Web 2.0 Learning Opportunities: My experience

On the 13th July 2012, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) in collaboration with two local institutions namely the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius and the Food and Agricultural Research Council (FARC) launched the opening ceremony for Web 2.0 Learning Opportunity seminar. Two sessions of 25 participants had the opportunity to benefit from this workshop. The second session was conducted from the 23rd till 27th July and I consider myself lucky to form part of this team.

Our mentors for this 5 day trail on Web 2.0 were:

• Mr K Boodhoo from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius
• Mr C Sembhoo from the Food and Agricultural Research Council (FARC)

Ms Nawsheen Hosenally acted as a facilitator. 

All three designated persons were well versed with the subject matter.Their energiser exercise re-boosted us after our heavy lunch. The class was very animated with the different videos projected on the web 2.0 tools.  Something which I have learnt during this workshop but which was not web 2.0 related was the democracy wall. Twice during the day each one of us were asked to write on 3 of 5 criteria set. They were:

• What I felt
• What I noticed
• What I discovered
• What I suggest
• What I learned

We were also asked to write on meta-cards. This was done each time a new tools was explained to us.

The ice breaker session held in the CITS Lab 1 on Monday 23rd morning was critical for each one of us.  During this brief activity we had an insight of the people with whom we were going to interact during the whole week. The majority of us were people belonging to local agricultural institutions and hence our field of interest were more or less the same. All of us were here for a common goal; what is Web 2.0 all about and the thrill of learning were be seen on everyone face.

The first question which we were asked was who has never heard about the internet. Then the mentor moved on to websites and search engine. All of us positively answered  using these tools in our day to day activity. Classroom discussion about the differences between web 1.0 and web 2.0 was made. Everyone came to the conclusion that web 2.0 allows a two-way communication as opposed to web 1.0. Hence the interactive interface.

Several web 2.0 tools were shown to us and I will briefly state what I have gathered from some of them and how I will mostly probably use it.

Advanced Search and Google Alerts

I have been using Google search extensively ever since my BSc days. I recall spending lots of time on Google just to get updated articles as opposed to our university library. But even then many of my search were not fruitful.

With the Advanced Search and Google Alerts which I had the opportunity to practice during the workshop and during my own time, searching for key information will be considerably reduced.  Moreover, when using the usage rights of a document, the risk of plagiarism is definitely minimised.

RSS
RSS which stands for Really Simple Syndication was new to me. I had only seen the orange icon on certain website and did not know how to use it.  Well, RSS is a very powerful tool in itself. There is no need for one to check updates on his/her websites of interest. Instead I will just have to check my Google Reader account. Updates from my websites are   feed directly and upon a single click I will be able to access the required information.  

                                                         Source: Youtube

Google Docs
I have heard about Google docs before coming to this workshop. But I was not aware of its immense power and how to use it. After attending this seminar, I am now able to create my own documents and forms. Submitting surveys online will definitely allow me to save precious time so far that the respondents are computer literate and have access o the internet. Communicating with my seniors and getting their comments on one worksheet is very helpful. Paper work is considerably reduced. As for others like presentation and drawing, I will have to practice same on my own. Moreover, I will also be able to contribute to a greener work environment because with Google Docs, I will definitely use less paper at work.

Other Tools

The other tools which I discovered and used during this workshop are igoogle, google maps, micro-blogging/twitter. All three have their own specifications.  Skype, facebook and linkedin are tools which I have learnt to use on my own before the workshop and has been intensively using same. But there are additional features which I discovered like group video. Unknowningly, I have been using web 2.0 tools since sometime time now.

My Concluding Remarks on this workshop

Throughout these five day training I have noticed the immense potential of web 2.0 tools in agriculture. But without practice, it will definitely take time. According to me, the web 2.0 tools offer a great possibility to add value to local agriculture which is on the decline right now. Youngsters in Mauritius are not really willing to join this sector. Their focus is mainly on white collar jobs in the banking or IT sector. Because many private companies are often indulged in research activities, I would recommend that senior members of these institutions attend the same course. They will then realise how important sharing of information with other bodies help.  I will even go further to say that job creation for youngters is possible in every agricultural company locally. To attend to Tweets and queries, update information on wiki  which can be time consuming, companies can consider employing people with agricultural background and who are well versed with these tools.

Innovate or evaporate!

My first post

Que fait le centre d’expérimentation d’Albion ? Le dernier rapport de l’Audit a recommandé sa fermeture ou sa privatisation. Le ministre de l’Agro-industrie et de la sécurité alimentaire Satish Faugoo a effectué une visite à Belle-Vue Experiment Station, à Albion, pour un état des lieux et prendre connaissance des travaux de recherche et de développement entrepris conjointement par une équipe comprenant des techniciens chinois et mauriciens.


Les projets et les activités du centre d’expérimentation d’Albion portent sur la production de canetons destinés aux éleveurs, l’insémination artificielle (porc et chèvre), la culture de légumes hydroponiques ainsi que la production de semences. Ces projets font partie du programme de coopération Maurice-Chine qui remonte à plus de quatre décennies.

Intervenant lors d’un point de presse précédant la visite guidée, Satish Faugoo, tout en faisant référence au dernier rapport de l’Audit, a rappelé que “malgré les coûts, il est dans l’intérêt de l’industrie locale de préserver les intérêts des petits éleveurs”.“Au fait, nous sommes confrontés à deux écoles de pensée : l’une affichée par l’Audit préconisant la fermeture et la privatisation de la station d’Albion ; l’autre veut la survie de celle-ci. Or, la fermeture ou la privatisation aura des répercussions sur les petits éleveurs. Les intrants qui coûtent cher mettront les petits éleveurs hors-jeu. Cet aspect surpasse l’aspect économique”, a précisé Satish Faugoo. Il avance l’argumentation qu’en dépit des coûts, il est nécessaire pour l’industrie locale de préserver les intérêts des petits éleveurs. “Leurs intérêts  doivent primer devant une éventuelle privatisation.”