Innovative approaches to online communication and learning
High-quality electronic publishing and distance learning
solutions
for international organisations, NGOs, research, education and
development institutions worldwide
*****************
What is this Web site?
May 2001
Good question, thank you for asking. Let's start from what this Web site
is *not*. IKONOS New Media.com is not:
thetypical corporate Web site: yes, you'll find information about
us, who we are and what
we do, but not exactly in the self-promoting tone you might be
expecting;
a brochure Web site: no one-way communication of what we offer and
what we think we are good at.
We believe in a few guiding principles that justify our presence
online.
This is our house, you are our guest and, please, make
yourself comfortable: look around, help yourself to our newsletters
(look right), get to know what we do (as trainers
and consultants), read the books we are reading,
pick on our hyperactive brains and tell us what you think. You can use the
generic mail address (info#ikonosnewmedia.com) or, even better, meet each one
of us and send us a personal email if you have any question or comment.
Because we have just started building our house, work is constantly in
progress. We are changing and adding pages and knowledge as it takes
shape in our daily lives:
articles are on their way;
the toolkits are being built as we
crystallize our experience and mould it into useful tools for your
communication needs;
we are rewriting our portfolio into case
studies so that they can make sense to people who are looking for
solutions, not only for our credentials;
we want to be your guides and partners and are
feeding the IKONOS knowledge base every day to build a highly-focussed,
finely-sifted repository of knowledge in the fields of communication,
learning, technology, management and design.
More projects are in the pipeline and we'll be telling you as they come
to light. You can get
an email update every time we move things around and make this Web site
a cooler place.
We are presently looking for a Web
production intern, a role that requires a young and talented spirit,
much free time to invest, good knowledge of HTML and of the English language.
There is another internship opportunity of an Online
editor, willing to gain qualifying experience in researching and writing
for our publications.
in collaboration with the World Bank Institute
KULT Program
Knowledge Utilization through
Learning Technologies
We are very proud to be sponsors, presenters and a resource team in the international workshop series organised by the
World Bank Institute
Knowledge Utilization through Learning Technologies (KULT) program. Read
more
ITQ-4 Web site is now up and running: here you can find out more about
its design,
rationale
and objectives,
as well as all the practical information about venues
and costs.
Focus: marketing and communications for training promotion
Target: training managers and directors
On-site Training
Courses on ICT and new media
If you are looking for training courses to help your organisation improve its communications skills
in presentations as well as on the Web, we have a set of competency-based courses that are fun to take,
memorable and build valuable professional profiles within your institution.
Presentation path - This set of learning modules is comprised of mini-courses,
lasting from one to two days maximum, in which the participants are led to learn and
make discoveries by performing the tasks to attain the critical skills required to make effective and memorable presentations. These include:
Presentation Designer
Graphic Editor
Information Designer
Slide Show Designer
Digital Image Editor
Digital Image Composer
Digital Media Manager
Presenter skills
PowerPoint Basic
PowerPoint Advanced
Web Publishing path - The Web Publishing path is comprised of similar mini courses, learner-centered and adopting
innovative and practice-oriented training methods that lead toward creating and forming the different professional roles required
in an effective electronic publishing workflow.
These include:
HTML Editor
Web site Editor
Web site Publisher
Web site Manager
Information Architect
XML Supporter
Online Marketing Manager
Consulting
Projects in the making
At IKONOS we are in the process of completing some interesting projects:
IsitQ.org - Community KnowledgeVortal :
Coming to light day after day now, isitQ.org launch is planned for July
15.
A true enterprise in creating an effective learning community network online. Fueled by the spontaneous action of the alumni of the World Bank-based KULT
program (Knowledge Utilization through Learning Technologies) of international workshops, this initiative is targeted at developing an online
specialised
knowledge portal (a kind of clearinghouse of expertise) about the topics and issues that interest them the
most:
learning theory and practice;
learning technologies;
management and marketing of training.
As members and partners of the International Society for the Improvement of Training
Quality (isitQ), which represents this fast growing group of top
professionals, we are providing design, development and maintenance of
this community Web site. The knowledge vortal will be serving
both its own members and the Web of trainers and educators at large.
Field survey on content management workflow requirements
In this new project, Antonella Pastore, our chief information architect,
is devising a strategy for gathering field data (or let's rather call it
"the voice of real people doing the job") on how the
publishing workflow of a large Web site is organised. The goal is to
identify strenghts and weaknesses of current practices so that a more
functional organisation of work can be supported by a future content
management system.
A new FAO / United Nations book and CD-ROM
"Participatory Environment Education and Training for Sustainable Agriculture"
Best practices in institutional partnership, peer learning, and networking
Edited by Tim L. Wentling, Ronny Adhikarya, Chye-Hean Teoh
Our job has been that of reviewing all contents from a technical standpoint and preparing the publication for printing. In the process, we have also
produced a CD-ROM-based version of the book, at very low cost, by utilising Adobe Acrobat
technology. Through Acrobat, we are able to produce master publications in one application and then produce different electronic versions for distribution
online, on CD-ROMs and diskettes and also for quality print publications.
