Dear Karen and all
Hi, I looked at the newsletter you've made. It looks great :) I especially like the top section about cooking book!! The collective effort and action by enhancing the strengths (different skills) of the people are really nicely put it in recipe style!! It’s about cooking book and collective action so the way you did it seems an excellent idea :) Since I love cooking and eating sweets and it is fundraising activity for supporting community programs, the cooking book is so attractive!! When will this newsletter be published externally and can I order one?
The timing things are happening around us is really interesting. Your sharing of this newsletter here this week has become another occasion to remind me of the importance of strength based approach. I cannot remember who it was since so many posts I read here but one person was mentioning she/he used strength based approach for her/his analysis for project plan. Last week, I had a guest lecturer for another course (evaluating social programs) and she also passionately emphasised how important to work on strengths of different people in the group. These opportunities happened closely to each other and I found this interesting :)
I also think strength based approach is really powerful to work together to achieve something and to tackle the issues. There is mutual respect among people in this approach and this creates comfortable environment to be part of. Also, people like what they do and can enjoy doing it. Although the best thing is outcome of the action matches with expectation or aim, the approach enables us to produce/experience something meaningful in the process even the outcome is not necessarily a success. I myself have actually experienced this in my life and now experiencing this in my project and other occasions too.
Thanks Karen for sharing your experience and that helped my reflection :)
Warm regards,
Hisayo
Saturday, 29 May 2010 3:06:32 PM EST http://alex-learninginaction.blogspot.com/
Hi Karen,
Thanks for the post and for the great ideas that came forth from the conference you attended! I completely forgot about podcasts, which gets me excited because it is a great medium for posting announcements, ads the number of people your message has the potential of reaching is exponential.
This is where I’m struggling even more so. The organization I’m working with wants to utilized technology but at the same time is very cautious given the fact that children are the beneficiaries of the projects and their feelings and well-beings are at stake depending on what is “spammed” across the World Wide Web or what may or may not go viral. I’m still struggling to see through some of the bureaucratic reasoning they’ve given me thus far and the overall masking terms for fear of the internet being “wild wild west.” Once the organization gets their budgetary and organizational stats in June, I myself may change directions with how I plan to engage people. I may choose to be a bit more radical and begin utilizing the Save King County 4-H Facebook page to post a message or two spurring conversations of what needs to be done and how as a collective we are going to ensure funding for another year and hopefully for years to come, given that the further I delve into the websites surrounding 4-H it is predominantly leaders, parents and former 4-H who are following the information and posting anything, where the kids are merely on the periphery. Or perhaps I can give them the information you’ve posted in this post? Who knows, I’m still working out the kinks. But again, I feel that the use of these various mediums has a time and place and may not be applicable to some community projects and action, where it may be the only way to do it in others. I’m sensing I’m heading for a balance comment …but it seems to be about balance and knowing where that middle ground is, rather than inundating people with one way of doing it, which currently happens to be the way of “technology.” I think we can all agree from the growing number of small community groups and activities that people return to what is familiar and comforting—how long until sitting in front of our computers is really that comforting?
-Alex
PS
I worked with primarily elderly individuals through my previous employer and getting them to use technology was the most difficult thing, but over the course of two years and a slow introduction we managed to get online requests, donations and e-news up and preferred by most of our constituency! It took a lot of time and effort though, and wasn’t appropriate right from the start.
Monday, 31 May 2010 10:28:43 AM EST
Hi,
Your question can be answered in the time honoured cliches of 'last not least' & 'they always pick the best last'. Was often told that one when picked at the very end for team sports at school. Honestly the things we are suppose to believe!!! The whole issue around learning new technology has been a huge learning curve for me as well, made worse by a very unstable Windows system that does some very interesting things that is shouldn't do & will require my tech to have it for at least a week.
Thanks for the info which does look very interesting. Like you I have been inspired to plod on & keep learning about IT that is available to us & overcome my fears using this pesky system. Love not fear when using IT should be something I mediate on daily before hitting the start button. Christine
Thursday, 27 May 2010 11:30:27 AM EST http://indigenouseducationinzillmere.blogspot.com/
Thanks for this information. I have been struggling to understand how using these forms of technology to communication can add value to community development work. I like the example that was given regarding the high response to the AGM announcement. At the organisation that I am a member of we always struggle to get people to AGM's, maybe we could try someting like that. It may get new people with new ideas involved.
