I'm interested in hearing experienced educators' and researchers' thoughts about what roles Wikipedia, and Internet-based learning in general, can and can't do well.
Articles for consideration:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0608-godsey-altschool-teachers-20...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/04/technology-wont-f...
What does Wikipedia education do well, and what doesn't it do well?
Is Wikipedia-based education amplifying the learning of students who are likely to be from highly resourced schools?
Do we have evidence that Wikipedia based education has outcomes for students that are similar to, or better than, other kinds of online learning?
How can we offer a service that is widely beneficial for students and teachers with limited technological resources? Or should we not try because of the additional challenges?
Thanks,
Pine
If you think of "education" as the provision of information, then yes, the Internet is "replacing teachers". However, it is really not doing anything different than books, video and audio; none of which has replaced teachers.
There is a social component to education, the interaction with those who have more experience and yes, knowledge, that a computer cannot match. Even with a memorization-heavy subject like history, you still need a teacher, if for nothing else, to help sift through and analyze the mass of information and interpretations now available.
Remember, we went through similar predictions with videotaped lessons, before that, televised lessons and even before that, correspondence courses. However, the completion rate on these are dismal, because people need interaction and structure at the very least.
Rather than thinking of technology as replacing teachers, it is radically challenging teachers and educational institutions, not so much because that it is providing information in a radically different way, but because information is now ubiquitous. If teachers and schools dont exist simply to provide a set of information to learn, what should we be doing? There is no clear answer, but from experience, I do know it will require being a LOT more active and interactive than it used to be. If students are going to plunk money down for formal education, those hours in the classroom need to count for a lot more than they use to.
As for Wikipedia, I dont see the educational value in it so much as the technology, but rather that it provides an opportunity for students to "apprentice" especially from my point of view as a language teacher. Students are creating and modifying texts, which are not simple exercises but the "real thing" with real consequences. And not just texts, but other forms of media such as video and digital animation.... Wiki Learning is doing a couple projects of this type as we speak now.
However, none of this indicates that working with Wikipedia means a purely online environment. Perhaps just the opposite. Creating Wikipedia content is not drill-work,but rather so-very human. With its mass of rules and norms, the involvement of someone who has experience becomes more essential. This is why very few new editors stick around and why the Education Program has the concept of Campus Ambassadors.
IMHO, technology is best used in these situations: to take drill work out of the classroom, to take lecture out of the classroom (flipped classroom) and to allow students to do activities that before were not possible before. Wikipedia fits in the last category, because perhaps its greatest contribution to education is allowing students to publish work for the world to see within a community that is outside campus.
Leigh
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2015 08:30:06 -0700 From: wiki.pine@gmail.com To: education@lists.wikimedia.org; wikimedia-cascadia@lists.wikimedia.org; wiki-research-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipedia's role in Internet-based education
I'm interested in hearing experienced educators' and researchers' thoughts about what roles Wikipedia, and Internet-based learning in general, can and can't do well. Articles for consideration: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0608-godsey-altschool-teachers-20... http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/04/technology-wont-f... What does Wikipedia education do well, and what doesn't it do well? Is Wikipedia-based education amplifying the learning of students who are likely to be from highly resourced schools? Do we have evidence that Wikipedia based education has outcomes for students that are similar to, or better than, other kinds of online learning? How can we offer a service that is widely beneficial for students and teachers with limited technological resources? Or should we not try because of the additional challenges? Thanks, Pine
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
For those of you who haven't seen it, Leicester City Council are currently tendering for a team to work on a short games based learning project with schools and 13/14 year olds, to create games to support Wikipedia use and engagement: http://www.sourceleicestershire.co.uk/contracts/show/id/12580 Please do pass on to people you know who the work might suit. For those outside the UK, the outputs will of course all be shared under an open licence and I'll post an update to the list.
Best, Josie Fraser@josiefraser
Hi Josie,
Thank you for sharing this post with the Wikimedia education mailing list and for looking into developing ways to involve young students in editing Wikipedia.
We look forward to future collaboration with Leicester City Council and the new coordinator you will hire.
Best,
Hi Josie,
That sounds like a really interesting project. At the Wikipedia Library, we have been thinking a lot about readerly literacy in Wikipedia (and hope to build a portal to expose people to research literacy information), and the age group that you are targeting these materials for, would be fairly good for a public audience as well. Will this work product/game based learning material have to be in an on-wiki format?
