The Wikipedia Education Program's vision is to mobilize and empower the next generation of human-knowledge generators to contribute to Wikimedia projects. Students represent one of the most promising group from which to recruit new editors. They are immersed in a mindspace of learning and documenting learning. There is therefore a reasonably high identification with the community's values and endeavors. Incorporating Wikipedia in the teaching plans (even if not in formal syllabi) represents a major opportunity to create a sustainable and long-term channel to recruit new editors.
Professors who participate in our program will assign their students to edit Wikipedia articles as part of their coursework. Students are taught the fundamentals of Wikipedia and Wikipedia editing by Wikipedia Campus Ambassadors in their classrooms. Students are further assisted by Wikipedia Online Ambassadors who provide virtual help, over the internet.
This page is created to outline program design for the India Education Program Pilot version 2.0 based on learnings from Public Policy Initiative, qualitative analysis of IEP version 1.0, quantitative analysis of IEP version 1.0
IEP Model Element |
Details
|
Professor based model |
It will be a professor based model and not an institution based model. Rather than enrolling universities in IEP we will enroll individual professors who'd be interested to work with us. Even if that means enrolling just one professor from a university. In the Pune pilot we were working on an institute based model and were enrolling universities like SSE or CoEP. We observed that within these institutes, classes where professors were actively involved performed better than the rest. Hence we want to change the IEP model and work with individual professors rather than working with institutes.
|
Professor Selection |
Following criteria will be taken into account before enrolling a professor in the IEP:
- Alignment with Wikimedia Foundation's mission
- Interest in the Wikipedia Education Program and the idea of growing the amount and quality of articles on Wikipedia
- Basic understanding of Wikipedia and its core values
- Responsiveness and communication skills
- Professor should be willing to take up the assignment and should not be pushed by the Director or higher authority to involve Wikipedia as an in-class assignment.
- Professor should be aware of the additional effort that he/she will have to put in to enroll in the IEP.
- Professor should be comfortable working with the computers.
- Professors should have Wikipedia user account and talk page.
- Professors should know how to edit Wikipedia articles.
|
First faculty presentation |
Click here to view the presentation that will be used during the 1st faculty presentation.
|
Regular reviews with the professors |
- Once in two weeks we will conduct IRC office hours with the professors to assess the progress of Wikipedia in-class assignments.
- Status board should be shared with the professors every week. Click here to view a sample status board spreadsheet.
|
Orientation for Professors |
All teachers who plan to participate in the IEP will have to take a mandatory orientation. The one-day orientation aims at enabling instructors to successfully integrate Wikipedia into their syllabus and at giving them an overview of Wikipedias core policies, structures and workflows. Teachers will also learn basic editing and on-wiki communication techniques. The orientation will comprise three main modules:
- Module 1
- Wikipedia Education Program Overview
- IEP overview and role descriptions
- Goals of the program and measures of success
- Where to get help
- Requirements and logistics
- Module 2
- About Wikipedia
- Core Wikipedia policies
- Encyclopedic writing style
- Copyright and plagiarism
- Anatomy of an article
- Editing skills
- Wikipedia site anatomy (recent changes, page history, watchlists)
- Communicating on-wiki
- What makes a good article?
- Module 3
- Syllabus and assignment design
- Learning objectives for a Wikipedia assignment
- Sample syllabus
- Tips & learning points on assignment design
- How to grade students' work
|
IEP Model Element |
Details
|
Role of CAs |
Wikipedia Campus Ambassador (CA) role is a volunteer (unpaid) position. Wikipedia Campus Ambassadors can be undergraduate/graduate/post-graduate students, college/university staff members, faculty members, or anyone geographically close to the college/university – the main qualification is that you must enjoy teaching people and spreading your passion for free knowledge. Typical activities as performed by a CA are:
- Help identify and recruit instructors on your campus who would be interested in incorporating Wikipedia-editing into their classes.
