Syllabus

Class 1: Introductions & Setup

2017-01-11

Project 1 - Search and Intro: Who are you? (Google Slides)

Project 2 - Account setup (Slack, Flipgrid)

Before you leave: Who do you find interesting? Who do (or would) you follow?

Before the next class: read the NTEN 9th Annual Nonprofit Technology Staffing & Investments Report.

Class 2: Nonprofit basics: internet, devices, applications, data; Personal learning workflow

2017-01-18

Project 1: Document a classmate's I.T. setup (Google Doc) 

Project 2: Document your news workflow (LucidChart)

Before the next class: Watch Using 2-step verification and Using password managers to stay safe online.

Class 3: Security; Presentations

2017-01-25

Project 1 - Use a password manager & enable two-factor authentication (e.g., Dashlane, Lastpass; an authenticator app)

Project 2 - Basic stats: speedsmart.net, en.internet.nl (DNSSEC, DNS, email)

Presentation - Topic descriptions - short description & Twitter-length; Slide setup (Google Slides)

Before the next class: Read The Charity Social Media Toolkit and How to optimize and streamline your personal information workflow

Class 4: Social media; Tracking news

2017-02-01

Project 1 - Set up 5 alerts for topics you care about (Google Alerts), configure at least 3 to send to an RSS reader (e.g., Feedly, Inoreader)

Project 2 - Find and share social media accounts of nonprofits or government agencies doing interesting things (Add response in Quip document) 

Before the next class: Read WhyWordpress.org; Explore https://18f.gsa.gov/ and Making your service accessible

Class 5: Websites; Social platforms

2017-02-08

Project 1 - Create a collection of 4 links re: effective presentations and 4 links re: effective interviewing techniques (e.g., Twitter, Pinterest, other?)

Project 2- Experiment with Wordpress.com (page with image; post with links; embed video; embed collection of interview links)

Note: Draft of 20-slide presentation due

Before the next class: Watch Dan Roam: Show and Tell.

Class 6: Images, Copyright, Video

2017-02-15

Project 1 - Stay legal: verify that all images in your presentation are CreativeCommons licensed and/or public domain (and properly attributed) or are illustrations you made.

Project 2 - Write 5 open-ended questions to ask in the video interview. 

Interview video: interview a classmate about their use of technology for school and/or work (YouTube)

Before the next class: Watch Jason King's Google Analytics for Charities webinar.

Class 7: Measurement and Metrics

2017-02-22

Project 1 - Teams of three: capture screenshots of key stats to show differences between your classmate's Wordpress site stats.

Project 2 - Create a presentation with the screenshots to compare/contrast key differences (Microsoft Sway)

Note: Obtain approval of the organization you’ll visit to do a technology profile (also: find out what donor management or other major database they use)

Note: Individual technology use video due

Before the next class: Read The Future of Work Inside Traditional Hierarchies by Jon Husband.

Class 8: Mobile device management; Backup

2017-03-01

Project 1 - Try Google Takeout to export any subset of your data you choose (e.g., contacts, files, etc.)

Project 2 - Teams of three: Add a post to your Wordpress site to describe the file and photo backup practices of your classmates. Use an appropriate CC-licensed image to illustrate each.

Note: Finalized 20-slide presentation due AND first 2 read/watch responses due

Before the next class: Enjoy the break.

Class 9: Networked organizations; Task & Project management

2017-03-15

Project 1 - Add an interesting tech thing you used/observed/learned over break to a Trello board. Then, without talking, and only with notes in the system, group the items into no more than 4 categories.

Project 2 - Review a classmate's presentation: use Google Drawings to create a GIF of at least 5 individual images to illustrate a key point you choose (See TheNounProject, emoji, How to create animated GIFs for presentations at work).

Before the next class: Read "Ten Common Mistakes in Selecting (and Managing) Donor Databases (and How to Avoid Them)" by Robert Weiner.

Class 10: Databases; Mindmapping

2017-03-22

Project 1 - Teams of three: Create a MindMap of your classmate's presentation. Show at least 3-4 key ideas, with at least 2 sub-points each. (MindMeister, Mindomo, or other mindmapping tool).

Project 2 - Teams of four: Estimate the annual cost (fees, maintenance, support) for the donor (or database) software used by the organization you'll be visiting. As a group, create and share a single image to Slack to summarize the information for the group.

Before the next class: Practice giving your presentations to other people: speak (5 min.), tweak (10 min.), repeat four times.

Class 11: Meetings; Student presentations

2017-03-29

Student presentations - set 1 

Project 1 & 2: Presentation distillation: Write your own Twitter-length summary for each presentation (share to Slack) and give a "thumbs up" to the best summary (note: not the best presentation; the best summary)

Before the next class: Look through "Illustrated Guide to Nonprofit GIS and online mapping".

Class 12: Location & mapping; Meeting

2017-04-05

(THIS CLASS SESSION WILL BE A WEB MEETING, AS I'LL BE SPEAKING AT A CONFERENCE IN OHIO.) 

Project 1: Select 5 organizations you might like to work with and obtain their main office address (Guidestar.org). Then, with a classmate, create a map that displays shows the location of these organizations, and shows the sites with distinct icons (mapping tool of your choice)

Before the next class: Complete your organizational tech use profile project.

Class 13: Distributed collaboration; Student presentations

2017-04-12

Student presentations - set 2 

Project 1: Presentation distillation: Write your own Twitter-length summary for each presentation (share to Slack) and give a "thumbs up" to the best summary (note: not the best presentation; the best summary)

Project 2: Add your own recommended changes to the course (Penflip) 

Note: Organizational technology profile due

Class 14: What's next?; Student presentations

2017-04-19

Student presentations - set 3 

Project 1: Presentation distillation: Write your own Twitter-length summary for each presentation (share to Slack) and give a "thumbs up" to the best summary (note: not the best presentation; the best summary)

Project 2: Write your own "most important" 5 tech tips. Either post to Wordpress or in a succinct Flipgrid response video. 

Note: Last 2 read/watch responses due