It would be awesome if we could distribute it more broadly, while keeping people on Wikipedia. I am thinking the game-architecture used for the The Wikipedia Adventure ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Adventure ) would allow for such a piece of information to be shared with members of the editing community and become a standard link on things like welcome templates.
Cheers,
Alex Stinson
On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
For those of you who haven't seen it, Leicester City Council are currently tendering for a team to work on a short games based learning project with schools and 13/14 year olds, to create games to support Wikipedia use and engagement: http://www.sourceleicestershire.co.uk/contracts/show/id/12580 http://t.co/E7ZpK6LjOT
http://t.co/E7ZpK6LjOT Please do pass on to people you know who the work might suit. For those outside the UK, the outputs will of course all be shared under an open licence and I'll post an update to the list.
Best, Josie Fraser @josiefraser
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Hi Alex, and thanks for the encouraging reply. The format that the activities and games take will be determined by the team appointed in consultation with school staff and young people. They may be web hosted but not web based for example, and it's likely they will include activities for groups. We've put up a little more info on our blog: Wikipedia - support for schools | | | | | | | | | | | Wikipedia - support for schoolsWe are really excited about our latest project, which will produce games based resources to enhance Year 9 learners (13-14 years old) engagement with, and understan... | | | | View on www.digilitleic.com | Preview by Yahoo | | | | |
The Wikipedia Adventure game is great - I'll be sure to pass on the link and your contact details to the team appointed (if they aren't already aware of them). Many thanks! Josie From: Alex Stinson sadads@gmail.com To: Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com; Wikimedia Education education@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Thursday, 11 June 2015, 16:27 Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipdia information literacy resources for secondary school/K12 learners
Hi Josie, That sounds like a really interesting project. At the Wikipedia Library, we have been thinking a lot about readerly literacy in Wikipedia (and hope to build a portal to expose people to research literacy information), and the age group that you are targeting these materials for, would be fairly good for a public audience as well. Will this work product/game based learning material have to be in an on-wiki format? It would be awesome if we could distribute it more broadly, while keeping people on Wikipedia. I am thinking the game-architecture used for the The Wikipedia Adventure ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Adventure ) would allow for such a piece of information to be shared with members of the editing community and become a standard link on things like welcome templates. Cheers, Alex Stinson On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
For those of you who haven't seen it, Leicester City Council are currently tendering for a team to work on a short games based learning project with schools and 13/14 year olds, to create games to support Wikipedia use and engagement: http://www.sourceleicestershire.co.uk/contracts/show/id/12580 Please do pass on to people you know who the work might suit. For those outside the UK, the outputs will of course all be shared under an open licence and I'll post an update to the list.
Best, Josie Fraser@josiefraser
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Hi Josie,
I reread the blog post, and am thinking you will want to keep something in mind for the selection process some:
In my mind, the project at the local level in Liecester to be replicate-able at scale and, in the words of the call ,"high impact", requires the availability for this to be digitally native (and preferably within the Wikimedia ecosystem, whether as an integrated app on Tools Lab or on Wikipedia like the Wikipedia Adventure): otherwise your investment has only a limited impact, for a very limited difference in investment (we are talking on orders of magnitude differences in impact because of the ready global audience the wikimedia community can offer), could make the work very hard to translate into other communities/languages/cultural locations and other audiences. The Wikimedia community, and hundreds of libraries have already created small activities, guides, and curriculums that can teach basic digital, research and information literacy around Wikipedia (thats a relatively common practice, though executed at varying levels of success); innovation and impact would come from something that takes the core concept of those activities, and multiplies it beyond geographic and purely interpersonal communities.
If the testing phase for the tools is largely local, and tailored for a local impact that's awesome: however, from the more strategic level there is a lot of room for something like the proposed literacy item to have a legacy (globally?) by expanding and scaling (and such an activity would fit within the strategic interests of a number of organizations and volunteer communities who would spend energy scaling the materials, like The Wikipedia Library, The Wikipedia Education Program, and advocates for digital literacy more broadly (i.e. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation); esp. if the consultants have the expertise in gaming that you identified in the call). In particular, if the activity could be done on a mobile device: both the student audience that you are working with and new internet users in other parts of the world are entering the web via mobile devices.