- Work with interested instructors on your campus in adapting existing teaching methods to include Wikipedia-editing
- Provide face-to-face training to students on Wikipedia-related skills. This would include:
- Conducting in-class presentations
- Providing in-person mentorship for students
- Conducting refresher sessions
- Set up Wikipedia help desk in campus
- Recruit and train new CAs
- Be a point of contact between students and Wikimedia Foundation, between professors and Wikimedia Foundation
- Help recruit new Wikipedia contributors on campus, possibly through the creation of a Wikipedia student club
Click here for a more detailed role of the Campus Ambassador that will be shared with the applicants.
|
Pr-requisites for CA applications |
There will be certain per-requisites to apply for the CA Program:
- The applicant should have a wiki username. If the applicant is new to Wikipedia please create one before applying.
- The applicant should have a wiki user page. If the applicant is new to Wikipedia please create one before applying.
- The applicant should have basic Wikipedia editing experience. If the applicant is new to Wikipedia s/he must start editing and should have minimum editing experience on the following:
- Applicant should have minimum 50 article edits.
- Applicant should be familiar with the protocol of communication on Talk/Discussion pages.
- The applicant should be self motivated.
- The applicant should be able to devote 3-5 hrs in a week to the Campus Ambassador Program.
- The applicant should have convenient transportation to the school/university enrolled in the program.
Click here for more detailed information on pre-requisites for a CA
|
Inviting CA Applications |
We'll use multiple channels to invite CA applications:
- GeoNotices and geo-targeted CentralNotices
- In-class announcements
- Mailing on India mailing list
- Mailing on school's mailing list
- Putting poster on campus
Click here to access the CA application form.
|
CA Selection |
- The recruitment process will be based on applications shortlists, preliminary skype/phone interviews and a more detailed skype/phone/face-to-face interview.
- These interviews will be conducted by the existing CA and Steering Committee.
- Some of the criteria that will be kept in mind during the selection process are:
- The applicant should have basic understanding about Wikipedia
- The applicant should be proficient with computers
- The applicant should have leadership qualities
- The applicant should be patient to teach Wikipedia editing and policies to newbies
- The applicant should be confident to conduct in-class presentations
- The applicant should be able to break down complex material into easily understandable content
- The applicant should be an effective teacher
- The applicant should have convenient transportation to the school/university enrolled in the program
- The applicant should be able to devote 3-5 hrs per week towards the IEP
|
CA Pre-Orientation preparations |
- Both the organizers and new CAs will have to do pre-orientation preparations.
- Major topics covered will include: overview of the IEP, expectations and responsibilities of CAs, presentation and public speaking skills, how to teach newbies to edit Wikipedia, tips on working with professors and students, and fundamental Wikipedia-editing skills.
- Pre-orientation preparation by the new CAs
- Read the following presentations in detail.
- Module 1
- Module 2
- Module 3
- Module 4
- Increase their edit count to at least 80 before the orientation day.
- Come prepared with a list of questions they have about the 4 presentations/IEP/Wikipedia/Wikipedia editing.
- Join the CA Mailing List.
- Pre-orientation preparation by the organizers
- Work on the presentation to cover all important aspects to train new CAs.
- Decided the dates and timing to conduct the orientation.
- Arrange for a venue for a 2 day orientation. The room should have a projector and enough capacity to comfortably accommodate new CAs and the organizers.
- Arrange for lunch and evening snacks for the 2 days.
- The organizers will circulate this form amongst CAs to get their availability for the orientation on a pre-decided date and venue, their T-shirt sizes, institute/place of work, to know whether they have joined CA mailing list or not.
|
CA Orientation |
- All CAs will be required to participate in an orientation (training), to make sure that they clearly understand what is expected of them and to sharpen the skills they need to perform their role well.
- CA Orientation will be conducted over 2 day period typically between 9-5.
- CA Orientation should aim to provide following details to the new CAs:
- What is Wikipedia?
- Who edits Wikipedia?
