Thursday, February 16, 2017

Wikipedia Education Program: Crossing the line


Evolving WEP

Everything in the world requires evolution. Whether it's human being, technology, medicine, education etc. In my previous blog series on Wikipedia Education Program, I wrote on how Wikipedia can help in school education. I hope the readers liked it. If you remember the series, I wrote about creating articles, editing articles and probably everything that involved articles. On 14/02/2017, when most people were celebrating Valentine's Day (which involved me as well), I was brainstorming on WEP. I thought of me, my Google Code-In moments with Wikimedia Foundation, my first contribution, my first reverted edit, those endless hours to solve bugs on Phabricator etc. Yes, these moments were my Valentine. However, the word 'Phabricator' gave me intuition. To all who don't know about Phabricator, it is a bug tracker developed by Facebook. Wikimedia Foundation uses Phabricator to track the bugs found on all the Wikipedias powered by MediaWiki. (To read more about Phabricator, click here.)

Most of you might be wondering, what the heck I am talking about. This guy said he was brainstorming on WEP, but he is talking about bug tracker, phabricator, MediaWiki and these terms do not relate to WEP at all. Yes, this is the motto of today's article, "To include these words in WEP". With the increase in trend of contests like Google Code-In, Google Summer of Code, the students in open-source organisations are increasing. So, this is what came into my mind. What if we include MediaWiki in WEP? So, I brainstormed on this idea and came up with the few pointers which I would like to share with you:

  • The course will be primarily focused for college students.
  • It will be an optional course and students who wish to learn more about open-source and MediaWiki can take the course and gain themselves some extra credits.
  • There will be some tasks in Phabricator specifically reserved for those students.
  • This course will not only help students to gain credits but also improve their GitHub profile. Their knowledge in open-source development will increase which will be beneficial in future for their career.
  • Their chances to win Google Summer of Code internship will be relatively high.
  • The community will get new talented contributors.
  • They will learn practical skills. Their practical approach to coding will be enhanced.

Why this needs to be done?

Most of the coders that become coders by theoretical approach realise the need of practical aspect of coding when they start to code for an organisation or when they code for a big project. I agree theoretical aspect is must in coding. You should have in-depth knowledge of language you code in. But with the theoretical aspect, practical approach is must. The best way to start practical aspect of coding is to start contributing to open-source. When you code for open-source, you get to

  • code for an organisation,
  • code for a big project,
  • most importantly, become a real coder.

With MediaWiki in the course, the students will gain so much experience in open-source development and coding in a collaborative environment.

Why I chose to integrate MediaWiki in WEP instead of a hackathon?

Hackathons are a great way to introduce coders to open-source world. But very few of them stay associated with the community after the completion of hackathon. The main reason behind this is their course syllabus which is too large and therefore the time management becomes a major obstacle to their development. That is why I chose to integrate it as a part of Wikipedia Education Program.

So many queries can arise on this issue. Even I have a couple of them. Let us discuss on this issue. Do leave your queries below. I would love to answer them. Thanks a lot for reading this article. See you again!

Monday, February 6, 2017

Change in Modern Schooling Education with Wikipedia: Part Three

In my previous article in this series, I explained in detail on how Wikipedia can work in school education. (Have no idea about what am I talking about? Please click here and then here.)

This is the last article in the series, and I expect myself to:

However, if I fail to do so, please do not hesitate to leave your query in the comments section below.

Benefits of editing Wikipedia

(Don't expect me to elaborate them unless you specify a particular point in the comments.)
  • Enhances reading skills and information evaluation strategies.
  • Helps in gaining digital literacy.
  • Improves interdisciplinary thinking.
  • Helps in improving learning, study and writing skills.
  • Students learn how to work collaboratively.
  • Wikipedia helps in getting you involved with active communities all around the globe.
  • And the biggest of all, you become Wikipedian.

There are few advantages that I skipped intentionally. Read my first two articles and you will get them. Consider it as a treasure hunt game with no reward.


Starting Wikipedia Education Program in your school

(You can be a Wikipedia Education Program leader, yes you can!)

Suppose you are someone who wish for a change in the society. How many times did it happen that whenever you try to initiate a change, you fail. You fail because of the stereotypes prevailing in the society. You fail because people resist change. I am telling you this, because I have been through this. When I started the WEP in the schools, I faced so many challenges. Very few faculty members were in favour. You have to not only convince them, but also teach them every basic of Wikipedia. But, that's how this works. So, to be a Wikipedia Education Leader, you have to keep these things in mind:
(A Wikipedia Education Leader has pre-requisite knowledge of Wikipedia editing, so make sure you have it before you start any kind of this program).

  • Convince teachers and parents, because students will do as directed.
  • Keep in mind the motive, i.e, "FREE KNOWLEDGE" and share it among everyone.
  • Familiarize yourself with bots and gadgets such as WikiComment, Program and Events Dashboard, CopyPatrol etc.
  • Last and the most important of all, never give up.

F.A.Q


Q1. Can I solve math problems on Wikipedia?

ANS. To be precise, you are not allowed to solve questions on Wikipedia. That's against the rules. However, you can contribute to Wikiversity, a sister project of Wikimedia, if you want to contribute more towards academics.

Q2. What is the difference between Wikipedia and Wikimedia?

ANS. Wikimedia Foundation is an organisation, and Wikipedia is it's project. Just like Wikipedia, we have Wikiversity, Wikisource etc. You can check the whole list of Wikimedia sister projects here.

Q3. How can I stay in touch with Wikipedia related news and other Wikipedians?

ANS. You can join the Wikipedia IRC channel. Just go to Freenode and under the Channels field, type #wikipedia. You can drop your query there, but please sound professional and keep patience. You can also join the Wikipedia mailing list and stay updated on Wikipedia related news.

Q4. I have started WEP. How can I tell other WEP leaders and seek advice?

ANS. Just like Wikipedia mailing list, we have Wikipedia Education mailing list as well. You can join the mailing list here. Here, you may wish to share the month's update, some new idea, or any problem that you are facing. The leaders all around the globe will be happy to serve you. :)


So, here it ends. If you thought that the article ended, you are wrong. This article will be continued and updated every time a new question arises. And it's you (the reader, and the future WEP leader) who can keep this article alive.

I bid adieu to this series from my side. Thank you for spending your precious time on this article series. See you soon with the next series. Till then, brainstorm and implement the WEP in schools. Don't sit idle. The article is over, go now. Good luck!