USING WEB 2.0 TOOLS TO EDUCATE

BY TRACY LAGANA

Spina Bifida

What is Spina bifida?

Spina bifida is a birth defect that involves the incomplete development of the spinal cord or

its coverings. The term spina bifida comes from Latin and literally means "split" or

"open" spine.

What causes Spina bifida?

Although doctors and researchers don't know for sure why spina bifida occurs.

Spina bifida occurs at the end of the first month of pregnancy when the two sides of

the embryo's spine fail to join together, leaving an open area.

In some cases, the spinal cord or other membranes may push through this opening in

the embryo's back.

Statistics:

Spina Bifida is one of the most common severe birth defects in the United States, affecting

about 1,300 babies each year.

How can using Web 2.0 tools educate and persuade individuals about the issue?

Online social networks using the Web 2.0 technology, allows individuals and philanthropic

groups to:

Connect people with one another Help spread the word to parents who are faced

with the birth defect Create support groups Encourage fundraisers or events for a charity Wishing wells to assist families in need Encourage individuals to volunteer

What Web 2.0 tools can be used?

Blogs – example Squarespace Squarespace is an exceptionally tuned publishing system for

managing websites and blogs. Allows physicians and experts, to provide commentaries or

news on the subject. Allows patient and family members to create a more personal

online diary or a running account of their personal lives.

Videos – example YouTube Hosts user-generated videos. Includes network and

professional content. Help educate viewers on the subject. Create awareness Help with fundraising events

Wikis – example ProjectForum ProjectForum is Wiki software with all the power that

you need , minus the complex setup and hassle. Start using it in minutes, for free. Used to create collaborative websites and documents Community websites

Online presentations - exampleSlideShare SlideShare is the world's largest community for sharing

presentations on the web Create, edit and share presentations easily Create tutorials Create simulations

Additional Web 2.0 applications that can be used to reach an audience for

your cause

Media Sharing – example Siphs Siphs is a fast, easy, and convenient way to forward links

to articles, videos, and other websites to your family, friends and colleagues.

Data Storage Bookmarks – example DivShare DivShare is the web host for everyone. Users can upload

unlimited files and keep them online forever, for free.Feed Trackers – example A1-Webmarks

A1-Webmarks is a free service that combines the convenience of a personal webmark server with the power of social webmarking. It helps organize your webmarks in one central location as well view data of other members.

Web Office – example NearTime Near-Time is a hosted collaboration and publishing

environment that easily facilitates cross-organization communication. The platform empowers the non-technical users to publish and collaborate in secure online environment.

Personal Productivity – example l8r l8r lets you schedule a bunch of emails for delivery over

a period of 5 years.Publishing -example LouderVoice

LouderVoice is a community driven site for finding, writing and sharing reviews on the web.

Start Pages – example Goowy Goowy Media delivers an integrated “webtop”

experience for managing your personal communications (integrated instant messaging, email, contacts, and calendar), organizing and sharing your files.

Mashups – example geoXtract geoXtract can be used to integrate data from Excel,

Access databases, and comma-delimited text files with Google Maps and Google Earth.

Communities – example Grūpthink Grūpthink is a community website where users can post

questions or generate topics for discussion among its community

Collaboration –example GroupSharp GroupSharp is a web based tool for centralizing your

workplaces` group knowledge and data. Social Systems – example myMoment

myMoment is a platform for users to share their moments with people around the world and find new friends.

Search Engines – example thagoo thagoo is a tagged search engine that uses popular social

bookmark sites as a reference to give more reliable and popular results.

Surveys- example Create Survey CreateSurvey is a web-based survey software that lets you build

and run online surveys on the Internet.