Nonprofit Online Learning: LINGOs, ItrainOnline, STEP

From time to time, Mission to Learn spotlights organizations that are engaged in mission-driven online learning initiatives. Our definition of “online learning,” it should be remembered, is expansive: It includes using the Web as a tool to effectively focus and organize learning materials that may ultimately be used offline. Here are three internationally-focused initiatives to note:

LINGOs
LINGOs (Learning for International Non-Governmental Organizations) is a consortium of international humanitarian relief and development agencies – including well-known names like Habitat for Humanity, Care, the Nature Conservancy, and Save the Children – working in collaboration with companies and associations to provide technology-assisted learning support aimed at alleviating poverty around the world and effectively responding to emergencies. The group has assembled an impressive list of partners from the online learning industry and provides member organizations with free access to a learning management system featuring donated online learning content from Rosetta Stone, CertiLearn, Mind Leaders, Microsoft and other corporate sponsors. Just as importantly, LINGOs supports information exchange through a vibrant community of practice, provides opportunities for e-learning professionals to volunteer, and advocates the development of standards for online learning content and learning management tools.

ItrainOnline
Similar to, though less American-centric than LINGOs, ItrainOnline is a joint initiative of eight international organizations with expertise in computer and Internet training in developing countries. OneWorld.net, referenced elsewhere in this blog, is among the group of participating organizations, as are UNESCO and the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD). The stated aim of the initiative is “to assist civil society organizations (CSOs) and other development actors in developing countries to confront the challenges posed by new information and communications technologies (ICTs). In seeking to overcome skills gaps in development, it connects people and know-how with the needs of ICT learners and trainers.”

The ItrainOnline site provides well-cataloged access to a variety of resources available across the Web, some of which represent interactive online learning experiences, but many of which simply represent good knowledge, tips, or support tools for trainers or  individuals making use of  ICT in their homes and communities.

STEP
The Sustainable Technology Education Project, or STEP, is an initiative of Practical Action, formerly known as the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG). Rooted in the work of E.F. Schumacher, author of the alt-economics classic
Small Is Beautiful, STEP “aims to increase people’s awareness of sustainable technology, enabling them to recognise the economic, environmental and social impacts of their own technology choices.” Similar to the ItrainOnline site, the STEP site is focused not so much on delivering interactive online learning activities, but in using the Web to provide well-organized knowledge resources—most in the form of downloadable PDFs—that can be used in teaching situations. The case studies that the organization has collected and will presumably continue to add to over time are particularly effective and are easily reviewed online or printed for classroom or individual use. STEP’s audience is primarily design and technology teachers in the United Kingdom, but the intended impact is global. Like ItrainOnline and LINGOs, STEP and its parent organization, Practical Action, view technology as a tool to help fit poverty and mitigate the consequences of disasters in the developing world.

JTC

Books referenced in this posting:

No related posts.

posted on July 17, 2007