NZ rural libraries and broadband Internet
Recently Paul Reynolds talked with Jim Mora on Radio New Zealand National about Three community projects. He mentioned Kiva, a microfinance scheme; laptops for kids in Niue through the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project; and a New Zealand group called Aotearoa Peoples Network:
The Aotearoa People’s Network is about providing free access to broadband internet services in public libraries so that all New Zealanders can benefit from creating, accessing and experiencing digital content.
Paul wrote in his blog:
I love talking about this project - which is tasked to deliver fast/free Internet access, plus new machines, plus some open source community story telling software, Kete, to a growing number of public libraries in New Zealand.
The current offerings are primarily rural. There is a blog, here, which tells some interesting tales. also, a map of the project libraries, here, plus the official site is here
[Via : McGOVERN ONLINE: Three community projects with Jim Mora - Radio New Zealand National.]
Paul has links to the mp3 file of his interview.
Side note: Radio NZ has many interesting technology ’slots’. Subscribe to the podcasts to stay well-informed about what’s going on with technology and the Internet.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
August 29, 2008 No Comments
Microsoft software donations
TechSoup has come to New Zealand, bringing donations of software for community organisations:
TechSoup New Zealand provides donated software and hardware from companies such as Microsoft to eligible New Zealand Charities, Voluntary and Community Groups registered as a charitable organisation under the New Zealand Income Tax Act 2004.
If you’re still persevering with costly proprietary software — programs such as Microsoft Word — this could be very useful for your organisation.
There’s not a lot there for Mac users at the moment: 2 programs. Virtual PC which is of use only to people using older Macs that don’t have an Intel processor, and Powerpoint for those who don’t use Apple’s own Keynote.
Windows users have more than 100 programs listed.
Linux users are likely to use Open Source software anyway.
… New Zealand organisations have already begun to register and receive software donations.
There are minimum product and ordering frequency requirements for eligible organisations with charitable status. So it is important you register now and then think about what your software requirements may be over the coming year.
The software itself is donated free of charge, but there is an administration fee of only 4% of the retail value of the product. This amounts to a mere $13+GST per copy of Windows Vista (Business version), only $27+GST for Office Professional Plus 2007 and $89+GST for Windows Small Business Server 2003 Premium Edition.
[Via : CommunityNet Aotearoa.]
There are, of course, plenty of other options — we often write about them here. For many purposes you can replace Word, Excel and Powerpoint with Google Docs or Open Office, and Mac users have an excellent suite of Apple software in Pages, Numbers and Keynote.
There’s loads of Open Source software available to handle almost everything you can imagine doing with a computer, and many online web applications take the emphasis off storing and using information on isolated computers and allow greater collaboration. For example, Basecamp is an excellent online collaboration tool.
Explore Techsoup and see what it can offer. There may be something there that can save your organisation hundreds of dollars, freeing up funds for more exciting online initiatives.
August 22, 2008 No Comments
yMedia Challenge registrations close 29 June 2008
The following Media Release should interest all NZ community organisations, but note the closing date: 29 June 2008. Read on for how your group may get free media expertise in the yMedia Challenge.
Registrations are now open for students and non-profit organisations.
Registrations are now open for this year’s yMedia Challenge. The Challenge brings web generation students together with non-profit organisations to work on media and technology projects that benefit them and the communities they serve.
yMedia Director, Pamela Minett believes that there are many non-profit organisations who could benefit from being more visible on the internet, but many just don’t know where to start.
“Non-profit organisations often lack time and resources to develop an online presence. The yMedia Challenge recognises that tertiary students brought up in the web era have innate digital skills that are invaluable to these organisations. In addition to helping out a good cause, these students also gain valuable work experience which can help them get jobs when they graduate,” she says.
Initiatives for community groups undertaken last year included Facebook Flyers, Banner advertisements, Bebo pages, YouTube videos, and PayPal donation links for their non-profit organisation. One team developed a website for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome New Zealand (www.sids.org.nz).
“We’re changing the way that charities think and the way they connect with the people they need to reach. This, more than anything else, can make a difference” says Auckland University of Technology student Leah Royden.
Tertiary students enter the yMedia Challenge in teams and each team chooses a yMedia registered non-profit organisation to work with. The students then have two weeks to create a digital solution that best addresses the individual needs of the organisation.
16 teams will be selected for this year’s challenge and each will each receive $1,000 for their two week project.
A series of student and community-focused workshops will also be held before the Challenge, discussing changing technologies and the media landscape. Industry professionals from Chrometoaster, Shift, Terabyte and Xero will present on web 2.0 technologies, digital design & strategy, project management and social media. The workshops give students and community groups the opportunity to collaborate with industry professionals and learn from their experiences.
The workshops run in Auckland and Wellington between June 30th and July 10th.
Non-profit organisation registrations for the yMedia Challenge close on June 29th. Student registrations for the yMedia Challenge close on July 4th. The challenge begins on July 28th.
Non-profit organisations and tertiary students can register for workshops and this year’s yMedia Challenge at www.ymediachallenge.co.nz.
About yMedia Group
yMedia Group was established in 2007 by Pamela Minett and Adele Barlow. Its goal is to aid worthwhile projects and give people looking to work in the digital media industry some practical experience. Pamela and Adele’s vision is to maximise the positive impact of young people as change-makers through the use of media and technology.
Key supporters of the yMedia Group include InternetNZ, Microsoft and The Tindall Foundation.
Ends
For more information contact:
Nathan Champion
Relationship Manager
nathan@ymediagroup.org, 027 514 8454.Pamela Minett
Director
pamela@ymediagroup.org, 027 420 8324.
June 25, 2008 No Comments
Manage volunteers with Zoho People
Another tool that looks interesting, though I haven’t had time to explore it — Zoho People:
Zoho, best known for its suite of free productivity and collaboration online tools, a direct competitor to Google Apps, has just launched Zoho People , a free online Human Resources Management Application. It’s designed for small and medium-sized businesses, but Zoho People could be just as useful for a nonprofit that needs an efficient way to manage a workforce of volunteers.
[Via Wild Apricot Blog: Manage Your Nonprofit's Human Resources Online With Zoho People.]
March 25, 2008 No Comments
Freewellington informs about events
The freewellington Twitterbot does something interesting — it notices tweets that begin with the letters fw and then repeats them.
This means, for example, that if I happen to know about or come across a free or low cost event in Wellington I can immediately let others know about it. Anyone ‘following’ the freewellington Twitterfeed will immediately receive the information.
Here are a couple of examples from the web page:
@chillu says free opshop concert in waitangi park at 7 today …
@br3nda says This week is FAIR TRADE FORTNIGHT.. just for 2 weeks, try for fair trade coffee, sugar, chocolate, cocoa, soap, software…
@johubris says Lyall Bay is very seaweedy today, go to a different beach 03:01 PM February 23, 2008.
February 26, 2008 No Comments
