Dear fellow Wikipedians:
This is to let you know about my most recent article, co-authored with former student Kate Rattray. We’re especially proud of this piece, in which we make a pedagogical and public-service case for writing and editing Wikipedia articles for law school credit. The article has just been published in the Journal of Legal Education, which, appropriately, is an open-access journal. The current volume can be found here: http://jle.aals.org/home/. You can also read an abstract and download the article from my SSRN (Social Sciences Research Network) website, here: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2729241.
Yours truly,
John Kleefeld
Associate Professor, College of Law
University of Saskatchewan
15 Campus Drive
Saskatoon SK S7N 5A6
tel: (+1) 306.966.1039
email: john.kleefeld(a)usask.ca
skype: johnkleefeld
twitter: @johnkleefeld
web: http://law.usask.ca/find-people/faculty/kleefeld-john.php
Good evening, Professor Christie. My name is Lixxx235, and I'm a Wikipedia
editor and an Online Ambassador with the Wikipedia Education Program. (
userpage <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Lixxx235>)
It's come to my attention (through a student's request for help via
Wikipedia's live chat) that you have given your students assignments
relating to editing Wikipedia. While the Wikipedia Education Program fully
supports such assignments, and endorses a number of courses at various
universities around the world, according to one of your students, an
assignment you've given seems to have students confused and is causing
submissions in violation of some Wikipedia policies and wasting volunteer
and student time. For example, this
<https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Fuel_controlled_fires_…>
is an entry one of your students tried to get help on from our live help
chat. This submission does not meet Wikipedia guidelines such as notability
policies, policies requiring verifiability of material, and policies
requiring a neutral point of view (NPOV) to be kept. In addition, it was
not in Wikipedia's standard format.
We'd love to get in touch with you. Please reply back to
lixxx235wikipedia(a)gmail.com and education(a)lists.wikimedia.org to see how we
can help you develop good assignments for editing Wikipedia and how we can
resolve some issues with your current assignment.
All the best,
Lixxx235
English Wikipedia
Hi all,
As we have stated in our annual plan [1], “currently, community members
must search many pages and places to stay informed about Foundation
activities and resources.” We have worked in the past two quarters to
create a single point of entry. We call it the Wikimedia Resource Center,
and its alpha version is now live on Meta Wikimedia:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Resource_Center
As the movement expands to include more affiliates and more programmatic
activities every year, newer Wikimedians are faced with lack of experience
in the movement and its various channels for requesting support. In order
to expand Wikimedia communities’ efforts, we want to provide easy access to
resources that support their very important work. The [[m:Wikimedia
Resource Center]] is a hub designed in response to this issue: it is
intended to evolve into a single point of entry for Wikimedians all over
the world to the variety of resources and types of staff support they may
need to develop new initiatives or also expand existing ones.
This version of the Resource Center is only the beginning. For phase two of
the project, we will enable volunteer Wikimedians to add resources
developed by other individuals or organizations to the Wikimedia Resource
Center, and in phase three, the Wikimedia Resource Center will include
features to better connect Wikimedians to other Wikimedians that can
support them.
We want to hear what you think about this prototype and our plans for it!
If you have comments about the Wikimedia Resource Center, you can submit
your feedback publicly, on the Talk Page, or privately, via a survey hosted
by a third party, that shouldn’t take you more than 4 minutes to complete.
A feedback button is on the top right corner on every page of the hub.
Looking forward to more collaborations!
Best,
María
[1]
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Annual_Plan/2016-2017/…
--
María Cruz
Communications and Outreach Project Manager, Community Engagement
Cross posting this announcement to the Education list in case you missed
it, as it could be relevant for program leaders.
--
Tighe Flanagan
Senior Manager, Wikipedia Education Program
Wikimedia Foundation
tflanagan(a)wikimedia.org
education.wikimedia.org
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Asaf Bartov <abartov(a)wikimedia.org>
Date: Fri, Mar 17, 2017 at 1:06 AM
Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Announcing the Hardware donation program
To: Wikimedia Mailing List <wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
Dear Wikimedians,
The Wikimedia Foundation is pleased to announce a small new program called
the Hardware Donation Program. In a word, it is a program designed to
donate depreciated (but fully working) hardware from the WMF office to
community members who would put it to good use.
The program, including instructions on how to apply, is described on Meta,
here:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Hardware_donation_program
Please read the information carefully. I especially encourage you to pay
attention to the program's design considerations, which determine most of
the decisions we'll be making.
We currently have approximately 20 laptops ready to be donated.
Applications are welcome.
The upcoming Wikimedia Conference in Berlin (in about two weeks) would be
an excellent opportunity to deliver some of those laptops in person to
approved applications, so if you think you might be interested, I'd
encourage you to apply as soon as possible.
