Learn to use mobile in your work through our online course

3 minute read

Update! We’ve extended the deadline to apply to this Sunday, 4 October. Don’t delay and apply for our course today!

We are excited to invite you to submit an application for Social Impact Lab’s upcoming online course, “Scalable, Low-Cost Technologies for Civil Society Organizations”, which will run from 06 October- 24 November 2015. You can apply here.

This is the third time we’ve run the course, and we have some exciting new features and adjustments, including expanding our language resources and better optimizing the time and formats for low-bandwidth users and working professionals.

What is the course about?

The course will guide participants through the use of FrontlineSMS and FrontlineCloud. Modules focus on using the SMS-based two-way communication platform in your programs, and participants will be directly supported to build a project portfolio of their own submitted work based on course assignments, in around 2-3 hours per week. Other topics include how to design mobile-centered or mobile-enabled projects, risk-mapping, data integrity and ethics considerations when using ICTs and mobile phones in civil society, democracy, transparency, and accountability initiatives. The course is made possible by a grant from the United Nations Democracy Fund.

Who is this course for?

The course is designed for people at small and medium organizations, primarily non-profits and NGOs focused on democracy, civic engagement, transparency and accountability. We’ve done our best to optimize the course for low-bandwidth users. However, you will need internet connectivity in order to participate in the course.

We have begun to translate some of the course resources into French! If you have French colleagues who are interested in participating in a group with you, or in watching the technical demos and completing a few resources for the course, please feel free to share with them. We are currently in the process of doing the same for Spanish, and hope to have these available soon as well.

What is the commitment?

Participants will spend about 2-3 hours each week engaging with the platform and materials, with optional online clinic hours offered twice a week for people who want to ask questions in real-time. The course will run for 7 weeks from 06 October- 24 November 2015. The first two modules run for two weeks, since it will take more time to set you up on the software than it will to teach you about new features once you get going. This also allows you to more easily integrate it into your work schedule!

To encourage participation and help cover some of the costs of the course, we’re charging a nominal fee of $50, payable through Paypal (or alternate means if this is not possible for you).

How do I apply?

Fill out our registration form by 4 October. We’ll accept 35-40 participants and will let you know the status of your application on a rolling basis.

Course Fee

If accepted, you will be sent instructions to pay your course fee of $50.00. Please don’t let cost be an inhibiting factor! We have scholarships available by request, please email courses@simlab.org for more details, or request one in your registration form here.

What if I have other questions?

You can read about the course in more depth here. If you have any additional questions, send us an email at courses@simlab.org.