Comments on: How Can We Help? http://dervala.net/2004/01/31/how-can-we-help/ A love letter Mon, 21 May 2012 17:08:23 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: Justin http://dervala.net/2004/01/31/how-can-we-help/comment-page-1/#comment-406 Justin Mon, 02 Feb 2004 15:26:24 +0000 http://dervala.net/?p=531#comment-406 Wow -- some great tips in the comments. Designthatmatters looks really interesting! It's encouraging to see there are structures to support this, and that it *has* made a difference already. I was totally unaware. Thanks Dervala! Wow — some great tips in the comments. Designthatmatters looks really interesting! It’s encouraging to see there are structures to support this, and that it has made a difference already. I was totally unaware.

Thanks Dervala!

]]> By: Tim http://dervala.net/2004/01/31/how-can-we-help/comment-page-1/#comment-405 Tim Sat, 31 Jan 2004 10:28:44 +0000 http://dervala.net/?p=531#comment-405 Why stop at software? What volunteerism needs is a way to harness all sorts of different skills for the public good. If I'm a programmer, is volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and inexpertly driving nails the best use of my skills? We're trying to build a system that lets engineers, programmers, scientists, MBAs and everyone else donate their expertise towards the collaborative design of all kinds of useful products and services for underserved communities. http://www.designthatmatters.org/ Here's an earlier version of the same idea: http://www.thinkcycle.org Why stop at software? What volunteerism needs is a way to harness all sorts of different skills for the public good. If I’m a programmer, is volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and inexpertly driving nails the best use of my skills?

We’re trying to build a system that lets engineers, programmers, scientists, MBAs and everyone else donate their expertise towards the collaborative design of all kinds of useful products and services for underserved communities.
http://www.designthatmatters.org/

Here’s an earlier version of the same idea:
http://www.thinkcycle.org

]]> By: eoin http://dervala.net/2004/01/31/how-can-we-help/comment-page-1/#comment-404 eoin Sat, 31 Jan 2004 07:51:44 +0000 http://dervala.net/?p=531#comment-404 Been enjoying reading your blog for a while, so about time I posted something. netaid ( http://www.netaid.org/volunteer ), run by UN Volunteers, might be worth a look. Eoin. Been enjoying reading your blog for a while, so about time I posted something.

netaid ( http://www.netaid.org/volunteer ), run by UN Volunteers, might be worth a look.

Eoin.

]]> By: Vincent D Murphy http://dervala.net/2004/01/31/how-can-we-help/comment-page-1/#comment-403 Vincent D Murphy Sat, 31 Jan 2004 07:46:46 +0000 http://dervala.net/?p=531#comment-403 Good idea. People in the Perl community are trying to do something similar. Their angle is different; they want to help programmers train themselves in testing and extreme programming by working on real projects. They're using a wiki with user stories and acceptance tests to achieve this; maybe their tactics could be reused. http://use.perl.org/~chromatic/journal/14869 http://use.perl.org/~chromatic/journal/14921 Also of possible interest is SchoolTool. Its development is being funded by South African dot-com millionaire Mark Shuttleworth. http://www.schooltool.org/ : " SchoolTool is a project to develop a common global school administration infrastructure that is freely available under an Open Source licence. Our vision is to create a platform that is equally compelling for schools and colleges in First and Third World countries, that supports best practices in school administration and which is readily customised to comply with local regulatory requirements. " Perhaps a similar project could be used to create software that meets common requirements for NGOs and others helping their fellow man in need. Good idea.

People in the Perl community are trying to do something similar. Their angle is different; they want to help programmers train themselves in testing and extreme programming by working on real projects. They’re using a wiki with user stories and acceptance tests to achieve this; maybe their tactics could be reused.

http://use.perl.org/~chromatic/journal/14869
http://use.perl.org/~chromatic/journal/14921

Also of possible interest is SchoolTool. Its development is being funded by South African dot-com millionaire Mark Shuttleworth. http://www.schooltool.org/ :

“
SchoolTool is a project to develop a common global school administration infrastructure that is freely available under an Open Source licence. Our vision is to create a platform that is equally compelling for schools and colleges in First and Third World countries, that supports best practices in school administration and which is readily customised to comply with local regulatory requirements.
“

Perhaps a similar project could be used to create software that meets common requirements for NGOs and others helping their fellow man in need.

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