Hi Bryce,
Thanks for your feedback. I must say that that hasn't particularly been my experience with teachers, the usual response is along the lines of "Oh, Wikipedia, isn't that the site where anyone can write anything?" Nobody in the group I presented to was overtly anti-Wikipedia (or if they were, they kept it to themselves), but they did have what we would consider to be fairly basic questions about how we deal with vandalism, how reliable we are, etc etc. Obviously it would be good if we can calm some of the irrational fears of the anti-Wikipedia people and bring them around to our side, which is a definite goal for me of the whole project. Another point that they were generally speaking unaware of was the open licensing nature of everything we do, there was a few quiet 'Wow!'s in the room when I mentioned that. We even had one guy who knew quite a bit about the concepts of open source software who wasn't aware that Wikipedia was under CC-BY-SA. And of course, they didn't know about any of our projects except Wikipedia (although someone thought that WikiAnswers was one of ours). With that said, they did seem fairly uninterested in the bit about featured content and audited content and whatnot, while it's a good barometer of how far along the project is progressing, they didn't seem to see how that was relevant to what they did as educators. On the other hand, they did like me going over categories and the other technical doodads (it's not in the presentation, but we dropped out at that point for a bit and I started navigating around the site itself) - even if they were somewhat aware of these features I think they liked having someone who was in the know explain how it all worked. The next presentation I do will probably take that into account and I'll probably replace slides 24 through 26 with a simpler explanation of the article grading scale (ie: FA, GA, B, C, Start, Stub), and spend more time talking about possible ways they can actually work with us; because that seemed to be something they were VERY interested in. In short though, I think being able to stand in front of them in a classroom and talk Wiki for an hour showed that we're not just a two bit website staffed by antisocial nerds, and made us look a bit more solid and trustworthy. Being "out there" and doing these presentations might yet turn out to be more important than the actual content of the presentations. Cheers, Craig F. PS: I'm CCing this to the members list, simply because I know there are some people who are on one mailing list but not the other. Feel free both to jump in and discuss! From: wikimediaau-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediaau-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Bryce Roney Sent: Monday, 10 May 2010 7:16 PM To: Wikimedia-au Subject: Re: [Wikimediaau-l] Wikimedia in the Classroom (Queensland project) That seems to be a very solid presentation, most of my teachers I have seem to be reasonably adept at being able to use Wikipedia and understand how to make sure an article is accurate and the usefulness of it as a spring board to other references. That said, I know there are teachers out there who are incredibly anti-Wikipedia and a presentation like this could go a long way into being able to get teachers to understand what Wikipedia is and isn't. Best of luck with your project. On Mon, May 10, 2010 at 5:35 PM, Craig Franklin <cr...@halo-17.net> wrote: Okay, it looks like the the Wiki has been fixed, so here goes: Over the past few months, a few of us up here in Brisbane have been developing a programme and materials to do presentations to teachers and schools. It's been our observation that while many teachers have negative views about Wikipedia, these can be fairly easily dispelled by standing in front of them and talking about who we are, what we do, and putting some misconceptions right. It's also a good way to showcase our lesser-known projects; while most know Wikipedia, they don't know about Wiktionary and Wikisource, even though those can be valuable resources as well. I've placed a PDF of the most recent presentation we did up on the chapter site. The thumbnails don't appear to work, but if you click on the filename you can download a complete PDF of my Powerpoint: http://www.wikimedia.org.au/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Overview_Presentation_For_Sc <http://www.wikimedia.org.au/wiki/File:Wikimedia_Overview_Presentation_For_S c%0d%0ahools.pdf> hools.pdf Our first presentation was in early April at Redcliffe State High School. Feedback was very positive and once we sat down and talked Wiki for an hour, the teachers wanted to get involved with either using our content, or doing projects which would involve working collaboratively with us. I'll sum up the exact feedback in a future mail, but when they thought about it they also had a lot of ideas that I think are quite exciting and I'd be interested in going further with. The challenges I can see in the future is finding more places to do the presentation (we are lucky to have a member of the chapter who is a teacher at said school), and following up effectively and quickly on teacher ideas. The other issue I suppose I have is that I'm only one man, I have a fulltime job, and generally speaking pupil-free days are the only time when we can do these, which limits us to a handful of events a year. This can be dealt with by either convincing teachers and educators to come to night classes, or training up other people who can take time off work or whatever to go and do the presentation. Anyway, feel free to have a look at the presentation slides and I'll be happy to answer any questions you have at this stage. Cheers, Craig -----Original Message----- From: wikimediaau-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org [mailto:wikimediaau-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of Sarah Ewart Sent: Wednesday, 5 May 2010 8:50 PM To: Wikimedia-au Subject: Re: [Wikimediaau-l] grants application this year? Craig, please, please, please do write up on the wiki what you've been doing. I think it's very important for the chapter's health to see what members are achieving in their local communities. On 5/5/10, Craig Franklin <cr...@halo-17.net> wrote: > Well, there's stuff going on. My little "Wikipedia in the Classroom" > project has been boiling away pretty nicely (I really ought to update the > page on the chapter site about that.), but it's mainly foundation-building > stuff that'll let us pull of bigger things in the future. > > > > And as for grants, again, the outlay for my project has been about $20 so > far, which included my petrol to drive to the venues and to purchase some > mints to hand out. You don't need a big fat grant to pull off something > worthwhile. > > > > Cheers, > > Craig > > > > From: wikimediaau-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org > [mailto:wikimediaau-l-boun...