Mural is an online visual collaboration space, a whiteboard tool you can use during a live online meeting/session. You can also use it as a planning, idea generating, and visualization tool to create simple and comprehensive visualizations and diagrams and collaborate with others on ideas.
Current known uses in the sector
Mural can been used during webinars, online video conference meetings, and community sessions as a brainstorming, meeting, visual collaboration, design, and Newcomer engagement tool.
Miro is an online visual collaboration space, a whiteboard tool you can use during a live online meeting/session. You can also use it as a planning, idea generating, and visualization tool to create simple and comprehensive visualizations and diagrams and collaborate with others on ideas.
Current known uses in the sector
Miro can been used during webinars, online video conference meetings, and community sessions as a brainstorming, meeting, visual collaboration, design, and Newcomer engagement tool.
Gather is a web-based video call platform, building virtual spaces for people to interact live online. With Gather you and your participants create avatars or character that you move/walk around a room or space where you can have audio and video chats with other people. You can also embed videos, presentations, whiteboards, and other features to increase interactions in the space.
Current known uses in the sector
Gather can be used in Citizenship Preparation, Community Connections, Employment-related, Information and Orientation, Library Settlement Partnership, Settlement Workers in Schools, Pre-Arrival as an group communication and discussion tool with clients and communities.
OneDrive from Microsoft is a cloud storage and file syncing service.
Current known uses in the sector
OneDrive can be used in Citizenship Preparation, Community Connections, Employment-related, Information and Orientation, Library Settlement Partnership, Settlement Workers in Schools, Pre-Arrival as a document sharing tool with clients and communities.
Box is an online file sharing, content management, and collaboration service.
Current known uses in the sector
Box can be used in Citizenship Preparation, Community Connections, Employment-related, Information and Orientation, Library Settlement Partnership, Settlement Workers in Schools, Pre-Arrival as a document sharing tool with clients and communities.
Dropbox is a file syncing and sharing, cloud storage service.
Current known uses in the sector
Dropbox can be used in Citizenship Preparation, Community Connections, Employment-related, Information and Orientation, Library Settlement Partnership, Settlement Workers in Schools, Pre-Arrival as a document sharing tool with clients and communities.
According to DropBox, “By default, Dropbox is in the language of the device you use to access your Dropbox account.” You can change the language if you wish.
Google Drive is a cloud storage and file syncing service. Google Drive also includes Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides, which are a part of an office suite you can use for collaborative editing of documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, forms, and more. Files created and edited through the office suite are saved in Google Drive.
Current known uses in the sector
Google Drive can be used in Citizenship Preparation, Community Connections, Employment-related, Information and Orientation, Library Settlement Partnership, Settlement Workers in Schools, Pre-Arrival as a document sharing tool with clients and communities.
When creating a Google account, a valid name, email address, username, and password are required. It is also optional to provide a phone number to recover your account if the password is lost. Upon creation of your account, Google closely tracks your searches, bookmarks, and location services, among other data. These underlying data collection practices and Google’s sharing of your information with third parties make the use of Google tools for personal purposes unsafe.
Sync.com is a file syncing and sharing, cloud storage service.
Current known uses in the sector
Sync.com can be used in Citizenship Preparation, Community Connections, Employment-related, Information and Orientation, Library Settlement Partnership, Settlement Workers in Schools, Pre-Arrival as a document sharing tool with clients and communities.
Service Context and activities with descriptions about how it could be used in each context – from simple uses to more complex
Ease of use & Accessibility
Sync.com has a simple and easy to use interface. Sync.com does not have information about accessibility features.
Mobile friendly
Sync.com is mobile friendly and has Android and iOS apps.
Privacy/security features, including data security and message encryption
Sync.com has strong Security & privacy, including data storage in Canada. Sync is 100% PIPEDA compliant, and also complies with PIPA, FIPPA, ATIPPA, PHIPA and more.
You can use Microsoft Forms to create forms, surveys, and quizzes as well as to collaboratively edit and share the forms with other people. Use Microsoft forms for intake, pre-workshop or program assessment, program, session, or event evaluation, and more.
Forms is part of the Office 365 suite. Forms can be accessed directly from Teams so you can setup a Forms tab, add an existing form to gather responses, create a new form, show survey results, create notification from your form, collaborate on a form, or conduct a quick poll within a team. All these functions occur within Microsoft Teams. You can link your Microsoft Forms Survey or Quiz to an Excel Spreadsheet. You can also access Forms from a web browser.
Current known uses in the sector
Microsoft Forms can be used in Citizenship Preparation, Community Connections, Employment-related, Information and Orientation, Library Settlement Partnership, Settlement Workers in Schools as a tool to engage with Newcomers capture Newcomer feedback, ideas, insights, suggestions, comprehension, conduct pre- and post-session evaluations and assessments, etc.