Thanks also for your comments on my blog. I haven't read the readings you recommended yet, but I will try to before next week.
See you on Wednesday.
Cindy
Thanks for your generousity to share with us the latest discovery about use of technology for communities in this era of technology. I must say the best technology i have so far discovered in the SWSP 7123 is the Blog. I just love it, it feels like this private( yet no so private )place where you can confidently move a private concern to a public concern , step by step
cheers! Mary
Thursday, 27 May 2010 11:30:27 AM EST http://indigenouseducationinzillmere.blogspot.com/
Hi Karen and Desley
I too have been having problems all semester with posting responses from my home computer. I can only to it from uni or work. It's been a bit of a pain wanting to contribute to discussions but having to wait until I could use a computer that I could respond from. I'm going to try firefox too.
Cindy
Thursday, 27 May 2010 5:20:21 PM EST http://ugandansandfriendsunite.blogspot.com/
Some times i do have a problem accessing the uni website and that is not just the discussion board but the library, uq mail and blackboard; as for my sinet i wont even go there. It usually happens when have quite a number of windows open and i have to shut the whole system down and restart and then it works. I hope you are able to access the board. All the best Sylvia
Friday, 28 May 2010 2:50:52 PM EST http://woopigreenthumbs.blogspot.com/
Hi Karen, Cindy, Sylvia and everyone
My technology knowledge so far is one of trial and error, so I can't say for sure that Firefox is the answer to the problem but I've found since using it that I have been able to see all posts in full. The main problem seemed to be on my home computer. Like Cindy I have been able to see all the posts in full on Uni computers most of the time, but as Sylvia mentioned every now and then they haven't worked for me either.
Karen, I've attached the website which takes you straight to the Firefox web page and in the right hand corner there is a large green tab under "Get Firefox". If you click on this it will take you through the step by step process of downloading it onto your computer. You won't have to get rid of Internet Explorer, you can have both. I hope this works for you.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/switch.html
Let me know how you go Desley
Sunday, 30 May 2010 8:49:20 PM EST http://alex-learninginaction.blogspot.com/
I meant to post this the other day but time escaped me. Another good web browser with hardly any problems and an incredibly easy user interface is Google Chrome--literally GOOGLE it. It's a quick download and works with nearly every program I use. The only time I've had issues is say when updating Adobe Flash Player, it does not yet recognize Google Chrome is a viable web browser, but for all other Adobe downloads it works just fine.
I hope that didn't confuse anyone anymore. Take care and see you all later this week. If you have any questions about Google Chrome, I'll likely have my laptop with me so we can check it out then too if you have a spare moment or during our break.
Alex
Thursday, 27 May 2010 11:23:54 AM EST26/05/10 3:32 PM http://changeagenda.wordpress.com/
Talking with an injecting drug user and his family
27/05/10 10:01 PM Quest For Justice
I watched the 7.30 report tonight,Kerry interviewed Former Supreme Court Judge Ken Crispin. It was really interesting, he talks about making radical changes relating to drug use and dependency. He talks about the devastation that drug dependency has on families. He is advocating for Australia to provide drugs by subscription for dependent drug users and how doing this will have far reaching impacts including crime reduction and family stability.
Check out the full interview it makes a compelling viewing especially when it is not just from a respected member of the legal profession, but one who openly admits that he has not come to this conclusion easily, it has challenged his personal and professional opinions. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2010/s2911436.htm
Karen
Friday, 28 May 2010 12:30:53 PM Dien Reply
Useful source of information Karen, although, Australia is a different context compared with my country, it is still relevant to a certain extent. Bests Dien
Week 10
Monday, 17 May 2010 7:09:50 AM- Blog Marking Criteria http://cocoa-project.tumblr.com/
Hi Everyone,
Seeing as the end of semester is already approaching very very quickly, yesterday I thought it would be a good idea to re-read the re-structured blog marking criteria. For those of you who haven't done this already, I strongly recommend re-reading the blog marking criteria!! Looking through the list of things we are supposed to do, I could see all these things that I had not yet included in my blog. I have made a commitment to myself that over the next couple of weeks, I am going to have to spend a lot more time updating my blog, reflecting on theory, and demonstrating putting my project into action.