At IKONOS we make our valuable expertise an asset for our clients.
Call us to have anyone of us or all as lecturers or guest speakers in your
next conference or presentation.
If you need new media experts for your workshops and seminars, we are ready
to be your partner. Offer us a slice of your conference and we will come for FREE!
Write us at ikonos.sas#agora.it.
Last updated August 1, 2001
Recently published
MasterMind #57 is out!
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Discovering new media technologies and tools can make a significant
difference in your organisation.
On a monthly basis, get the latest reviews on new media technology tools that
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Past issues archive at MasterMind
Explorer
"Empowering Common People with New Media Technologies"
Just launched!
MasterView
Creating and Managing Effective PowerPoint Presentations for International
Audiences
MasterView is a free monthly newsletter focusing on presentations skills for
international audiences and directed to managers, trainers, presenters, public institutions and
international organisations.
It provides selected reviews on new software, tools, reports and
resources on effective presentations making for international audiences.
Find out
about everything you want to know about key technology issues that can keep your organisation
on top of the information revolution.
Look at Performance, Testing, Standards and Compatibility
by accessing a unique knowledgebase of information. Find tools, resources and online
services which can immediately solve any problems you may have.
Get direct access to book reviews and tutorials, as well as manuals and guides, on
a the latest trends in learning theory and practice.
Study and learn what I have scouted for you in over 4 years of online research. My
expertise is to guide you along the way to the perfect marriage
between form and function, considering the needs of usability and global access, especially at low
speeds and without relying on the latest technologies.
I can also show you shortcuts to better management of your multimedia and
distance learning projects, by pinpointing key services and tools which can make your
life easier.
Follow my path to better understand
how communication has taken on new shades of meaning since new media came into
our everyday life.
Now that marketing is creeping into the non-profit sector, discover how the Web with its host of new practices and tools can make your
organisation more sustainable and visible.
******
Suggested readings
This month, we have read some great articles and books and wish to recommend the following titles:
File
Sharing the Future
by John Thackara - April
2001
You're probably sick of hearing all those e- words: e-learning, e-health,
e-governance. And probably you thought nothing was changing, or that you would not be
here to witness the change. We are in the middle of a profound transformation in which
everything around us, and in us, is being networked. The way we will cope is by
learning from each other - continuously, collaboratively, and without friction.
This is a very challenging information architecture project which Antonella Pastore
(on our side), and Marc Taconet (on the FAO side) have recently completed.
The goal of the project is to identify a workable organisation of the
vast and varied set of content items that the FAO Fisheries
Web site owns, in tune with the broader scope of
FIGIS, a global
information system on fisheries that is currently being developed within FAO.
Such organisation is aptly named a topic tree and will accommodate the content components of the Web
site: the knowledge objects. The different types and uses of each knowledge object have also been
identified. This analysis plays a strategic role in setting standards for the creation, classification and
publishing of the FAO Fisheries Web site contents, and in laying the foundations of a content management system
that will generate a well-organised, fast performing, easily accessible Web site.
FAO FIGIS Showcase
We produced an interactive presentation for FIGIS on the occasion of the
Third World Fisheries Congress (Beijing, November 2000).
The challenge was to visually communicate the system's strategy and strengths, as well as the complex, IT-intensive
concepts it is built upon, to a multicultural audience of managers, policy-makers and researchers.
By leveraging Flash technology, unusually offline, the presentation shows animations of universal standard illustrations
and icons. It can be viewed as a slideshow or browsed through an interactive navigator, and features the audio track in English and Chinese.
FIGIS Interface Design
FIGIS required us to design the interface of its online
database management application, the Reference Table Management system. We did our best to meet the needs
of remote users for easy-to-use, uncluttered and lightweight pages, and to match them with the powerful and
varied functionalities of the underlying database.
This is the Web site of the Informal Working Group on Participatory Approaches and
Methods to Support Sustainable Livelihoods & Food Security (IWG-PA) of the
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).
The priority output of the task group is the development of this Participation Web site
which is intended to bring together a broad cross-section of
stakeholders interested in participatory approaches and methods in support of
sustainable rural livelihoods and food security under one virtual roof.
IKONOS New Media has provided significant contribution
in the overall Web site design and development along with the support of other several
consultants
We have long been trying to find an International Marketing and Funding Manager to partner with
us in following up with the many sponsorship opportunties we can leverage internationally, through our credentials and
network of clients. Our ideal partner would be a young graduate, with language skills, and a passion for new media
technologies and working for a good cause. If you know anyone who could fit that bill, please
let us know at ikonos.sas#agora.it.
Where is IKONOS?
IKONOS New Media is physically located in Rome, Italy. Just a few blocks away from
St. Peter's and the Vatican, we sit next to the Andrea Doria movie theatre, one block away from the better
known Piazzale degli Eroi.
Find out
Follow my path