@lists.wikimedia.org] On Behalf Of private > musings > Sent: Wednesday, 5 May 2010 7:30 PM > To: Wikimedia-au > Subject: Re: [Wikimediaau-l] grants application this year? > > > > 'Grant applications are serious, not something that you submit just to > engage with a process and there needs to be a properly thought through > application with an idea of who, what, when, where and how the > proposed project will be run' > > - totally agree with this- and agree that it's a large stretch to try and > get anything completed before the deadline - whether or not it's worth > trying is a different question, I guess :-) > > 'I'd rather see us take the time to discuss possible ideas properly and > get the details of any proposed projects members want to run nutted > out as carefully as possible before submitting applications' > > - totally agree with this too - again, it does seem unlikely to be able to > get this all done ahead of the deadline - I guess I wish discussions and > activity had kicked off earlier - though that's largely down to us as a > membership - hopefully we can get the ball rolling anyways ahead of future > grant applications etc. > > > 'Jimmy recently describing PM as a troll and calling for > him to be globally banned' > > - this is not accurate - Jimbo never called me a troll, nor did he call for > me to be globally banned - please take greater care in raising comments > about me personally as oppose to my posts.... however; > > 'PM is really not an appropriate person to lead the chapter in requests to > the WMF for not-insignificant amounts of money' > > - sure ;-) - as I mentioned I'd rather just try and help / chivvy / expedite > existing efforts - my concern is to make sure that something happens - I'm > concerned that we're heading for a pretty poor report card for the first > half of 2010, and would like to help avoid that :-) > > cheers, > > Peter, > > PM. > > > > > > On Wed, May 5, 2010 at 6:56 PM, Sarah Ewart <sarahew...@gmail.com> wrote: > > To be entirely frank, I would have to agree that given both the long > term and recent "controversies" throughout WMF universe which > culminated in Jimmy recently describing PM as a troll and calling for > him to be globally banned, PM is really not an appropriate person to > lead the chapter in requests to the WMF for not-insignificant amounts > of money. However, I don't have a problem with him suggesting > potential projects and then seeing how others feel about them and > whether they gel with other projects people are currently involved in. > > I attended the session on grants at the chapters meeting in Berlin (my > notes are up on the wiki here- > http://www.wikimedia.org.au//wiki/2010_chapters_meeting/Sarahs_notes#Working <http://www.wikimedia.org.au/wiki/2010_chapters_meeting/Sarahs_notes#Working > > _group:_Volunteers > <http://www.wikimedia.org.au/wiki/2010_chapters_meeting/Sarahs_notes#Working > _group:_Volunteers> ) > and we discussed the final date for grant applications and Eric made > it clear that while May 15 is listed as the deadline, it's more like a > preferred date. If applications are in by then they'll be processed > more quickly, but we're welcome to submit applications after that > date. > > Last year we had to pay back a grant a chapter member requested for an > outreach conference they wanted to run because it fell through and > didn't end up going ahead. Paying back the funds was a real headache > for the committee (especially for Brian as the then-treasurer) and it > took a considerable amount of time to resolve with the foundation. I > don't want to see this happen again so I'd oppose any moves to rush > through any ill-considered applications just to get them in before May > 15 or that seem more orientated on getting money for the sake of it or > for the simple stated purpose of engaging with the grant process. > Grant applications are serious, not something that you submit just to > engage with a process and there needs to be a properly thought through > application with an idea of who, what, when, where and how the > proposed project will be run. If we have to pay back another grant, > it's going to reflect very poorly on the chapter so this isn't > something that should just be slapped together at the last minute. > > I'd rather see us take the time to discuss possible ideas properly and > get the details of any proposed projects members want to run nutted > out as carefully as possible before submitting applications. > > > > On 5/5/10, Andrew <orderinchao...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Hi, >> >> I'll be straight up and state I'm not going to support this, for a variety >> of reasons. >> >> Firstly, I don't think our chapter is capable of producing a grant >> application to the standard WMF require for such a big area (education) in >> 10 days that addresses all the things WMF expect us to address. >> >> Secondly, this appears to be trying to reinvent the wheel. Craig's project >> up in Brisbane is already making significant advances, at least three > other >> chapter members have made contacts with (or have been contacted by) >> educational departments and representative associations, and completed >> resources already in use in schools exist in other languages from other >> chapters - I'm presently trying to secure translations of these on behalf > of >> the chapter. Without any attempt to coordinate the various approaches, > we're >> not only less effective but also give the outward appearance of being >> disorganised to the various educational bodies involved. >> >> Thirdly, given your recent conflict with, among other people, Jimbo Wales >> and various concerns about past occasions when you have undertaken chapter >> work (in particular the Dictionary of Sydney episode), I do not think you >> personally should be making any outward representation of our chapter and, >> if the grant were to be approved, I think someone else should lead it. >> >> kindest regards >> Andrew >> >> On 5 May 2010 11:46, private musings <thepmacco...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> G'day all, >>> >>> does the chapter have any grants proposals heading in this year? >>> >>> http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Index >>> >>> Do we have any structure for creating / supporting a chapter grant like >>> this? >>> >>> I have a few ideas and opportunities - for wiki use in education, >>> hopefully >>> in partnership with nsw dep. of ed. - if I write something up in the next >>> week or so, I suppose we could discuss it on our wiki, and forward it to >>> the >>> grants page linked above for consideration if appropriate? >>> >>> I think it's important for a functioning healthy chapter to try to engage >>> with processes like this, so if you too have any ideas or opportunities, >>> please do pipe up, and let's work on them on the wiki, and get them going >>> :-) >>> >>> cheers, >>> >>> Peter, >>> PM. >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wikimediaau-l mailing list >>> Wikimediaau-l@lists.wikimedia.org >>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaau-l >>> >>> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimediaau-l mailing list > Wikimediaau-l@lists.wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaau-l > > > > _______________________________________________ Wikimediaau-l mailing list Wikimediaau-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaau-l _______________________________________________ Wikimediaau-l mailing list Wikimediaau-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediaau-l
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