Course Objectives
After the course, participants will be able to:
- Critically analyze both the opportunities and the pitfalls that emerge when working with technology to respond to crises
- Connect relevant development and humanitarian approaches to the technological strategies and tools discussed in the course
- Manage specific software platforms and utilize various technological tools for responding to and managing crises
- Design dynamic and effective strategies for using technology platforms and tools to respond to challenges in the field
- Develop confidence and critical self-awareness in working with social media, maps, and mobile technologies
- Participants will have access to all course content for at least 4 months after course completion so the material can be completed and revisited later.
Course Content
Module I: Introduction & Social Media for Crisis Response
- The Power of the Crowd: Digitizing the Response
- Information Overload: Verification, Analysis, and Decision Making in Real-Time
- How Social Media was Used in Response to the Earthquake in Haiti, Nepal and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
- Tools: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tomnod, AIDR
- Tools collaborative Mapping in a crisis
Module II: Mapping the Crisis - New Techniques for Disaster Response and Preparedness
- Differences Between Ushahidi and Open Street Map
- Producing and using maps for disaster response
- Damage mapping with Open Street Map (with examples from the Haiti, West Africa, Philippines and - hopefully - Nepal)
- How Maps are Supporting the Ongoing Ebola Response
- Online Mapping without a Mobile Internet Connection
- Crowdsourcing Remote Mapping and Image Identification
- Tools: OpenStreetMap, Ushahidi, TomNod, FieldPapers
- ICT tools for tracing and restoring family links
Module III: Mobile Response: How Mobile Technology is Changing Disaster Response
- Collecting Data in the Field with Mobile Devices
- SMS Campaigns for Early Warning and Crisis Prevention
- Smartphones and Apps for Disaster Response
- Using Secondary Data to Track Population Movements
- Tools: ODK, Kobo Toolkit, TextIt, Magpi, FrontlineSMS
Module IV: Looking Ahead: Where New Technologies are Taking Us
- What Roles can Drones play in Humanitarian Emergencies
- Using the Web for De-Centralized Disaster Response
- The Responsibility to Protect Data - How NGOs can Protect Sensitive Information