I had the opportunity to meet Monika at Wikimania, and poked just a little bit at this project. It looks really interesting! Thanks Monika for telling us about it.
Risker/Anne On 9 August 2017 at 10:56, Monika Sengul-Jones <jones.mon...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello all - > > I'm Monika, longtime reader of this list! I've been following this > conversation on increasing the diversity of Wikipedias contributors with > some interest, as well as the conversation on professional connections on > Wikipedia spaces. It seems relevant and valuable to share with this group > details about the project in working on -- and to invite your help. > > I'm a WIR for Oclc's 18-month Wikipedia + Libraries project. > http://www.webjunction.org/explore-topics/wikipedia-libraries.html > > This fall the project is running an online training program for up to 500 > US public library staff to learn about engaging Wikipedia in their > libraries for their communities. The curriculum will cover a wide variety > of subjects specific to English Wikipedia (it's history, pillars, community > norms, issues of reliability, authority control, organization and user > roles, editing and editorial flow, COI, etc.). Through observations, > exercises, case studies and small assignments, the participants will slowly > learn best practices, then gain strategies to apply what they know about > Wikipedia to improve info literacy in their communities. By the end the > goal is to have the participants be confident that they can engage > Wikipedia, understand what they are doing and how it works, and make a plan > for next step in editing and designing programming. > > The course will take place on Webjunction, a learning place for libraries > that's been serving 80,000+ library staff globally since 2003. By > participating in the nine week course, US public library staff will earn a > certificate and some can apply for continuing education credits for their > participation. As a WebJunction course, the focus will be on how Wikipedia > editing and programming is relevant to library work. Public library staff > participating will see how Wikipedia make sense to them as information > professionals and possibly, give them reasons to make Wikipedia editing and > outreach a part of their staff duties. The curriculum will make suggestions > about activities to try at their libraries and include guest speakers who > have edited and done outreach as public library staff. > > Given the interest in this thread on helping newcomers, and how that > works, I wanted to share the specifics of this project and I invite folks > in this list to participate in the program as a volunteer guide for one (or > more) of the course modules. > > When I reading Fluffernutter's story, and Pine's, I was smiling - thank > you for sharing, I completely agree, the times I've felt most encouraged in > trying something new have been when I am genuinely curious and feel > comfortable in asking questions -- for me this has also been in a course > environment; a safe learning space is critical to gaining the confidence > to participate in something new. I think it holds for a big project like > Wikipedia, which has many esoteric technical features and so many guides > and policies. > > For this reason I am interested in recruiting a few thoughtful, helpful > editors to join this program to mentor / guide public library staff. Most > of the participants in the nine week course (Sept 13 - Nov 15; six live > online sessions) will be new to editing and the technical/community aspects > of editing. ~77% of public library respondents in the preview webinar > survey said they use Wikipedia weekly but have never edited Wikipedia. 98% > said Wikipedia is relevant to their jobs. They would benefit from meeting > and getting help and support from real human Wikipedians familiar with the > social norms and features of the technical interface. In return, you can > learn more about public libraries, what they do, their services and > missions. Public libraries and Wikipedia share many values -- including > commitments to civility and providing free open access to information. > > The course will take place on WebJunction's learning platform. To ensure > privacy, the interactive forums are all there. Guiding and mentoring would > require about hour or three for a 2-week module (and you could help out in > more than one module). Modules are (roughly): 1) about Wikipedia, 2) > editing 101, 3) Wikipedia and information literacy programs, 4) Wikipedia > and community outreach. > > I am glad for the opportunity to share this with the gender gap list, and > I hope that if you are curious you will reach out. I'm actually writing > this en-route to Montreal (first time at Wikimania! Excited! Pls pardon > grammar and informality, I'm writing this on my phone!) and will be > presenting the project at 4pm on Thursday and Sunday at 11:00am... feel > free to email me directly or attend if you are also coming. also share! > There's also a simple form to fill out if you prefer too > > https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8XPTQXK > > Thanks to the members of this list for your consideration / attention to > my email and for the dynamic conversations over the years on tough-to-solve > issues ... > > /MSJ > > > Sent from my mobile phone possibly using voice control, please pardon > errors > > >
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