Do any of you lovely people have some suggestions for how I could more creatively demonstrate my project being put into action? What methods have you been using for this? Are you guys struggling with the blog marking criteria as well??
Thanks for your help! :)
Shashi
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 4:22:27 PM- My reply
HI Shashi,
Not sure if this helps you, I am having great difficulty in up loading an old dvd and new video footage that I have. But I don't let that worry me.
I have used pictures from flikr to illistrate my blog on an on going basis with all my postings as a way to be artisitc with my blog. And given that i am unartisitic I have really taken to this.
Maybe also a video of yourself with another person discussing your project - you could even do some role playing or a channel 2 Q & A style of forum with some friends - as a means to develop interest in the topic and a way to tease out what you are doing.
I hope that this is helpful in giving some ideas re creativity.
Karen
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 4:40:55 PM - Shashi reply to my reply
Hi Karen,
WOW! That is a fantastic idea about the video! I think I will try that. I too have been using pictures from around the web as a way of keeping myself interested in the blogging process. It provides a nice change from just typing things :)
All the best
Shashi
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 3:52:34 PM -Want to see something interesting?
I've just plotted the number of posts and participants for every week for the discussion board.
Anyway I'm keen for any insight this gives you. I'll look forward to hearing your feedback in the last workshop to help me make sense of this.
Lynda
Tuesday, 18 May 2010 4:15:01 PM- My Reply
Hi Lynda,
For me it is depending on the reason for the post.
1. I post cause I want to share something or cause I want to ask something.
2. I respond cause it interests me or they have asked something and I know the answer and I can offer some tips.
Since then I have whether found an interest or something i can help with.
Not sure about other peoples that is just what has occurred for me.
Karen
Sunday, 16 May 2010 11:22:16 PM-My blog isnt doing what it should http://ugandansandfriendsunite.blogspot.com/
Its interesting that stating this blog was really exciting and making connections using the blog was a new and interesting prospect. But what do you do when it all falls through the roof. I thought blogging would be an interesting tool and my connections would find it as interactive as i did but no such luck. I have sent out several emails and messages to people to get involved and so far there has been an amazingly low response. But guess what; i am taking this all in good stride and trudging on. I am now looking for new ways to interact and engage. Considering the people i am interacting with are in Uganda and the time difference is seven hours i might be awake at odd hours nagging my way through a list of connections. I am thinking of using other social networks as connecting points. Fingers and toes crossed that this will work out. Anyone with alternative methods of interacting with overseas connections i would love to hear them.
Syl
Hey Sylvia,
A suggestion on what I have done, if the responses are coming by email and people are willing to engage in a format that they are used to right now, do that. Then just cut and paste the email to you and your responses to your blog as postings.I have done this - it shows the work that is happening on the project. The interaction of them going directly to the blog instead of email will eventually come, but that is a way to connect the two technologies in the interim.
Hope this helps you
Karen
Hi Sylvia, found a diagram that shows what is happening- you are at the cross road of blogging. Kept focused and they will come
Karen
13/05/10- Engaging Young People- any tips? Hi everyone,
I'm writing to see if anyone working with youth or doing their project plans in youth-related subjects might be able to give me a few more ideas about something. A friend of mine (who lives in the same small town as me) is working in the local youth centre.
I'd really like to hear about people's experiences in working with and engaging young people, and any suggestions you can offer on this!
Desley http://woopigreenthumbs.blogspot.com/
15/05/10- My Reply
Hi Desley,
Engaging with young people can be trick this is true. As a starting point your friends group should determine ‘what the aim of having young people involved is?’
Hi Desley,
Engaging with young people can be trick this is true. As a starting point your friends group should determine ‘what the aim of having young people involved is?’