- What are talk pages and discussion pages?
- What's the protocol of communicating on talk pages/discussion pages.
- At least 3 hours should be spent on actual Wikipedia editing
- A session should be conducted by the existing CAs to talk about various challenges and problems they faced in the pilot.
- A session should be conducted by the local community members to come in and talk about Wikipedia and IEP.
- CAs should bring their own laptops to do Wikipedia editing during the orientation.
- Give them an assignment to submit.
|
Measuring Results |
- CAs will have to fill provide weekly update on their performance.
- In case of inactivity warning will be given to CAs.
- Organize regular Google hangouts or physical meets at least once a week.
|
IEP Model Element |
Details
|
Voluntary assignment |
Wiki assignment will be made voluntary in each class. No matter how enthusiastic or eager the professor is to enroll all his students into the program, students will be given the option of opting in or opting out of the Wikipedia assignment. In the pilot we observed that there were some students who either preferred to do assignments in the traditional way or were unwilling to put in extra hours that an online assignment required. These students should be given an option to opt out of the in-class Wikipedia assignment. Wikipedia assignments will be written on voluntary basis and only those students who are interested should be engaged in the program.
|
Student selection |
It is essential that the students are:
- Proficient in English (We can either ask the students to take an English language test or request the professor to provide us sample work of the students)
- Proficient in working with computers
|
Class Selection |
- We'll start by partnering with the best institutes (A Grade) in India
- We'll avoid enrolling students who have other priorities like looking for a job right after school or preparing for other entrance examination. These students already have their plates full and would not be able to devote sufficient time and energy for a wiki assignment.
- We'll carefully select the subject area on which students will be writing Wikipedia articles. For example in first year of engineering, students are taught fundamental engineering topics. Since basic engineering articles are well covered on Wikipedia these first year students will struggle to add more content on these articles.
|
Number of students |
Given the fact that a proportionally high number of new users can put some substantial workload on the existing community, we'll limit maximum number of participating students to xx.
|
IEP Model Element |
Details
|
Preparation before 1st in-class session |
- Click here to see the presentation that will be used for the 1st in-class presentation. This presentation will have to be update if required.
- These are the brochures that will distributed to the students. These will have to printed and counted to make sure that we have enough brochures to hand out to the students.
- We'll have to make sure that there is a projector in the class.
- The students will have to be informed about the first Wikipedia class in advance.
- This class should be for atleast an hour and a half.
|
1st in-class session |
- The 1st in-class session will provide a brief overview of what is Wikipedia and how it works. Students will be taught about:
- Introduction to Wikipedia - How does it work? who edits Wikipedia? Other Wiki projects, 5 pillars
- Introduction to India Education Program - How does it work? What's in it for them?
- Understanding anatomy of a Wikipedia article - Lead, TOC, Info box, Sections, References, External Links etc.
- Understanding Wikipedia user interface - various tabs like - View History, Edit, Languages, Print, Search box etc.
- Understanding talk pages and discussion pages
- Understanding user contributions
- Understanding how to create a Wikipedia user account and user page
- Towards the end of the in-class session students will be asked to do the following before the next in-class session:
- Create a Wikipedia user account
- Create a Wikipedia user page
- Add IEP template on their userpage
- Provide their roll number, name, user id details on the course page
- Provide their roll number, name, user id details in this Google document
- Select an article they'd want to edit as a part of their assignment
|
Preparation before 2nd in-class session |
- Click here to see the presentation that will be used for 2nd in-class session. The presentation will have to be updated if required.
- We'll have to count and check that all students have updated their information on the class page.
- We'll have to count and check that all students have updated their information in the Google doc.
- Only if all the students have completed their task from the first session that the second session will be conducted.
