Online Courses

In the last decade a number of new technologies have been developed which will dramatically reshape the classroom space. A handful of teachers and educational professionals are beginning to use social media, mobile devices, video games and other innovations to enrich the learning process, but these practices are far from mainstream. This four week online certificate course is designed for classroom teachers and educational professionals alike and aims to provide them with exposure to a variety of tools and platforms that deepen dialogue and enhance curricula for face-to-face learning environments.

The Ushahidi platform is one of the best-known ICT4D application for data aggregation and processing. This three week, online course provides participants with a well-rounded introduction to the Ushahidi platform, both technical and analytical. Guest experts will lead discussions on best practices on topics such as online and offline security, report validation, and utilizing the new Ushahidi toolkits to ensure their work provides value beyond putting dots on the map. We'll be hands-on with the platform itself, with screencasts and instruction on how to receive, process, and publish reports as well as basic configurations. Graduates are not only prepared to be valuable contributors but leaders in this space.

The mobile phone is rapidly bringing communication to the most remote areas of the world. NGOs, governments and companies alike are beginning to realize the potential of this ubiquitous tool to address social challenges. This four week course will explore successful applications that facilitate economic transactions, support public health campaigns and connect learners to educational content. It will also critically engage with issues of equity, privacy and access.

New platforms of communication are revolutionizing social dynamics by democratizing access to and production of media. From Barack Obama’s youth mobilization efforts to the ongoing uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa, this course will examine how new channels of communication are being utilized and to what extent these efforts and techniques are successful or unsuccessful in a given context. It will also provide participants with strategies for maximizing the impact of new media and train them in the effective use of a range of security and privacy tools.

This four week online certificate course will explore how new communication and mapping technologies are being used to respond to disasters, create early warning mechanisms, improve coordination efforts and much more. It will also consider some of the key challenges related to access, implementation, scale, and verification that working with new platforms present. The course is designed to assist professionals in developing concrete strategies and technological skills to work amid this rapidly evolving landscape. Participants can expect a dynamic and interactive learning environment with a variety of real world examples from organizations working in the field including those involved in the humanitarian response to the Haitian earthquake.