Once they know what they are aiming to achieve they can narrow down (in the beginning) what who and how.
If this was me I would start with targeting the young people who are already actively involved in participating with the community- student council members from the schools. These young people already contribute to their community, they work hard, they are reliable, consistent and they are the first step into engaging with all youth.
If the groups aim is to engage disconnected youth the opportunity for these young people up to develop ways to engage with youth who are disconnected is a growing area for them and the adults to work through together- this can be a powerful experience.
In getting disengaged youth to participate this is a slow and needs to be more fluid process. Outside issues will often take precedent over coming to a meeting. It is not that they are not interested or not wanting to engage, but in context planning a band nite may not be important when you have been given another fine and are unable to pay it.
And the most important tip for starting to engage with youth – having them as part of the planning “what is in it for them?’ Free food is a great place to start talks, pizza and coke to discuss who’s interested. It is also a good way to keep them engaged as a bit of fun with the work.
It needs to a mixture of fun and work – can not just be one way as the young people targeted usually are over committed time wise already.
I hope this is helpful. Let me know how it goes.
Karen
Saturday, 15 May 2010 1:01:09 PM EST
Hey Karen,
Thanks, that was really helpful. To be honest I'm not entirely sure what the centre's aim is, but I'll talk to them further to find out. I think, at a guess, they are trying to target kids who don't have a lot to do and tend to wander the streets at night. But your ideas re: disadvantaged or culturally diverse young people are really valuable, as the centre may have them in mind. I think the idea of targeting already active young people sounds great, and as Cindy and Sitika I think mentioned, speaking with people who have connections to culturally diverse youth, and connecting with people who already have relationships with young people could be helpful. Thanks again.
Desley
WEEK 9
06/05/10- Collaborative use of strategies http://web.me.com/andri.nasution/thisisourjourney/Welcome.html
Hi All,
I want to share with you my frustration with blog this week.
As I've mentioned in my earlier thread last week, it's been some times that I didn't do anything with my blog. So, when I had time to do so, I was so excited with everything I want to put in there. For your info, I'm using the iWeb 09 application, a build in software on my mac.
As I put pictures and embedded video on my blog, the size of the website become too large. Some of my friends have raised complaints on how difficult it was for them to open my site. To resolve the problem, I did some google to find out how to compress the size of my website. So, I found a shareware software (the full version costs US$ 49!) that can do this. The trial version works but only to compress 70% of the website. Anyway, it's worth to try rather than leaving my potential readers away.
In getting disengaged youth to participate this is a slow and needs to be more fluid process. Outside issues will often take precedent over coming to a meeting. It is not that they are not interested or not wanting to engage, but in context planning a band nite may not be important when you have been given another fine and are unable to pay it.
It needs to a mixture of fun and work – can not just be one way as the young people targeted usually are over committed time wise already.
I hope this is helpful. Let me know how it goes.
Karen
Saturday, 15 May 2010 1:01:09 PM EST
Hey Karen,
Thanks, that was really helpful. To be honest I'm not entirely sure what the centre's aim is, but I'll talk to them further to find out. I think, at a guess, they are trying to target kids who don't have a lot to do and tend to wander the streets at night. But your ideas re: disadvantaged or culturally diverse young people are really valuable, as the centre may have them in mind. I think the idea of targeting already active young people sounds great, and as Cindy and Sitika I think mentioned, speaking with people who have connections to culturally diverse youth, and connecting with people who already have relationships with young people could be helpful. Thanks again.
Desley
WEEK 9
06/05/10- Collaborative use of strategies http://web.me.com/andri.nasution/thisisourjourney/Welcome.html
Hi All,
I want to share with you my frustration with blog this week.
As I've mentioned in my earlier thread last week, it's been some times that I didn't do anything with my blog. So, when I had time to do so, I was so excited with everything I want to put in there. For your info, I'm using the iWeb 09 application, a build in software on my mac.
But in the process of uploading the compressed files onto the server, an error occurred. As a result, I lost all the comments that I've been receiving from my readers. That's a disaster. I tried many things to retrieve them back and google for some way around this but none worked.
