A mid-term assignment for Introduction to Emerging Technologies Course offered by the University of Manitoba supported by the Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN).

1. Mid-Term Presentation:Weblogs Presented by Teddy N Chimulwa TASO Uganda Limited 2011 Introduction to Emerging Technologies Course

2. What are weblogs? Weblogs (blogs) are regularly updated news, opinions or journaling often read by RSS feeds. They usually allow comments and are used to engage specific constituents. They can have one or multiple authors Examples of tools to create weblogs include the blogger, wordpress etc

3. Reasons for my choice of tool It can be used for both personal and professional learning- has broader affordances. It is interactive and makes it easy to share news Because it is easy to set up and use, it will be easier for my target group to use. It is cheap (some tools especially wordpress are free) Keeps records for reference

6. Link management (RSS feeds)

7. Comment management/moderationA good ‘listening’ and ‘participation’ tool

8. Cons of blogs May be misused – posting unhelpful content Limited ability to provide on-spot feedback Requires external marketing to obtain participation- the blog should be appealing to the target audience.

9. Applicability of weblogs to my situation Creating a discussion forum for TASO Training Alumni to share their learning – emphasis on TASO internship program which links professionals from within Uganda and the rest of Africa. Linking alumni to other useful blog links Using the blog to communicate available capacity building opportunities at TASO Effectively monitor the content to identify what the public thinks about TASO services

10. Conclusion Given the broad affordances of weblogs, I think they are suitable for both my personal and professional networking.