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Dear Ian,
As someone with an interest in voluntary and community sector ICT we hope you find our monthly London ICT e-bulletin useful. You can also forward it to a colleague or unsubscribe at any time.
Just launched: Lasa’s new UK wide advice service
A new version of our rightsnet website, the UK's number one source of the most up to date, high quality welfare benefits and tax credits information online, launched on June 16. In addition, rightsnet will now also offer breaking news about community care, debt, employment and housing law, sourced direct from government and leading charities specialising in these areas. Best of all, this new part of the site is free - you don’t need to subscribe.
Join in the discussion
In the Bulletin we will normally have one or two discussion points which can be followed up by Bulletin subscribers over on the Knowledgebase Forums - we encourage all Bulletin subscribers to join in and take forward the ongoing debates.
Knowledgebase Poll of the month
What experience do you have of online meetings? Vote now over on the Knowledgebase.
Lasa Information Systems Team
In this London ICT e-bulletin for June 2010:
Security mentoring, text donations, iHobo controversy, Race Online, revive your PC with Ubuntu
events, training and learning
Fundraising, digital exclusion, communications strategy, IT volunteering, IBM masterclasses, NetSquared, Ubuntu in business, e-Access, digital rights, open source, data protection, circuit riders, Civil, Society IT
funding and awards
Loans for PCs, internet awards, Children In Need
resources, legal and accessibility practical tips tools and applications opinion discuss
Charity security experts discuss mentoring scheme Variations in amounts of text donations Homelessness app a runaway success but... Revive that (f)ailing PC!
events, training & learning
21 June - Fundraising for technology projects - Kensington Town Hall, London W8 23 June - Tackling Social Exclusion Through Technology: Delivering Digital Inclusion - Central London, 09:10 - 16:00 Up £165 half day, £185 whole day. This forum will offer delegates the opportunity to take the debate beyond the existing legislative framework and have an opportunity to discuss how we can work together to drive up digital participation and put an end to the digital divide. 6 July - NetSquared Net Tuesday - This month, Net2 London - Salesforce and Google apps, introduced by Stony Grunow, Third Sector IT @ venue tbc. Sign up for Net Tuesday 13 July - e-Access ’10: technology for all @ Olympia 2 Conference Centre, London - The UK’s leading conference on access to technology by people with disabilities. Find out more about e-Access ‘10: technology for all. 27 July - Open Source - business opportunity and moral imperative..? @ NCVO, London, N1, 15:00 - 17:30 - This Institute of Fundraising Technology Group meeting examines the practicalities of moving away from proprietary to open source systems. 6 September - Data Protection and Communications for the Voluntary Sector @ NCVO, London, N1 - Not understanding or complying with Data Protection can put organisations at both financial and reputational risk. This conference will set out what you need to know to ensure that your organisation does not fall foul of the law and to enable you to apply best practice throughout your organisation in all your communication channels. More details from NCVO. 18 Nov - Civil Society IT Conference 2010 @ QEII Conference Centre, London SW1P - The fifth annual conference returns to get to grips with how the land lies ahead for small and large charities and what technologies and trends IT managers should be focusing on. Find out more from Civil Society IT IBM Skills Masterclasses for Charities The series of Masterclasses is: IBM strongly encourage organisations to send two representatives to a workshop, so there is then some mutual understanding and support within an organisation to ensure that the learning is applied to real projects. There is usually a maximum of 12 organisations / 24 participants, to ensure a high quality, high staff to learner ratio. An IBM ‘buddy’ is assigned to pairs or small groups for the day to maximise the learning opportunity. Please note that attendance is restricted to one only of the six workshops. They are happy to put people who have successfully booked / attended a workshop on a wait lists but will prioritise those who have not attended a workshop already. All the Masterclasses take place at IBM, 76 Upper Ground, South Bank, London, SE1 9PZ and run from 9.30 (for 10.00 start) to 3.30 - 4.30. Lunch is provided. Detailed session information and booking for courses. Idealware online seminars ICT Champions Events Calendar Event/training organisers - if you are planning an event please send us brief details so we can include it in the e-Bulletin by emailing ictbulletin@lasa.org.uk funding and awards Loans for low energy computers Internet award scheme launched resources, legal and accessibility NCVO ICT resources
Accessibility in the news Spiceworks hits a million Facebook changes branded 'unacceptable' Making iPad apps accessible to disabled users could be a legal duty, says BSI Related Knowledgebase articles:
32 or 64 bit? Ubuntu beginners' guide and manual ICT Champions answers in a box Related Knowledgebase articles:
Go to top Microsoft to release charity CRM in the UK
Office 2010 - a first look Microsoft Office Web Apps Goes Live Who's using all the paper and ink in your printer? Online backups
ICT for development workers
Does the Internet Make You Dumber/Smarter? Kill accessibility Related Knowledgebase articles:
Are you going to be rushing to upgrade to Office 2010? Or will you stick with an earlier version? Maybe you are using OpenOffice or another office package.