Until I remember that I was actually have a backup of the iWeb file on my Time Machine (a build in backup application on every Mac). I managed to see most of the comments that have been downloaded from the server into my hard drive. However, it was impossible to upload them since I don't have any idea in which particular file those comments are stored. Therefore, I just took the screen captures of those comments and posted them into the new website as comments.
So, friends. You'll never know what's going to happen. Technology might offer you the best and easiest way to share the wisdoms of your projects and your thoughts. But, I'd suggest that you also make backup of your invaluable entries and comments you received. Just in case.
Have a nice day ^_^
Cheers,
Andri
08/05/10 My Reply
OMG TCF
Is there any other way to start a reply to this but that. I think I would have been devastated and unsure as to where or what to do had that happened to me. I have just spent 20 mins copying all my post into a word document as a quick back up system.
And whilst I feel horrible for you I am thankful that I get to benefit from your misfortune and use your experience to cover my own Blog.
It sounds like it has been a long slow process to get things back together. Good luck with it.
Karen
06/05/10 -Language Exchange
Meetings with various UQ staff have made it evident that I am not the first person to attempt to create such an exchange. The current lack of existence of such programs may indicate they were a failure or short-term projects. I plan for my networking group to take an online format. It is worth acknowledging that I was advised that these previous groups took the format of a weekly meeting. An official UQ group run by the Faculty of Business Economics and Law currently exists and is called “Chat Mates”. According to their webpage this group invites UQ students to: “Come join us for some friendly conversation, get to know people from all over the world, new and returning students and discover the wonders of the Aussie slang”. It is also worth acknowledging how language exchanges in the UQ area have been and will continue to be organised in an informal manner.
Richard
08/05/10 My Reply
Hi Richard,
It sounds like you have got a very good plan happening. It is most definitely beneficial to review what others have tried, both the success and the failures. It is a source of much learning of helping us to make decisions on how to proceed.
Now having said that I am going to a lot right field in my linking of your project and something i have recently read. I came across an article by James D Wolfensohn http://ppm.goinfo.com ( Presidents & Prime Ministers; Jan/Feb 1998; 7, 1; ABI/INFORM Global) , when he was the President of the world bank. His article is about Social Inclusion.
Wolfensohn states where ever he has gone people want the same things; the best for their families, security both economic and physical. He goes further to say that ' We all want to live in a supportive community. We all want personal dignity' (Wolfensohn p10). And that is exactly what the group you are developing will do, create the supportive community with the focus of developing language skill for people who are interested in engaging.
Good luck with it all
Karen
WEEK 8
28/04/10- Collaborative use of strategies http://megumi-cdproject.blogspot.com/
Hi all, I am so relieved I have finished my project plan on time, thanks to Lynda’s generous grant for extension. My project plan turned out to be slightly different from the project proposal in order to increase the originality of the project. I am proposing two projects to be used collaboratively, in order to respond to the urgent need for a change in my focused issue, that is, the existing health inequalities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-indigenous people in Australia. As the first plan, I will be exploring and taking every opportunity to hold/attend events where I present this particular issue, and encourages people to take collective actions through signing petitions, and deepening the understanding of the issue. As you probably remember, I have held the National Close the Gap Day as a part of my project plan. On top of that, I have been attending various festival and forums as well.
Meg
29/04/10 My Reply
Hi Meg,
I know what you mean. I also need the extra time. But I also ended up a long way from where I thought I was when I began writing the plan.
The ideas that I had and what I thought I was achieving. Which I think is great cause it is true community action. The plans we have in our head and what we think is going to happen, and as social workers we need to have this skill. But as community workers - engaging in the community and encouraging them to take action into their own hands.
Good on you, and good luck with it. Talk to you soon- also check your blog I have written some stuff and have an idea for you.
Karen
WEEK 3
17/03/10- INTEGRITY WATCH
Dear classmates
As the day for handing in the proposal nears, my brain, i guess mixed with love and a bit of anxiety has been working overtime. As you may have noticed from last week's discussion its has been my passion to see a system that encourages integrity to all its members of its society. I envision our education system embrace this idea. At this particular moment this is the ideal and the real situation on the ground is another story.
