The SWIMS CD-ROM pilot : using community development principles and technologies of the information society to address identified informational needs

In this paper we describe a pilot project to develop and assess the potential of CD-ROM based resources to address the identified informational needs of a community of education professionals. We focus on the development process, although we also briefly describe the project evaluation and its results. The context in which the pilot was developed and implemented was the Social Well-being in Mackay Schools Program, in which a model was being developed to address issues of young people presenting ‘at risk’ within educational settings. The development and distribution of the CD-ROM was not an easy or straightforward task, requiring extensive research and community consultation. It also required drawing on theoretical and methodological insights from across disciplines (especially from Community Development and Education) to develop a contextually relevant understanding of the factors affecting the informational needs of the community, and of the ways in which the process of addressing these needs might lead to the empowerment of its members. The ease with which the relevant technologies were accessed and used by researchers and community workers who possessed no formal or advanced training in the use of ICTs indicated that the ‘new’ technologies can readily complement and assist in community development, thus giving impetus to the thesis that new forms of empowerment are possible because of the advent of the Information Society.