- Assign students to CAs
- Assign students to OAs
|
2nd in-class session |
- In the 2nd in-class session students will be taught about
- Understanding & Creating Sandbox
- Basic Editing
- Wiki formatting
- Adding references & citation
- How to make the font bold & italics
- How to insert numbered list
- How to insert bulleted list
- How to add headings
- How to insert tables
- How to add internal/external links
- 3. Support system provided to them:
- Campus Ambassadors(CA)
- Which Campus Ambassadors(CA) are allocated to them?
- Online Ambassadors(OA)
- Which Online Ambassadors(OA) are allocated to them?
- How to get in touch with CAs i.e. sharing their usernames, mail ids, phone numbers, gtalk, skype ids etc.
- How to get in touch with OAs i.e sharing their usernames, introducing IRC, introducing IRC office hours, protocol of chatting on IRC.
- 4. Protocol of writing on talk pages and discussion pages
- Towards the end of the in-class session students will be asked to do the following before the next in-class session:
- Create Sandbox
- Try basic editing in Sandbox
- Add Sandbox & article selection details on the course page
- Get article approved by the professor
- Leave a note on the talk page of their respective CAs & OAs
- Log in to IRC
|
Preparation before 3rd in-class session |
Click here for the presentation that will be used for 3rd in-class session. The presentation will have to be updated if required.
|
3rd in-class session |
- In this session students will be taught about:
- Plagiarism
- NPOV
- Citation
- Towards the end of the in-class session students will be asked to do the following before the next in-class session:
- Start writing their article in the Sandbox (use wiki formatting, add reference, internal/external links)
- Leave a note on their OA & CA talk page and request them to approve their Sandbox
|
Preparation before 4th in-class session |
- No presentation will be used for the 4th in-class session.
- Get an overview of how students are performing in their Sandbox.
|
4th in-class session |
- Revise what was taught in the previous in-class sessions.
- Prompt students to ask questions/ get their doubts clarified.
Towards the end of the in-class session:
- Students who got approval from OAs/CAs will be asked to move their articles to main space
- For those who are facing a lot of issues and continue editing in their Sandbox.
|
Refresher Sessions |
Students need same things to be revised multiple times before they understand the topic completely. Refresher sessions will give us the opportunity to revise all that has been taught in the previous classes and take any particular doubts students might have.
|
IEP Model Element |
Details
|
Role of OAs |
Wikipedia Online Ambassador (OA) role is a volunteer position. Wikipedia OA serve as virtual mentors, advisors, and helpers to the professors and students who are using Wikipedia in the classroom. Their role is provide positive online help for students and professors on how to edit Wikipedia and participate in the editing community. On a very broad level,OAs:
- Help students get started on editing Wikipedia and watch out that their first efforts are sympathetically reviewed, so that the students have a positive experience on Wikipedia.
- Answer students' questions about how to edit Wikipedia (basic skills);
- Explain the basics of how Wikipedia works to students;
- Monitor students' work on Wikipedia and provide feedback on student articles, to make sure that students' writing aligns with Wikipedia's core guidelines and policies;
- Identify opportunities for Did You Know nominations and help students with the nomination process;
- Welcome students to the Wikipedia editing community; to the extent possible, make sure students' experience on Wikipedia is positive.
- Be available on IRC during office hours at a specified time every week
Click here for a more detailed role of Online Ambassadors.
|
OA Application |
Here is the OA Application form.
|
Pre-requisites to apply for OA |
There will be certain per-requisites to apply for OA
- The applicant should have a wiki username
- The applicant should be an active wikipedian
- The applicant should be able log into IRC during office hours
- The applicant should be able to devote xx hours in a week
|
Inviting OA Applications |
We'll use multiple channels to invite OA applications:
- Mailing on India mailing list
- Mailing on individual language mailing list
|
OA Selection |
- The recruitment process will be based on application shortlists and past Wikipedia experience.
