Hi Gina,
I can share with you how I do this in West Africa. The situation there is a bit different, I was presenting Kiwix (www.kiwix.org), an off-line Wikipedia reader, to teachers who had very little experience with Internet in general. They have modern cell phones, laptops but Internet connections are not reliable and very expensive. - I start by talking about what happens when the Google something. Most of these teachers have had access to Internet when they go to cities. I then show them (I usually have connection through my own phone) that Google displays information from Wikipedia. So they have probably all used Wikipedia, even those who do not know specifically about the encyclopedia. - I then talk about Kiwix and off-line access to Wikipedia - Each teacher, using Kiwix, looks up a subject that they know a lot about, in their field of teaching. That way they usually find out that no matter how much they know, or how much their printed teaching resources show, there is a lot of information on Wikipedia that is new to them. Sometimes it is just details, sometimes more important sections of knowledge.
When distributing Kiwix in West Africa, I have found out that we need to spend half a day or so exploring the encyclopedia for teachers to be convinced that it can be useful to them. In my experience in Geneva (Switzerland) where there are absolutely no connectivity issues, it also takes a few hours to show and convince my colleagues of the potential of Wikipedia for their classrooms.
But you say you have about 1.5 hours. So I would suggest a few ideas: - Your colleagues probably all know about Wikipedia, but maybe a bit superficially. I would go over with them how it works: internal links, external links, related articles, portals, categories, discussion pages, etc. - Are some of the adult students foreign language speakers? You could also show the inter wiki links, and explain that the English Wikipedia has the most articles, those in other languages are not just translations but have been written by contributors who may not even speak English! - Challenge the audience to come up with some information that is not correct on Wikipedia. I usually do this with my colleagues, and they have yet to come up with a major error in Wikipedia. I do not count spelling mistakes... - I also talk about the way articles a reviewed before publication in peer-reviewed journals, and compare that to the way articles are written and improved anonymously on Wikipedia. When an paper is submitted to a peer-reviewed journal, the reviewers do not know who has written the paper. They can only judge the paper on it's own merits. Wikipedia is the same: there is no authority that has signed the article, you have to judge the article by checking the references... That comparison usually goes well with university audiences.
I am very interested in how your presentations goes. Please keep us informed.
Best regards Gabriel
On Sun, Mar 25, 2018 at 8:03 PM, Jackie jackie.koerner@gmail.com wrote:
Hi Gina,
So glad to know you are going to present. Sometimes getting Wikipedia on the roster can be a challenge. I am excited to learn about how it goes. It seems like you have a great foundation for your presentation and the topics you're going to cover.
I would even suggest starting on the ground level with Wikipedia. Your audience will be a mix of learning styles, and understanding of Wikipedia amongst attendees will vary for sure. Maybe include a little intro about Wikipedia with some screenshots. Maybe ask about myths people have heard and correct them. Also have them do an action item at the end - how are they planning to use Wikipedia in their practice?
I generally present on Wikipedia, communication and bias, but I am a K-16 educator in the US with a focus on disability and inclusion. I'd gladly listen to you practice your presentation if that would be helpful.
Best,
Jackie
On Sun, Mar 25, 2018 at 12:13 PM, Michel Wesseling michel@wikimedia.nl wrote:
Dear GIna, Thanks for your message. I would be very interested to have access to
your
presentation because I am preparing a similar one later this year. If you have anything to share, please let me know, so maybe I can comment and share my thinking about these topics with you.
Kind greetings and good luck in preparing the presentation. Michel
2018-03-24 23:10 GMT+01:00 Gina Bennett bennett.gina@gmail.com:
hello Wikimedia education enthusiasts!
Next month I am giving a presentation to a group of my colleagues, who
are
Adult Basic /Literacy Educators in Canada. My presentation is titled "Wikipedia – the overlooked and misunderstood resource". The
presentation
is scheduled for 1.5 hours but since it's the last presentation of the
day
nobody will mind if it's a bit shorter ;-)
Here are the main points I want to get across:
- there are several myths about the role of Wikipedia in academic
work &
I want to dispel these
- academically rigorous ways to use Wikipedia do exist & we'll talk
about these
- learning to navigate Wikipedia provides a "teachable moment" to
educate your students about academic integrity, a 'neutral point of view', and the reliability of information.
- Is knowledge just a collection of 'facts'? Or is knowledge
something
negotiated? Let's discuss our own beliefs about how knowledge is constructed, validated, shared, and "owned."
Here's my question: do any of you have presentations (e.g. Powerpoints, Slideshare etc.) related to these topics that you'd be willing to share with me? Or just any ideas, suggestions, or comments that could work in
my
presentation?
My apologies if this is an inappropriate forum for such a request.
Gina Bennett; Faculty University of the Fraser Valley Hope, BC, Canada _______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
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-- Jackie Koerner, Ph.D. Researcher & Visiting Scholar jackiekoerner.com
I use a large font to aim for readability and accessibility for all, which is in line with Universal Design (UD). For more information on UD, visit http://www.udlcenter.org/. _______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education