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titleCommCare Fundamentals now available on Dimagi Academy

The material covered on CommCare Fundamentals is now available as a short course on Dimagi Academy.


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titlePrintable version of CommCare Fundamentals

You can download and print this pdf version of CommCare Fundamentals (Updated 18th March 2015)

 

Welcome to CommCare Fundamentals- an overview to of what CommCare is and how it works!

If you are new to CommCare, this should also give you a good understanding of how CommCare works. In order to become CommCare certified, you must demonstrate an understanding of the learning objectives in this section. is a great place to start.

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Learning Objectives
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When you complete this section you should understand and be able to explain the following:

  • The purpose of CommCare
  • The structure of a CommCare application
  • General principles of data in CommCare, including what types are generated and how data moves
  • Case management
  • What are mobile and web users

CommCare- What is it?

1- Explore this: 

You can get a good overview of what CommCare is by reading through the public CommCare site.

2- Watch these videos:

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urlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTjs61L5l2Q&feature=share&list=PLVmwIEfrcKqnGhas9Vy4CmPEvG9xVvQdr
 

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urlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSzobuOZxO8&list=PLVmwIEfrcKqnGhas9Vy4CmPEvG9xVvQdr

 

3- Read this:

CommCare is a mobile case management tool for tracking clients through a continuum of care. It aims to help frontline workers better track and support client registration, follow-up, and completion of care. It runs as a mobile application on Android and feature phones and is built on a decision & logic-processing platform that can support frontline workers to deliver care, as well as provide critical data-quality checks at the point of service.

There are two components of CommCare:

  1. CommCareMobile is the mobile device part of CommCare. This could be a phone, tablet, or someone entering data using a computer. Someone using CommCare Mobile could be a field worker, a community health worker, an agricultural extension agent, or a surveyor.
  2. CommCareHQ is the website (www.commcarehq.org) where users can access data, design applications, and manage mobile workers.  CommCareHQ users are typically supervisors, researchers, project managers, or data analysts.

CommCare can be used for a number of purposes, including: 

  • Data collection
  • Decision support
  • Job aid
  • Counseling tool

CommCare is developed by a software company called Dimagi. CommCare is Dimagi's flagship project, but Dimagi also works on a number of other mobile-based, open source technologies.

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titleWhat does it mean that CommCare is "open source"?

The CommCare software is "open source," which means that the source code is openly available on the Internet to be downloaded, modified, or distributed. Details about how to access the source code are here. It's important to note that it isn't simple to set up and run the software on a local server, which is why we strongly recommend using the CommCareHQ server. The open nature of the code makes it easier to integrate with other systems and understand the way that CommCare functions.

CommCare Fundamentals Course Goal

CommCare Fundamentals will provide:

  • an introduction to the key terms associated with CommCare
  • a general overview of how the CommCare platform works
  • basic context which is relevant for anyone involved in a CommCare project.

 

The learning objectives covered in CommCare Fundamentals are recommended or required for everyone working on a CommCare project.

Topics

Review each of the following sections to learn more about the main features and principles of CommCare:

  1. Application CommCare Overview
  2. CommCare Structure
  3. Case Management
  4. Data in CommCare
  5. Mobile and Web Users
  6. Project Roles and Implementation

It is critical that you understand all of the material in these sections before going on to other CommCare tutorials.

Getting Started

GET STARTED!


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Next Steps

After completing CommCare Fundamentals we recommend you do the following:

CommCare Fundamentals Test: Visit this page to learn more about the CommCare Fundamentals test.

App Building: Once you've completed CommCare Fundamentals, you are ready - Now that you understand the core concepts of CommCare, it's time to Get Started.'re ready to get started with CommCare app building!

 

CommCare Fundamentals - last revised 24 October 2014