Please also help spread the word about this program, by forwarding this
e-mail to other Wikimedia lists you're on, and posting the link to the
program page on village pumps and *community* (not public) social media
channels or other communication forms you use.
Special thanks to User:Anntinomy from Wikimedia Ukraine, who had the idea
of asking about possible donation of older machines from WMF, and inspired
this program.
Mini-FAQ:
Q: Why are you doing this?
A: WMF's Office IT determines a lifetime for work machines, and regularly
replaces older machines. This creates a stock of older, working machines,
that are available for donation. We can donate them locally to San
Francisco charities, but figure that if we can find low-cost ways to
deliver them to our own community members, that's so much better.
Q: Am I eligible?
A: Read the fine program documentation.
Q: If I'm eligible, am I guaranteed a donated laptop?
A: no.
Q: Once these 20 laptops are donated, will there be others?
A: yes, eventually.
Q: How can you ensure people would use the machines for Wikimedia purposes?
A: We can't. We'll be making a good-effort assessment of the likelihood of
Wikimedia use, and make a decision to donate (or not) the equipment. Once
donated, the equipment no longer belongs to WMF. We encourage, but can't
enforce, reporting on impact achieved using the equipment.
Q: I need a few laptops for my event in two weeks! Can I get them through
this program?
A: No. Read the fine program documentation.
Q: I'm really happy about this!
A: So are we! :)
Q: I'm really angry about this!
A: So it goes.
Q: I have more questions!
A: Hit 'Reply'. :)
Cheers,
Asaf
_______________________________________________
Wikimedia-l mailing list, guidelines at: https://meta.wikimedia.org/
wiki/Mailing_lists/Guidelines and https://meta.wikimedia.org/
wiki/Wikimedia-l
New messages to: Wikimedia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l,
<mailto:wikimedia-l-request@lists.wikimedia.org?subject=unsubscribe>
Dear colleagues,
The first ‘Celtic Knot’ – Wikipedia Language Conference<http://thinking.is.ed.ac.uk/wir/2017/02/17/save-the-date-celtic-knot-confer…> will take place 5 & 6 July 2017 at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Wikimedia UK.
This Wikimedia event will focus on showcasing innovative approaches to open education, open knowledge and open data that support and grow Celtic and Indigenous language communities.
Please note: the ‘call for proposals’ closes midnight on Friday 17th March 2017.
Following enquiries, the criteria for submissions is that presentations/workshops should be:
* Relevant to Wikimedia<https://www.wikimedia.org/>.
* Address interests in-keeping with Wikimedia’s mission<https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mission_statement>.
* Be of interest to Wikimedians<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_community> specifically.
Therefore, any proposals should make it very clear how their presentation will be of interest to this audience.
To assist with seeing areas of commonality and links with the Wikimedia projects<http://thinking.is.ed.ac.uk/wir/2017/03/10/seeing-the-links-at-the-celtic-k…> you can click here<http://thinking.is.ed.ac.uk/wir/2017/03/10/seeing-the-links-at-the-celtic-k…>.
If you would like to attend as a delegate then we are asking people for expressions of interest and to save the date until booking is open. If you would like to present then we are asking for suggested ideas to be no longer than 100-200 words showcasing the best of your work which both addresses the conference themes and satisfies the above criteria. (Submitted ideas which already explicitly address this criteria need not resubmit.)
To find out more about the conference themes and the format of sessions please visit the Celtic Knot<http://thinking.is.ed.ac.uk/wir/2017/03/10/seeing-the-links-at-the-celtic-k…> page. Email your session proposal to ewan.mcandrew(a)ed.ac.uk<mailto:ewan.mcandrew@ed.ac.uk> indicating the session type, conference theme and how it meets the criteria by no later than Friday 17th March.
Please feel free to forward this event to interested colleagues in your network. If you would like to learn more then please contact me direct at ewan.mcandrew(a)ed.ac.uk<mailto:ewan.mcandrew@ed.ac.uk>
Very best regards,
Ewan McAndrew
Wikimedian in Residence
Tel: 07719 330076
Email: ewan.mcandrew(a)ed.ac.uk
Subscribe to the mailing list: wikimedia(a)mlist.is.ed.ac.uk
My working hours are 10.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday.
Wikipedia Project Page for the residency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:University_of_Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, Floor H (West), Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9DR.
www.ed.ac.uk
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
apologies for cross-posting
Dear Wikimedians,
If you are a representative of an Affiliate, committee, or other
organized group in the Wikimedia Movement, please read this email
carefully and forward it to your peers.
I am writing you today in my role as the Movement Strategy Lead for
organized groups (Track A), and would like to encourage you to
actively participate in Wikimedia’s movement strategy process.
Together with you, we would like to find answers to the question “What
do we want to build or achieve together over the next 15 years?”
https://2030.wikimedia.org is the universal start page to the strategy
portal on Meta.
