget, these platforms provide all manner of RSS feeds, so everything could be pushed and pulled in every which way, however anyone wanted. And most of the content is copyrighted CC By, so it can be accessed, repurposed & shared as desired (I feel like I might want to revisit this - I'm wondering if I need to add Share Alike, too).

If anyone has been paying attention, I hope you enjoyed this experiment :) Let me know what you think.

Trip Report 2.0 - 13 Dec 2008

Reflections from my last day in Jimma including: unprofessional content, international phone calls, opportunities, mosquitoes, regional tension, unemployment & CIA World Factbook/Google Maps mashups.

BTW, this was recorded after returning to Baltimore.

Next post in the series → Trip Report 2.0 - The architecture.

Trip Report 2.0 - Photos from Jimma

Just in case you haven't been following along with the whole Trip Report 2.0 experiment, these are pictures from our e-Learning work @ Jimma University. The photos include documentation of the: installation of the LMS with the ICT staff; demonstration of the learning content with the ICT staff & EDC representatives; discussions with the EDC representatives, ICT staff & Jhpiego PSE staff about coordination and collaboration between projects and teams as well as gathering additional requirements for assessment item banking.

Thanks to Habtamu from Addis Ababa University for documenting much of it using his mobile phone camera!

BTW, hovering over a thumbnail will display a photo title & hovering over the Notes link will display the description for the currently displayed photo.

Next post in the series → Trip Report 2.0 - 13 Dec 2008.

Trip Report 2.0 - 11 Dec 2008

Thoughts after my first full day in Jimma including: the "other" Ethiopia, neche habesha, poaching faculty, mentoring, buy-in, videoconferencing and Blogger (again!).

Correction: A more correct greeting would have been "dehna ameshachu." I'm learning more by identifying mistakes and correcting them :P

Next post in the series → Trip Report 2.0 - Photos from Jimma.

Trip Report 2.0 - 8 Dec 2008

Reflections from Addis Ababa on open source TCO in the developing world (again, but different!), negative forms in Amharic, work references and national insularity.

Corrections: Aideulleum means "it is not" not "there is not." And the Italian occupation was during WWII not WWI. Sorry about that :P

Next post in the series → Trip Report 2.0 - 11 Dec 2008.

Trip Report 2.0 - 3 Dec 2008

An introduction to the Trip Report 2.0 project and thoughts about: jetlag, changing SOWs, scheduling difficulties, coordination, (not) reinventing the wheel, open source in development work (hidden costs, TCO, philosophy), telemedicine, evaluation, iteration, changing course and rambling.

Next post in the series → Trip Report 2.0 - 8 Dec 2008.

Trip Report 2.0 - Serendipity @ 30K feet

It turns out that on the second leg of my flight, from Amsterdam to Addis Ababa (via Khartoum), I sat next to two gentleman who work for an Ethiopian NGO, Education Expertise Center, that works to strengthen primary education for underserved populations: Etefa Merga (Program Coordinator) and Aniley Amentie (Manager).



They were returning to Ethiopia after attending a workshop on monitoring and evaluation. As they explained, a lot of work had been done on improving inputs (e.g. acquiring textbooks and other resources) but they now wanted to move on to focusing on processes and outputs -- they're progressing nicely through the conceptual model :)

I explained a bit about the work we're doing with learning technology in higher education and we brainstormed on how technology might be able to support & strengthen primary education, too. If there's time, it would be great if we could meet up to talk again, share experiences and knowledge, and learn more from each other.

Next post in the series → Trip Report 2.0 - 3 Dec 2008.

Trip Report 2.0 - an experiment in social media & ICT4D

It's just too easy to attach a "2.0" suffix to everything (Web 2.0, Enterprise 2.0, Development 2.0, etc). Well, here's my newest addition -- Trip Report 2.0. The idea is simple: document my technical assistance visit to Ethiopia using social media tools. This is going to be a bit of an experiment, so we'll see how well it goes.

BTW, just so you know what's in store, I'll be working with local Jhpiego staff and various stakeholders on an ongoing e-Learning project as well as the initial stages of implementing SIFo (a web-based version of TIMS, the Traning Information Monitoring System, originally developed in Mozambique). I will be doing most of this out of the Jhpiego/Ethiopia office in Addis Ababa, but will also be making a short trip to Jimma University (one of the three e-Learning sites along with Addis Ababa & Gondar Universities).

I'm posting this from my seat on KLM flight 652 to Amsterdam, the first leg of the trip. I probably won't be back in touch until I'm settled in Addis. Until then, welcome along for the ride! :)

Next post in the series → Trip Report 2.0 - Serendipity @ 30K feet.