UnaMesa Academy Program Overview

UnaMesa

UnaMesa Association is a nonprofit information technology resource for the social sector. UnaMesa is a network of small teams working to deliver IT tools for clinics, schools, and social service organizations to simply and securely share records, teaching materials, and best practices that create better quality care and better education for everyone. UnaMesa tools are free, easy, and secure technologies for moving data-entry, documents, and information storage online - making information easily accessible to staff, clients, and organizational partners. These same technologies make excellent collaborative learning and discussion tools.

UnaMesa Academy

The UnaMesa Academy is a free pilot training program that engages individual organizations or networks of organizations for customized technology trainings. Organizations can work separately or collaborate with partners who have related information challenges, to develop data-entry, storage, and information sharing tools. The UnaMesa Academy is a flexible program that can provide facilitated needs-analysis, an overview of innovative Web 2.0 technologies, hands-on technology training, and collaborative IT design with tailored and adaptable solutions not available in commercial products.

The first Academy took place at the American Indian Child Resource Center.

The UnaMesa Academy pilot program works on a "pay it forward" model. Participants are awarded free training and custom technology tools, in exchange for:

• Sharing of the tools and best practices coming out of the training with the UnaMesa community.
• Mentoring of other orgs to implement Academy tools & processes learned.
• Participation in future group trainings & best practice roundup meetings

Sample projects include

• Digitizing inefficient paper forms and processes
• Creating editable and portable digital books
• Developing a tool to communicate, share, and store information.
• Designing templates to work across applications and platforms.

To see samples of an UnaMesa project and relevant technologies, you can view one of these short VIDEOS.


Using TiddlyWiki as a Client Intake Form from UnaMesa Association on Vimeo.


Using TiddlyWiki as a Client Contact TiddlyFORM from UnaMesa Association on Vimeo.

Upon completion of the Academy, trainees will have:

• Know how to use simple technologies for creating and sharing information and documents electronically.
• Applied technologies in a meaningful context.
• Collaboratively developed "best practices" for securing and sharing information with clients, staff, and partners.

Academy Participants
Trainees may come from any or a variety of social services backgrounds including education, health care, public benefits/social safety-net, and child or elder welfare. Individual trainees should be employed by either a non-profit, public-sector, or education organization. No technology experience is required for participation in the Academy, but participants must have familiarity with the work flow processes and challenges of the organization they represent. Case managers, program managers, technical staff, and senior staff are all welcome. Ideally, Academy participants will be in a position within their respective organization to share and implement what they have learned at the Academy.

Trainees agree:

• to work with the UnaMesa Assocation to perform a pre-training needs assessment
• to share forms and best practices
• to the documenting of the process via our public wiki throughout the training.
• to at least one day of training and one day of follow-up training.

The UnaMesa Association agrees to provide ongoing tech support for implementation of the customized tool developed in the Academy.

Additional information on the Academy can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page or by contacting heather@unamesa.org

How to Apply

To apply to participate in the UnaMesa Academy, please complete the following online application: UnaMesa Academy Application