Video overview
Pricing
Forms is available to Microsoft 365 with Microsoft Teams for Nonprofits, as well as business and educational accounts. Microsoft have also made Forms available to anyone with a personal Microsoft Account.
Ease of use & Accessibility
Microsoft Forms is a easy way to prepare forms, survey, and quizzes, especially if integrated into your Office 365 suite.
Surveys and assessments created in Microsoft Forms are accessible on mobile devices.
Privacy/security features (including data security and message encryption)
Microsoft Forms is part of Office 365 which has robust data security settings. However, Microsoft 365 Business Premium (Nonprofit Staff Pricing) appears to have more advanced security features according to Microsoft.
Multilingual capabilities
You can access forms in multiply languages. To do this simply click “settings” then “multilingual and select “add additional language”, it will provide a drop-down secondary language you can select from.
(Originally posted on the now archived Cities of Migration site)
The We Speak Translate project was a first of its kind collaboration between Google Translate and the ICA utilizing the Google Translate App for refugee resettlement and new immigrant inclusion in communities.
When language is a barrier to effective communication, translation and interpretation are essential. They bridge the space and time a newcomer needs as they move from low language skills to proficient language ability. They’re also expensive.
In Canada, the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria (ICA) is partnering with Google to use the Google Translate app to build a simple, every day way to bridge the language gap. Through the use of translation technology, they also want to create a sense of welcome and belonging for newcomers.
According to ICA’s Community Integration Coordinator, Kate Longpre, using Google Translate was an obvious idea. She and her colleagues already use it to communicate with clients. It’s a familiar tool among newcomers. A translation app can clearly be useful in resettlement. Many do use Google Translate for just that reason. But, perhaps surprisingly, no one had reached out to Google to partner with them to re-frame Google Translate as a resettlement and integration tool. Until now.
ICA is working directly with Google Translate staff to provide training to community members, businesses and agencies, as well as newcomers themselves. The “We Speak Translate” project provides an accessible, no cost platform to enhance communication with newcomers as they improve their English skills.
Organizations that take the training receive a program decal to put up in their entrance way, indicating they are part of the program to promote diversity and communication across language barriers. The decal is a public symbol that tells newcomers they are welcome.
We Speak Translate promotional video
Bridging the communication gap
Google Translate won’t replace the standardized language training or interpretation services ICA offers. But, it’s a useful complement for newcomers to continue to learn and become confident with language outside the classroom. Language acquisition can take more time with some groups of newcomers. This tool will help bridge basic communication in the community.
Longpre recognizes that machine translation apps like Google Translate are not perfect tools. They don’t allow for completely accurate in-depth complex or highly technical translations. But, an app like Google Translate bridges the initial language barrier and can create a point of connection.
And more…
Longpre sees Google Translate as much more than a technology tool, “It becomes the moment in time when you connect with someone. The technology allows for that moment, rather than no connection. It’s where community building takes place.”
Newcomers will know that if they go to a participating business or organization, the people there are familiar with the app and want to welcome them.
Recent Syrian refugee to Victoria, Ibrahim Haj-Ibrahim, outlines how important this is: “It’s very important for people to know that somebody wants to speak to them. It will give me more confidence that people care to speak with strangers. When I see somebody has this logo, I will know that people want to speak with me.”
Improved communications is the first point of the We Speak Translate project. ICA will provide 45 minutes of training on Google Translate. They’ll create power users in the community, who have a commitment and interest to helping newcomers navigate their new city. Community engagement is equally important, says Longpre. The training will also build awareness about resettlement, integration and inclusiveness among community members and local businesses.
Longpre says that people in the community are looking for ways to support and help newcomer integrate: “This is a very tangible initiative for any community member. They can wear a button on their coat that shows a newcomer that they’re are approachable, welcoming. It’s a tangible, no cost initiative for the community.” Anyone and everyone can become an integration actor.
Human service organizations as leading innovators
Building digital capacity in human service nonprofits can be challenging. Clients tend to be more tech savvy and demand technology-mediate services. Forward looking agencies are looking more closely at how they use technology as a tool in resettlement and integration.
Many organizations connect with local volunteers or civic tech groups in their communities to accomplish amazing things with technology, on a small scale. Longpre decided to go big. She reached out with her idea to use Google Translate both as an integration tool and a symbol for inclusive and diverse communities. Google liked the idea and the partnership was born.
Longpre says the “What’s In It For Me” is obvious for a resettlement organization. She says it’s also obvious for Google. Google’s ability to align a product with a broader mission, focused on integration and welcoming communities, is a tangible form of corporate social responsibility. We Speak Translate illustrates how their technology can have deeper impact.
Google is global. They have the capacity to scale We Speak Translate in a way that matches the scale of the global migration crisis. Google Translate as an integration tool can be replicated in any city, anywhere in the world. It has potential for all integration actors to create more welcoming communities.