Create a Geocities website!
NCVO resources, accessibility news, green ICT handbook, Spiceworks, Facebook privacy issues, iPad apps
32 or 64 bit, tips from Atlanta, Ubuntu guide, computer replacement, slow PC
Microsoft charity CRM, Office 2010, Office web apps live, monitoring printer usage, online backups compared
ICT for development workers, internet intelligence debate, killing off accessibility
Office 2010
The Charities Security Forum is considering the creation of a mentoring scheme to give smaller charities access to the security expertise of larger organisations, Civil Society IT reports.
BECTA to close
The new coalition government has announced that BECTA, the education ICT quango will close, reports the Guardian.
Third Sector reports that new figures show that the proportion of money mobile phone operators pass on to charities from text donations varies between 80 and 95 per cent. Research by the Text Donation Campaign Group reveals a disparity between the fees on donations of £1, £1.50, £3 and £5.
Civil Society IT reports that iHobo, the controversial iPhone app produced by homelessness charity Depaul UK, has received more than 100,000 downloads and recently topped the iTunes download chart for free apps. Critics of the app which uses push notifications to alert the user when the iHobo needs food or support have argued the concept and name is demeaning.
Help to get digitally excluded online
Race Online is aiming to get the UK's digitally excluded online. As part of this there is a Pass IT on project for people to encourage their family and friends to get online. There are resources on the Pass IT on website.
If you need to revive a limp and unmanageable WinXP/Vista PC or laptop with a summer-fresh installation of the open source Ubuntu operating system, just drop it off at Fossbox's workshop - they're currently offering Ubuntu refurbs for £40 (email info@fossbox.org.uk for info or an appointment).
The London ICT champion will be presenting a workshop on getting started with fundraising for technology projects at KCSC's 2010 Funding Fair. Book your place at the Fair.
24 June - Fit for the Future Conference: Developing a Communications Strategy in a Changing World @ St Albans Centre, London, EC1
This conference will be showing you how your organisation can develop a strong, relevant communications strategy using critical, political, technological and socio-economic intelligence. £170 for small organisations. Book for Fit For The Future
2 July - iT4Communities - IT volunteering and mentoring - afternoon seminar 1:30 - 5:00pm - South Bank, London. An informal and informative afternoon as part of the iT4C mentoring project for IT volunteers, the community organisations that use them, and the mentors who support them.
Book your free place.
2 July - IBM Masterclasses commence -see below
13 July - Ubuntu in Business - 1:00 - 5:00pm at The Brickhouse, 152c Brick Lane, E1- Learn about how Ubuntu is being deployed in the UK and how you can introduce Ubuntu safely and effectively within your organisation. All welcome - especially non-techies!
The event is free but you'll need to book over at Eventbrite.
24 July - Digital Rights Conference - 10:30am - 6:00pm @ College Building, City University, St John St, EC1 - Organised by Open Rights is holding a one-day conference. Free if you join or are a member of the Open Rights group, otherwise £5 or £10. Book at Eventbrite.
28, 29 September - Lasa National Circuit Rider Conference @ Garden Museum, London, SE1 - the sixth annual conference for circuit riders and voluntary sector ICT support and development workers - more details in next e-bulletin or at the UKRiders site.
The IBM Skills Masterclasses are targeted at staff, committee members or volunteers from small to medium sized charities. Each one-day workshop is based on quality resources that have been thoroughly tried and tested with charities delivered by teams of IBM volunteers, some of whom are subject matter experts in the topics – but all of whom are very approachable and committed to ensuring that you get the most out of your day.
Idealware continues their series of seminars in June and July with Comparing Google Apps with Outlook, Building and Editing Websites without Technical Skills, Optimising your Website for Search Engines, Making the Most of Social Networking Sites and Getting Started with Mobile Outreach. All seminars are one and a half hours long and run between 1 - 2.30 pm EST (which is 6 - 7.30pm here, we think). Check out Idealware for information and more seminars.
The ICT Champions website now has a useful list of countrywide ICT events.
As a charity or trust you may be eligible to access government backed funding for VeryPC's Energy Saving Recommended BroadLeaf PCs.
Find out more about the scheme and get an indication of the possible 0% interest loan you may be able to obtain.
