Group items tagged

Blended Learning, which combines online distance learning and traditional classroom education for K-12 discussed in this article, has potential, but needs help to reach its "full potential".  My favorite quote in the article is: " 'There is a significant risk that the existing education system will co-opt online learning as it blends it into its current flawed model-and just as is the case now, too few students will receive an excellent education,' the report states."

CRM and the ipad... google anyalytics is just the beginning, as this blogger points out.

This article explains how a database helps your organization save more then just money. Databases bring potential fundraising and more program control. It will alow your organization to grow and is a great way for communication. So a database is more then just saving on money and paper.

This is a nice list of useful cutting edge mobile tools. Mobile web seems to have the most immediate impact potential in the sector for 2011. I personally like bump with lets you share contact lists instantly. There is so many new mobile applications coming out that you need to hunt.

Mobile is where all the growth is

Government CIOs say that the iPad is making them more productive and efficient, and also has potential to change how technology is delivered to government employees and the citizens they serve. date e-published:  Nov. 16, 2010

A promising report on a potential reduction in spam traffic. I'm very under impressed on any supposed actions to reduce spam so far. My opinion is that email boxes are exactly backwards because every company believes it is an imperative function. No, I believe every email should require a pre-authorization which big business will fight to the end.... This strikes me as politically motivated

Article about government review of potentially costly It projects and there chance for success.

A new report out from the Nonprofit Technology Network and M+R Strategic Services concludes that NP's have a lot of work to do when it comes to making a presence on social media sites. The 2011 'eNonprofit Benchmarks Study" found that NP's had only around 110 Facebook fans and 19 Twitter followers for every e-mail subscriber. Small organizations will need to be apart of social networking in the near future and there looks to be great potential for growth. Working with a small-consulting firm, I found that utilizing social media is a quick and easy way to inform clients on up-to-date news and activities.

substantive new report out from the Knight Foundation that is worth attention: Connected Citizens: The Power, Peril and Potential of Networks.  The report notes: *It's important to listen to and consult the crowd in our work *We should create environments where connections can naturally form, including between people with different perspectives *It's good practice to support collective action so grassroots efforts can grow So how can nonprofits embrace these practices? 

This article focuses on the pitfalls of poor selection practices. Many of these are similar to poor management practices in general. A link to a list of potential vendors is also included....

The Microsoft Unlimited Potential Blog discusses important themes from from the 2011 Nonprofit Technology Conference. It will be interesting to look back on this later and see just how much things have changed.

The Michigan State Police have a handful of portable machines called "extraction devices" that have the potential to download personal information from motorists they pull over, and the ACLU would like to know more about them. "The problem, as the ACLU sees it, is that accessing a citizen's private phone information when there's 'no probable cause could create a violation of the Constitution's 4th Amendment', which protects us against unreasonable searches and seizures."

MSP Statement in response to news stories on April 20, 2011 The implication by the ACLU that the MSP uses these devices "quietly to bypass Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches" is untrue, and this divisive tactic unjustly harms police and community relations.

This looks to be a really interesting way to get people connected with Nonprofits. Using your Facebook account, you hook up with Jumo to connect to organizations you care about, and maximize your potential in doing work for them. Founded in February 2010 by one of the founders of Facebook itself, Jumo is still a work in progress. It appears to be a really streamlined way to get involved, and would be an excellent way to get volunteers for any organization.

This article discusses the changes being implemented into the nonprofit sector in the technology area. New technologies are being used to assist in accomplishing the organization's mission statement as well as using funding to its greatest potential and maximizing funding coming in. "In a release, Kristen Fulks, Blackbaud principal consultant and another co-author of the paper, said that 'We think it is very important to share fundraising technology trends with the nonprofit community, yet the fundamentals familiar to any fundraiser still apply,' she said. 'With the ever-demanding challenges of the economy and other influences, it is even more critical to get donors engaged faster, rather than just using technology for technology's sake.'"

This article reveals a potential source for NPO's to recieve discounts on professional services above and beyond what our professor spoke of, like advertising, for example.

Far too many NGOs are relying on Facebook and Twitter to get connected with donors, and its time that we try to break out of this two-party system. There are millions of potential donors, volunteers, or just concerned people to rely only on the "usual suspects." I personally find the team focus for fundraising to be the most interesting, and probably most-effective for getting people involved and raising large amounts of cash. Make it highly visible, and make it competitive, and people can have a lot of fun doing the right thing.

Technology is increasingly important to the American Red Cross. We are an old organization proving we can learn new ways of doing good. Our ultimate goal is to empower the American public to get help or give help during emergencies. A healthy dose of passionate people, tools, and gadgets are required to do this effectively.  

Food shortages and distribution issues have become a major problem in the aftermath of the tragic earthquake and tsunami in Japan. In many areas, supermarket shelves are empty, particularly as people stock up on food and other items as they face uncertainty around the nuclear situation in the country.

Microsoft Community Affairs and TechSoup recently hosted a webinar focused on how moving to the cloud can benefit nonprofits.

There is a growing volume of literature that points to the potential for small technology-based firms to achieve substantial employment growt.