Empowering Community Developers with Digital Skills: Training in No-Code Mobile Applications in Effective Fieldwork Survey †
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Methods
3. Results
3.1. Concept and Principles
- 1.
- Review community data and types of community data that need to be collected, such as infrastructure data, demographic data, community organization data, agricultural data, and environmental data.
- 2.
- Study and review questionnaires that are accepted and used for collecting community data, such as the basic needs data collection (JPD), village-level basic data collection (GCS 2K), and community-level data collection through a survey (TCNAP) by Thai Health.
- 3.
- Analyze and select the issues or types of data to be collected from these tools/questionnaires to develop specific questions related to the community data to be gathered to develop a data collection application.
- 4.
- Develop an application to collect data based on the defined issues (or new ones can be designed). For the tool selection in this step, the platform “AppSheet” is used as it is a free and efficient platform that is easy to learn and can be practically applied in the field.
- 5.
- Collect field data using the developed application to provide more accurate, correct, and diverse data than traditional paper questionnaires or manual data collection.
- 6.
- Analyze the data collected with the application using GIS software (Version 3.34), including verifying the accuracy of the data to create spatial data maps in the next step.
- 7.
- Create community data or information maps from the data obtained based on the defined issues or topics to be presented in GIS map format. These maps are analyzed repeatedly or updated to maintain their relevance.
- 8.
- Present the data from the analysis in various formats to support decision making for development in the identified areas or develop a community information system in the form of digital community maps that can be displayed according to the model framework below.
3.2. No-Code Mobile Applications
3.3. Training Program
- 1.
- Knowledge Improvement: the participants demonstrated a 70% increase in their understanding of using digital technology to support local community development.
- 2.
- Application development: All participants successfully developed no-code mobile applications tailored to surveying data within their communities.
- 3.
- Participant satisfaction: The participant’s satisfaction level regarding the training format and content scored 4.76 on a five-point scale.
3.4. Participant’s Feedback
4. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Knowledge/Skills | Approches of Learning and Practicing | Significant/Needed |
---|---|---|
1. Study the community data | 1. Primary data and primary data collection 2. Secondary data: methods for studying data from local government development plans 3. Other community data to be collected for development decision making | Community data collection is a fundamental aspect of development in the digital era, as it enables a genuine understanding of communities and leads to sustainable, need-based development. Rather than merely replicating existing methods, this process involves designing a tailored data collection system. It begins with an in-depth study of community information systems to understand all dimensions comprehensively. Based on this understanding, a data collection approach is designed that aligns with the specific characteristics of the area and integrates appropriate applications for maximum effectiveness. |
2. Design data collection | 1. Study standard data collection formats 2. Practice designing community-specific data collection tools | Designing and collecting data effectively is key to enabling the aggregation and analysis of information that can genuinely address community issues. Data design and collection are critical skills for community developers. Traditional Data Collection: Limited to descriptive text, as it relies on manual methods such as questionnaires. Modern Data Collection: More comprehensive, capturing additional elements such as geolocation and images through the use of applications. |
3. Application development | 1. Developing mobile applications on the AppSheet platform 2. Testing and refining the application for usability 3. Sharing the application with the team | Developing applications for data collection is an essential skill for modern community developers, as it enables them to address community issues effectively and accurately. AppSheet as a no-code platform, offers a beginner-friendly, no-cost option for initial use, making it ideal for community developers without advanced technological skills. It facilitates quick and accurate data collection, which can then be easily analyzed and visualized through dashboards, streamlining the entire process. |
4. Fieldwork for data collection | 1. Practice coordination skills with community leaders and relevant agencies when collecting data in the field. 2. Practice collecting data using the developed mobile application. 3. Practice techniques for tracking the progress of data collection. | Data collection skills in community development are both a science and an art, combining the use of digital tools with the active engagement of local people to enhance effectiveness. Comprehensive training in digital skills and community engagement, coupled with hands-on fieldwork, equips community developers with essential competencies such as understanding and utilizing mobile GPS for accurate data mapping, practicing efficient data entry via mobile devices, updating and modifying data in real time, and troubleshooting technical issues during data collection. These skills enable developers to manage the complexities of modern data collection processes and contribute to impactful and sustainable community development initiatives. |
Demographic Characteristics | (N = 50) | Percentage (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Gender | (1) Male | 15 | 34% |
(2) Female | 23 | 60% | |
Education | (1) Bachelor’s degree | 24 | 64% |
(2) Master’s degree | 13 | 34% | |
(3) Ph.D. degree | 1 | 2% | |
Organization | (1) Sub-district administrative organization | 20 | 52% |
(2) Town municipality | 9 | 23% | |
(3) Sub-district municipality | 6 | 16% | |
(4) NGOs | 3 | 7% |
Items of Effectiveness | Mean Score | Meaning |
---|---|---|
1. Tranners and Instructor | 4.65 | Very Satisfied |
2. Place and Time and Facilities | 4.53 | Very Satisfied |
3. Staff Training services | 4.66 | Very Satisfied |
4. Knowledge and Understanding | 3.79 | Satisfied |
5. Applicable to use for work and Application | 4.21 | Very Satisfied |
6. Satisfaction with workshop and Training program | 4.76 | Very Satisfied |
Average | 4.43 | Very Satisfied |
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© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Phansiri, P.; Kanthong, P.; Songseeda, S.; Pinyong, S.; Imdee, P.; Klangrit, S. Empowering Community Developers with Digital Skills: Training in No-Code Mobile Applications in Effective Fieldwork Survey. Eng. Proc. 2025, 98, 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/engproc2025098016
Phansiri P, Kanthong P, Songseeda S, Pinyong S, Imdee P, Klangrit S. Empowering Community Developers with Digital Skills: Training in No-Code Mobile Applications in Effective Fieldwork Survey. Engineering Proceedings. 2025; 98(1):16. https://doi.org/10.3390/engproc2025098016
Chicago/Turabian StylePhansiri, Phiraphath, Pornsaran Kanthong, Suthida Songseeda, Santikorn Pinyong, Piyanart Imdee, and Suriya Klangrit. 2025. "Empowering Community Developers with Digital Skills: Training in No-Code Mobile Applications in Effective Fieldwork Survey" Engineering Proceedings 98, no. 1: 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/engproc2025098016
APA StylePhansiri, P., Kanthong, P., Songseeda, S., Pinyong, S., Imdee, P., & Klangrit, S. (2025). Empowering Community Developers with Digital Skills: Training in No-Code Mobile Applications in Effective Fieldwork Survey. Engineering Proceedings, 98(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.3390/engproc2025098016