As mentioned in the last e-Bulletin, the Better Net Awards is a new UK-wide programme from UnLtd and Nominet Trust to provide individuals with funding and support to improve and encourage the development of a safe, educational and inclusive Internet. Up to £5,000 is available to individuals over 16 years old or an informal group to develop and lead Internet based solutions to the problems that affect our society.
Children In Need Small Grants Fund
A reminder that up to £10,000 funding per year for up to three years is available from the BBC's fund. ICT equipment must generally be for the direct use of young people. The next closing date is 15 July with further deadline on 15 October. More information from the BBC.
NCVO has rounded up their ICT resources onto one handy page.
AbilityNet rounds-up ICT accessibility news including remote usability testing, YouTube, Google's voice recognition development and how the web is changing accessibility.
Free Green ICT Handbook released
"The global information and communications technology (ICT) industry accounts for approximately 2 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a figure equivalent to aviation" - Gartner 2007. To help counteract this, Global Action Plan and the Environmental IT Leadership Team have produced the Green ICT handbook. You'll need to sign up to their newsletter, then the 28 page pdf Handbook is free to download.
Spiceworks, our free auditing, inventory and helpdesk tool of choice, has recently announced that it has broken the 1,000,000 user barrier. Maybe it's time you helped them on their way to the second million?
Out-law.com reports that Europe's privacy watchdogs have issued a rebuke to Facebook, telling the social networking site that changes it made to the site's privacy settings late last year were 'unacceptable'.
Out-law.com says that a draft British Standard on web accessibility warns organisations to consider how easily disabled users can access their websites on mobile phones, tablets and TVs. Ignoring their needs could breach BS 8878 and the Equality Act, it says.
practical tips
A discussion on TechSoup explains how to find out if your computer can run a 64 bit operating system.
Top tips from Atlanta NTC
Peter Campbell rounds up the top technology tips from NTEN's spring NonProfit Technology Conference.
The official Ubuntu beginners' guide and manual is free to download and tells you how to get Ubuntu, install it, and then find your way around and it really is easy to follow for non-techies.
Our regular feature linking to the answer cards put together by the Capacity Builders-funded ICT Champions:
How often should we replace our computers?
Do you have a policy in place to support when computers are replaced?
Why is my computer running slowly?
Hints and tips on how to deal with a slow PC
You can order your own box of answers from the Champions website.
Civil Society IT reports that Microsoft is to release a tailored version of Dynamics CRM for non-profits and NGOs in the UK later this year. Source:
TechSoup examines the latest incarnation of Microsoft's Office suite, due to be released this summer. Improvements to collaborating on documents and the ribbon interface, new photo and video editing tools and Outlook's "social connector".
As Office 2010 launches, Windows Live users can start using the stripped-down cloud-based offshoot, ITPro reports.
Papercut Print Logger (Free) logs the Windows user name/pages/printer name/page count/copies/grayscale or colour/printer driver/date and time into a spreadsheet file as well as browsable HTML files. It runs in the background and monitors the Print Spooler on a Windows 2003 Server (thanks to Greg for this tip on UKRiders)
Idealware take a look at a number of online services and gives good advice about choosing one.
Related Knowledgebase articles:
Andy Gregg at Lasa argues that development workers with ICT skills have a vital role to play because the third sector organisations that survive and prosper will be those who make best of use of their resources, especially ICT as it underpins service delivery, marketing and communication.
Nicolas Carrsays there's a growing body of evidence to suggest the Internet is turning us into shallow thinkers. Clay Shirky disagrees and says the roots of a new reading and writing culture are emerging from the Internet.
Gary Barber argues that to improve web accessibility we must first of all kill it off. Make sense?
Go to top
Go to top
Thanks to NTEN for this one - enter your website address and get it Geocities-ized.
About Lasa
Lasa is a charity which delivers innovative services in the fields of welfare benefits, ICT, and advice policy. Our clients are mainly from the voluntary, community and statutory sectors but we also work with some private organisations.
Lasa publications
This monthly London ICT e-bulletin, published by Lasa in collaboration with Superhighways, provides up to date ICT news, events, funding, tools, tips and resources for staff in small to medium-sized voluntary organisations.
Get the London ICT e-bulletin by email
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Lasa's quarterly magazine Computanews provides straight-forward, clear information on the use of ICT for staff in small to medium-sized voluntary organisations.
Computanews is published quarterly as a free Acrobat pdf file download.
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UK riders email list
UKRiders is a discussion group for circuit riders and others who support voluntary and community sector technology.
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Superhighways is an ICT Support and Development Social Enterprise run by and for the voluntary and community sector in South London, and collaborates with Lasa in the production of this e-bulletin.
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"Don't let techies hijack the discussion"
Cartoon by Phil Evans
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