== This is our time! ==
This is the time many of us have been waiting for for years. I would
love to see each and every one of you make your voice heard and take
the chance to shape the future of our movement together.
== Timeline and process ==
The timeline up to Wikimania 2017 is organized in 3 consecutive
discussion cycles that are designed to explore, cluster and sharpen
the strategic direction and define 3-5 focus areas for the movement.
After Wikimania, we will discuss the movement structure, roles, as
well as 3-5-year goals and starting in 2018, organizations will
incorporate the findings into their strategic and annual planning.
Today, we are kicking off cycle 1 which is running until 15 April.
Organized groups will find all relevant information on the Meta page
for Track A.[1]
== Get involved! ==
Last week I reached out to all Chairs and EDs of Affiliates as well as
to active members of other organized groups and committees. While I
have heard from many, I would like to remind everyone to appoint a
discussion coordinator for your group that will act as the linker to
the strategy process.[2][3][4]
As an organized Group, you can invite all your stakeholders to join
your conversation: Board and staff members, members, external partners
and allies as well as members of your communities. Track A is closely
connected to Track B (Individual Contributors)[5], as many organized
Groups have close bonds with their local or thematic communities. We
encourage Track A and Track B coordinators to sync on their plans.
Your conversations can happen on- and offline. To host a conversation,
please read the discussion guide[6] that provides material to prepare,
conduct and document each conversation in each format. Before you and
your peers enter the conversation, please make yourself familiar with
the briefing[7] which provides a high-level overview of what we know
about the future and about our movement today.
I also look forward to seeing many of you at the Wikimedia Conference
in Berlin where we will discuss our future, generate thematic
statements, identify keywords and create thematic clusters of our
ideas. The rough outline of the program will be adjusted in the coming
days.[8]
Let’s make this happen! Please reach out to me with any question or
feedback you might have.
Sincerely,
Nicole
[1] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Strategy/Wikimedia_movem…
[2] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Toolkit/Di…
[3] Sign-up to become a Discussion Coordinator here:
https://docs.google.com/a/wikimedia.de/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScyzOcB9FmgWWrenoe0…
[4] Overview of organized groups’ discussions
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Outreach/L…
[5] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Track_B
[6] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Toolkit/Di…
[7] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Strategy/Wikimedia_movement/2017/Process/Br…
[8] https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Conference_2017
--
Nicole Ebber
Adviser International Relations
Movement Strategy Track Lead: Organized Groups
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts
Berlin-Charlottenburg unter der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig
anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin,
Steuernummer 27/029/42207.
I have the dates for this project now!
First outage: *Wednesday, 19 April 2017*
Second outage: *Wednesday, 3 May 2017*
I do not have the time of day yet. My assumption is that both outages are
likely to happen somewhere between 14:00 and 16:00 UTC (afternoon in Europe
and Africa/morning in the Americas), but the team has not settled on a
particular time.
There will be no editing, uploading, or other ways of contributing during a
critical stage in this process. The outages will last for about 30 minutes
on each of the two days.
The schedule may change. It could be postponed literally at the last
second if Ops is not satisfied with the situation. If you want to check
the schedule to make sure that it has not changed, then check these links:
Official schedule: https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Switch_Datacenter
More information (draft):
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Tech/Server_switch_2017
Please share this information, especially with any person who might be
scheduling a workshop during the next few weeks. If you are scheduling a
workshop on these days, or if you are worried that a delay might affect
your workshop, then feel free to send me information about your plans.
On Sun, Feb 12, 2017 at 6:01 PM Whatamidoing (WMF)/Sherry Snyder <
ssnyder(a)wikimedia.org> wrote:
> This is early warning of some planned server operations, as an outage can
> cause a severe disruption on a short workshop:
>
> In April 2016, the Technology Operations team at the WMF did some work on
> the servers that run Wikipedia and the other wikis. This resulted in all
> editing being stopped at all wikis for about half an hour on two different
> days.
>
> A similar project is currently expected sometime in April 2017. I do not
> have specific dates or times yet. However, I expect the first editing
> disruption to happen during the first half of April and the second to be
> about two weeks afterwards.
>
> They are hoping that the editing outages will be shorter this time
> (perhaps 15 to 30 minutes). The time of day is undecided; however, it will
> almost certainly be when most of the Ops staff is online (afternoon in
> Europe and Africa/morning in the Americas).
>
> Last year, the official schedule was kept at
> https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Switch_Datacenter and the same page
> may be used again. *If you are scheduling short workshops during April,
> then please consider checking that schedule* or checking with me before
> you finalize your plans. If you need to reach me, then I am currently
> subscribed to the GLAM mailing list, and you can always leave a note on my
> talk page at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:Whatamidoing_(WMF)
>
>
> --
> Sherry Snyder (WhatamIdoing)
> Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation
>
--
Sherry Snyder (WhatamIdoing)
Community Liaison, Wikimedia Foundation