- Some of the criteria that will be kept in mind during the selection process are:
- The applicant should have advance understanding about Wikipedia
- The applicant should be an existing Wikipedian
- The applicant should be patient to teach Wikipedia editing and policies to newbies
- The applicant should be able to break down complex material into easily understandable content
- The applicant should be an effective teacher
- The applicant should be able to devote 3-5 hrs per week on IRC.
|
OA Orientation |
Since OAs can be physically located anywhere in the world, the OA orientation will take place over Skype, Google+ Hangout, or an equivalent web-conferencing channel, and will last a few hours. Major topics covered will include: overview of the India Education Program, expectations and responsibilities of OAs, how to effectively mentor newbies online on Wikipedia-editing, and tips on working with professors and students. The orientation will be interactive and hands-on to the extent possible.
|
IEP Model Element |
Details
|
Program Page |
xx
|
Class Page |
xx
|
Course Page |
xx
|
Campus Ambassador Page |
xx
|
Online Ambassador Page |
xx
|
Professors Page |
xx
|
Help page for students |
xx
|
Leaderboard Tool |
xx
|
Student-o-meter Tool |
xx
|
Course info Tool |
xx
|
Exploration phase (Date to Date) |
In-person meetings with teachers, students and potential supporters on the ground; determining of feasibility
|
Planning and preparation phase (Date to Date) |
Project planning; recruitment of Campus and Online Ambassadors; training and orientation events for teachers and Ambassadors
|
Execution phase (Date to Date) |
Students write Wikipedia articles during the phase
|
Analysis and documentation phase (Date to Date) |
Surveys; analysis of the results; documentation of the learning points; meeting with participants
|
Amount and quality of content |
Measure of success #1: At least 75% of the students participating in the IEP add 500 words each or more to the article namespace.
Measure of success #2: At least 75% of the content contributed by students survives.
|
No. of active contributors from IEP |
Measure of success #1: At least xx students from IEP start editing more than 5 edits in the article namespace per month.
Measure of success #2: At least xx CAs who were earlier newbies start editing more than 5 edits in the article namespace per month.
|
Satisfaction of community, students and professors |
Measure of success #1: More than 50% of the students indicate that they would prefer a Wikipedia assignment type course to a traditional course in the future. Measure of success #2: More than 50% of the participating teachers indicate that they would use Wikipedia as a teaching tool again.
Measure of success #3: More than 75% of the community volunteers involved in the pilot indicate that it was worth their time.
|
Comfort level with editing Wikipedia |
Measure of success #1: We will measure the level of comfort with editing before and after the semester in a survey. We see a significant increase in the level of comfort (at least double the number).
|
Effective communication with broader community |
Measure of success #1: Weekly updates on the program are shared with the broader community.
|
IRC Chat |
- Attendees
- We'll organise one IRC office hour every fortnight. These will be scheduled on 2nd & 4th Thursday of every month at 9.00pm IST.
- Campus Ambassadors, Online Ambassadors, Professors, involved Consultants should be highly encouraged to attend IRC office hours.
- All community members are requested to join IRC office hours.
- Goal
- CAs, OAs, Professors will provide updates about their respective classes.
- A platform for everyone to discuss any problems/issues in the IEP.
- Opportunity for community members to provide us with suggestions and help steer IEP.
- Discuss next action points.
- IRC Logs
- All IRC logs will be maintained here.
|
Wiki Communication Page |
- To make sure that all general communication pertaining to IEP between Wikipedia Community and Wikimedia Consultants is consolidated in one single page, we'll make use of this page.
- If one has any queries/comments/suggestions about IEP a message can be dropped on this page.
|
Update Page |
This page will provide IEP updated on regular basis. The nature of updates will include:
- Important mails sent to CAs/OAs/professors.
- Action points given to CAs/OAs/professors.
- Any change in the implementation plan because of unforeseen circumstances.
- Any other updates.
|
Communication on village pumps |
|
Communication with WikiProjects |
|
Communication via mailing list |
|
Hisham Mundol |
xx
|
Nitika Tandon |
xx
|
Annie Lin |
xx
|
LiAnna Davis |
xx
|
|