To be a bit realistic i think that the formal education system is quite particular and to navigate it inorder for this idea to be embraced will require some time and patience.So i thought to myself why not target citizens who are passionate about integrity and from there strategise how we can inspire our work policies and our education policy. I would assume that private schools and schools run by religious organisations would be easy to target, however this remains to be seen.Integrity might mean different things to different people. My definition for now is 'doing the right thing even when no humanbeing is watching. guys do you think am moving from ideal to reality?
mary and kind regards
17/03/10 My Reply
Hi Mary,
Can I say yes and no to your question.
Yes because you are beginning to formulate a plan about how to go about engaging with the this community. And you have identified some aims of what you want to work on- policies re work and education.
My no is not a negative but a positive I believe is important given your project and that is that it is because it is a project that is idealistic. The people you are looking to target will be idealistic - having the passion and intergrity is the basis of their reason to become involved.
I believe having ideals will be important to hold the project true to the intergrity you aim to achieve.
Hope this is helpful at least a little.
Karen
17/03/10-Environment Awareness/ Recycling Groups in Brisbane http://carpoolinguq.blogspot.com/
Hi Team,
I'm looking to join an existing community/ group regarding environmental issues/ recycling/ reusing etc. I've checked through google groups, yahoo groups etc with the only result being the Climate Action Group, which doesn't seem to have any recent activity (like since 2007!)
If anyone has any tips on where to contact groups, knows of anyone etc can you please let me know.
Many thanks
Rob
17/03/10My Reply
Hi Rob,
Ann Ellis ann.ellis@optusnet.com.au
This is the email to Ann who is the secretary for Angligreen. They are a community action group for the Anglican church that works on environmental issues on local level for the church, schools and their welfare services. They do a great job in distributing information. they are currently looking also to work with our employment services to set up a project to look at how they can work together.
Hope this information is helpful.
Karen
WEEK 2
10/03/10- Swimming in deep waters :-) http://ugandansandfriendsunite.blogspot.com/
Hey guys,
Had a good session today. I dont know whether my head is buzzing with ideas or i am failing to get a focus. I am thinking of changing my topic to community based approaches to fighting corruption in Uganda. I realise it might be hard because it is a project that would be done here but effected overseas. My back ground has been in in social work and i worked with a government anti corruption agency in uganda for 9 years before i came to persue my masters. I got a little disillusioned by the top down approach we were using to fight corruption, it was effective in reducing the problem but we were missing an important part of the puzzle, the people. The communities did not recognise their responsibility as the owners and monitors of public resources. Just before i left i got into sesitisation and education of communities and their response was amazing, their desire to be more involved in fighting corruption and misuse of their resources was refreshing.
I would appreciate any feedback or direction and ideas on this because i feel like am wading in deep waters
Sylvia
10/03/10 My Reply
Hi Sylvia,
That sounds like a great idea what you have proposed in this posting. I think you have identified your best resource the people of Uganda. They are the experts, are you able to get ideas from them of what they think would be the most effective methods to deal with corruption?
Given that they are the ones who will be following through the action it is important that they own the methods that these action will be delivered.
Karen
10/03/10-Thanks to the 'Youth' Group http://littleoneliberated.wordpress.com/
Thanks also to Lynda. You're doing a really great job and it is so refreshing to have a teacher who understands the benefits of interactive, democratic learning, especially at a sandstone university.
Kate
10/03/10 My Reply
Hi Kate,
Thats great to hear that you have come up with a clearer vision on how to engage the community for your project. Great commitment from you to come that fvar for class- but it does give you great time to just think about things.
This is a very sensitbive issue as we discussed in our group today- especially when we got on to rights of parents versus the child rights today. In keeping with this I did not mention that most parents do want to be good parents, but make bad choices, this can be for numerous reasons. Engaging parents can be difficult as it is a issue that all parents face (even the best parents in the world)- am I good parent?
Not a small task to discuss issues of child abuse by parents. How it all goes well. Catch you next week.
Karen
