INFORMATION MANAGEMENT RESOURCE KIT (IMARK)

Introduction

The Information Management Resource Kit (IMARK) has been developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in partnership with other agencies and institutions with the common goal of strengthening information management and exchange in agencies, institutions and networks world-wide, allowing them to work together more effectively.

IMARK comprises of a series of e-learning modules and the 6th one being “Web 2.0 and Social Media for Development”. This course provides an overview of the basic concepts behind Web 2.0, social media, user generated content and social networking.

Structure & Workload

The total curriculum consists of 11 lessons, grouped into two units:

(i) SOCIAL MEDIA FOR DEVELOPMENT

Lesson 1.1: Introduction to Web 2.0 and Social Media

Lesson 1.2: Social Networking Sites and Communities

Lesson 1.3: Privacy, Intellectual Property and access to Social media

Lesson 1.4: Current Issues and New Ideas

(ii) SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS AND SERVICES

Lesson 2.1: Group Productivity and Collaboration Tools

Lesson 2.2: Hosted Services

Lesson 2.3: Subscriptions, Feeds and Syndication

Lesson 2.4: Tagging and Social Bookmarking

Lesson 2.5: Blogging and Microblogging

Lesson 2.6: Online Video and Image Sharing

Lesson 2.7: Podcasting and Online Radio

Each lesson achieves a specific set of learning objectives, using interactive step-by-step instructions and exercises which help reinforce what is being taught.

Contributing Organisations

The course curriculum was designed and developed by experts and institutions from an internationally widespread community. The main contributors and authors are from the following Organizations:

• Association for ProgressiveCommunications (APC)
• Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Full Circle Associates
• International DevelopmentResearch Centre (IDRC)
• Sulá Batsú