An ongoing assignment for class has been to evaluate Web 2.0 tools for personal and professional use. In this blog, I’ve shared two of my evaluations with you regarding Sparked and Visual.ly. My last blog post was a one-minute commercial for Sparked. In this blog post, I am going to share my practical experience in becoming a proficient user of Sparked and the insight it’s given me for planning to use the tool in a classroom or workplace setting. This is but one step in creating a Relevant and Innovative Learning Scenario.
As you may remember, Sparked is a microvolunteering site, which allows its users to volunteer their skills and interests online in nearly the same amount of time it takes to read through their Facebook Newsfeeds. Microvolunteering differs from virtual volunteering in its process, which is “convenient, bite-sized, crowd-sourced, and network managed,” and in the end, organizations on Sparked are not looking for a person to volunteer with them, they’re looking for a result (para. 6 and 15, http://blog.sparked.com/2010/12/24/why-microvolunteering-is-not-virtual-volunteering/).
Here are some other things I’ve learned in using Sparked:
· In reality, the more expert you are in a specific skill area, the less time it may take you to respond to a challenge, or volunteer opportunity (mere minutes);
· You may access Sparked and its organizations challenges on any mobile device; however, some of the challenges may require you to use a computer and programs that may not have mobile versions like Adobe InDesign, which may be used to design a logo;
· When choosing your challenge, consider the number of volunteers who have already answered the challenge and their responses. For instance, their answers may be complete and although the challenge is still available, there may be no need to add another answer.
· Determine whether or not you agree with an organization’s cause before you decide to answer its challenge.
· You will notice that it’s not difficult to brainstorm ideas or give feedback on more than one challenge; many microvolunteers do this, so don’t limit yourself and your chances to help as many organizations as possible (but do be careful not to repeat answers or add unnecessary information);
· Read answers that other volunteers have posted to challenges for inspiration and motivation as well as to know whether the challenges warrant another answer;
· You can choose a challenge based on recommendations as well as your causes and skills;
· Seemingly, right-brained skills are in highest demand;
· You can add more causes and skills to your profile by editing it; you can also type in a new cause or skill;
· And there is the option to add your Twitter name and/or LinkedIn URL to your profile.
In the following screenshots, you will see a challenge that I took on and the answer I gave in response to that challenge:
Finally, if you'd like to get to know more about the culture of microvolunteering, check out Sparked's blog.
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