National newspaper "The Hindu" carried an interview with Hisham Mundol and
Frank Schulenburg on Campus Ambassadors Programme* *today. The interview
was of 1/4 newspaper size and was a easily noticeable one. Appears on Page 9
in Bangalore edition.
*The Hindu : "Wikipedia to be promoted in educational institutions"*
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2095004.ece
http://www.hindu.com/2011/06/11/stories/2011061158740700.htm
*Students to be motivated to write articles for the website*
*
*
*New initiative:Frank Schulenburg, Head of Public Outreach of the Wikimedia
Foundation, and Hisham Mundol, Consultant, India National Programmes of the
Wikimedia Foundation, are training 22 Campus Ambassadors to popularise
Wikipedia among students in Pune.*
*
*
*Last week, Pune etched its place in Wikimedia history by becoming the first
city in India, and the first outside the United States, to host the Campus
Ambassadors' Programme, launched by the Wikimedia Foundation.*
*
*
*The 22 Campus Ambassadors, who were chosen by the foundation, will be
working towards promoting Wikipedia as a tool in education in institutions
in Pune. Frank Schulenburg, Head of Public Outreach of the Wikimedia
Foundation, and Hisham Mundol, Consultant, India National Programmes of the
Wikimedia Foundation, who are now in Pune to train the ambassadors, spoke
toThe Hinduon a variety of topics such as why Wikipedia is looking at India
for its offshore expansion, plagiarism and the skewed sex ratio when it
comes to contributors to Wikipedia.*
*
*
*Excerpts:*
*
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*Why was India chosen for the programme?*
*
*
*Mr. Schulenburg:We sensed the biggest global opportunity in India. A lot
needs to be written about India, and we need a lot more writers from here.
India tops our priority list, and this was one way to increase our reach in
the global south.*
*
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*How did you zero in on Pune for the pilot?*
*
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*Mr. Mundol:Pune has a strong heritage in education and a huge student body.
So when we thought of piloting the program in India. Wikimedia Foundation's
aim has also been to increase the number of Indian language pages. Pune,
having a diverse population mix, can be of great use in that aspect as well.
*
*
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*How will the education programme work?*
*
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*Mr. Schulenburg:We chose Campus Ambassadors who promote the use of
Wikipedia in education on a day-to-day basis. 824 students participated in
the program creating 5,605 pages on Wikipedia on a variety of subjects.
While the programme was restricted to the topic of ‘Public Policy' in the
U.S., in India it has opened its doors to include all the possible subjects.
*
*
*
*The aim is to encourage educational institutions and professors to
encourage students to write Wikipedia articles as course assignments. This,
we believe, will enhance critical thinking abilities in students, and add to
the knowledge pool that is Wikipedia. In the U.S., we have got the feedback
that using Wikipedia has increased the level of motivation, and hence the
quality of work among students.*
*
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*Will this in any way put an end to plagiarism which is one of the main
concerns in academic circles when it comes to using Wikipedia?*
*
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*Mr. Mundol:Definitely. Imagine this. If a student has to create a Wikipedia
page, he cannot copy from anywhere. He has to reference it to the source. So
he has to research more, think of adding more aspects to the Wikipedia to
enrich it. Once the assignment is done and its up on Wikipedia, the student
can share it on the worldwide platform and keep working on it. He has the
ownership, while knowing that millions of readers are adding value to it.*
*
*
*What is the goal for the programme apart from increasing the number of
contributors to Wikipedia?*
*
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*Mr. Mundol:We hope that someday the number of articles that a student or an
institute has contributed will be regarded as a measure for academic
excellence. Digital media literacy is a core skill for students in the 21st
century, and the contribution to Wikipedia can be a proof of it.*
*
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*Is the skewed sex ratio among Wikipedia contributors an issue?*
*
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*Mr. Schulenburg: It definitely is! Our research tells us that an average
Wikipedia contributor is 25-year-old male. We are definitely looking to
change this. This is where the Education Programme comes in. In the U.S., 46
per cent of the campus ambassadors were female. Among the students who used
Wikipedia in education last year across universities, we had a 50:50 ratio.
We are looking for the same kind of figures in India.*
*
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*What else is in store for India?*
*
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*Mr. Mundol:We are looking launching an India office of the Wikimedia
Foundation in the national capital region this year. This will again be the
first one outside of U.S. In India, we will be launching new initiatives. We
will be targeting the millions of mobile phone-users in this country to
promote the use of Wikipedia.*
Regards
Tinu Cherian
http://wiki.wikimedia.in/In_the_news#June_2011