WIKI use in Government

This morning I learned of this Web posting, Using Wikis in Government: A Guide for Public Managers and wanted to share it here in this blog (& Ines Mergel is from the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University... & for full disclosure, yes, I'm a Syracuse grad...).  This 43 page Web accessible pdf has been published by the IBM Center for the Business of Government.  Mergel provides 9 case studies on the intra- & inter-organizational use of Wikis as well as how they can be used to engage the public.  She also addresses legal considerations, privacy and security and how to encourage participation.  This guide for the use of Wikis in government specifically references the need for public entities to use new media technologies to better model Collaboration, Transparency and Participation in government in response to President Obama's 2009 Transparency and Open Government Memorandum and the Open Government Initiative. More on these, in another posting!

Use of Social Media... by Law Enforcement

Police departments around the US are scrambling to develop rules around the use of social media for officers.  This morning's article in the NYTimes provides good examples of how social media has gotten officers in trouble & on how police departments are trying to balance First Amendment protections with the responsibility of being public officers.

What students say about barriers to use of Technology in Schools

This is a good overview of results of a survey done on almost 300,000 students (along with 43,000 parents, 35,000 teachers, 2000 librarians and 3500 administrators) from over 6500 private and public schools last fall, trying to answer the question, "What are top barriers to the use of technology in US schools today?"

Educational Resources in Celebration of the International Year of Chemistry

In Celebration of the International Year of Chemistry, STEM Weekly Chemistry has been created to help educators with a series of engaging online multimedia & video resources designed to help connect what we do & experience every day with chemical bonds & reactions.  Check out NBCLearn.com's Tools for Teachers, Inspiration for Students or NSF.gov's Chemistry & Materials Classroom Resources or see other resources available by The American Chemistry Council.  

UW-Arboretum's interactive educational site

In December 2010, the Isthmus published a story on the University of Wisconsin's Arboretum's new interactive Web site.  I made a note to check this out but hadn't done so yet.  I just did.  It's really excellent and can be a wonderful resource, whether you are a teacher, teaching about maps or geography or about plant communities... or about just how to make a Web site very interesting & highly interactive.  Check it out & enjoy.  I know I'll be watching it closely in the spring to best time visits for the magnolia blooms (especially, my favorite, the Elizabeth Magnolia).

For Minorities, new 'digital divide'

In an article published on Jan.9th Jesse Washington in The Associated Press says, "some see a new 'digital divide' emerging with Latinos and blacks being challenged by more, not less, access to technology. It's tough to fill out a job application on a cell phone, for example. Researchers have noticed signs of segregation online that perpetuate divisions in the physical world. And blacks and Latinos may be using their increased Web access more for entertainment than empowerment.

Fifty-one percent of Hispanics and 46 percent of blacks use their phones to access the Internet, compared with 33 percent of whites, according to a July 2010 Pew poll. Forty-seven percent of Latinos and 41 percent of blacks use their phones for e-mail, compared with 30 percent of whites. The figures for using social media like Facebook via phone were 36 percent for Latinos, 33 percent for blacks and 19 percent for whites.

A greater percentage of whites than blacks and Latinos still have broadband access at home, but laptop ownership is now about even for all these groups, after black laptop ownership jumped from 34 percent in 2009 to 51 percent in 2010, according to Pew.

Increased access and usage should be good things, right? 'I don't know if it's the right time to celebrate. There are challenges still there,' says Craig Watkins, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin and author of 'The Young and the Digital.' He adds: 'We are much more engaged, but now the questions turn to the quality of that engagement, what are people doing with that access.'" See a video of Craig Watkins talking about his area of research, here:

American Academy of Certified Public Managers' newsletter

The American Academy of Certified Public Managers has it's Winter 2010 newsletter, "Connections" posted, in which I was able to include a short article on Web 2.0. Please check out that article along with others in the Connections. If you too believe public sector managers should be exemplary in their use of new, online social media, and you want to make sure your state's Certified Public Manager program includes training in social media, then visit the Web site of the National CPM Consortium, look up your state's program via their link on "Member Programs" and contact the program in your state. If your state doesn't have a CPM program, the Web site for the National CPM Consortium can give you valuable information on how you might help get one started!