I would be gladly be available for consultation within my role in the Wikipedia Library.
Cheers,
Alex Stinson
On Jun 11, 2015 1:36 PM, "Josie Fraser" josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
Hi Alex, and thanks for the encouraging reply. The format that the activities and games take will be determined by the team appointed in consultation with school staff and young people. They may be web hosted but not web based for example, and it's likely they will include activities for groups. We've put up a little more info on our blog: Wikipedia - support for schools http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889
[image: image] http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889
Wikipedia - support for schools http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889 We are really excited about our latest project, which will produce games based resources to enhance Year 9 learners (13-14 years old) engagement with, and understan... View on www.digilitleic.com http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889 Preview by Yahoo
The Wikipedia Adventure game is great - I'll be sure to pass on the link and your contact details to the team appointed (if they aren't already aware of them).
Many thanks! Josie
*From:* Alex Stinson sadads@gmail.com *To:* Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com; Wikimedia Education < education@lists.wikimedia.org> *Sent:* Thursday, 11 June 2015, 16:27 *Subject:* Re: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipdia information literacy resources for secondary school/K12 learners
Hi Josie,
That sounds like a really interesting project. At the Wikipedia Library, we have been thinking a lot about readerly literacy in Wikipedia (and hope to build a portal to expose people to research literacy information), and the age group that you are targeting these materials for, would be fairly good for a public audience as well. Will this work product/game based learning material have to be in an on-wiki format?
It would be awesome if we could distribute it more broadly, while keeping people on Wikipedia. I am thinking the game-architecture used for the The Wikipedia Adventure ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Adventure ) would allow for such a piece of information to be shared with members of the editing community and become a standard link on things like welcome templates.
Cheers,
Alex Stinson
On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
For those of you who haven't seen it, Leicester City Council are currently tendering for a team to work on a short games based learning project with schools and 13/14 year olds, to create games to support Wikipedia use and engagement: http://www.sourceleicestershire.co.uk/contracts/show/id/12580 http://t.co/E7ZpK6LjOT
http://t.co/E7ZpK6LjOT Please do pass on to people you know who the work might suit. For those outside the UK, the outputs will of course all be shared under an open licence and I'll post an update to the list.
Best, Josie Fraser @josiefraser
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Hi Josie,
Thanks so much for sharing this. It sounds very interesting.
I was curious to learn more, so I Googled "BSF ICT Innovation and Learning Group consultation" (which was mentioned in the blog post [1] ) and found this article in *The Guardian* [2] which references: "The government's £45bn Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme to rebuild or refurbish all secondary schools in England within the next 10-15 years..."
My question is: would you consider this to be a government partnership of sorts? I believe I would. If you agree, I'd like to add this to the Government Partnerships page on Outreach:Education. [3] :)
Thank you again for your leadership on this project and for sharing it with the global education community.
All the best,
Anna
[1] http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889 [2] http://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/mar/18/link.link11 [3] https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Government_Partnerships#United...
--
Anna Koval, M.Ed. Manager, Wikipedia Education Program Wikimedia Foundation +1.415.839.6885 x 6729 Skype: annakoval.wiki akoval@wikimedia.org education.wikimedia.org
On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 11:36 AM, Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
Hi Alex, and thanks for the encouraging reply. The format that the activities and games take will be determined by the team appointed in consultation with school staff and young people. They may be web hosted but not web based for example, and it's likely they will include activities for groups. We've put up a little more info on our blog: Wikipedia - support for schools http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889
[image: image] http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889
Wikipedia - support for schools http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889 We are really excited about our latest project, which will produce games based resources to enhance Year 9 learners (13-14 years old) engagement with, and understan... View on www.digilitleic.com http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889 Preview by Yahoo
The Wikipedia Adventure game is great - I'll be sure to pass on the link and your contact details to the team appointed (if they aren't already aware of them).
Many thanks! Josie
*From:* Alex Stinson sadads@gmail.com *To:* Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com; Wikimedia Education < education@lists.wikimedia.org> *Sent:* Thursday, 11 June 2015, 16:27 *Subject:* Re: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipdia information literacy resources for secondary school/K12 learners
Hi Josie,
That sounds like a really interesting project. At the Wikipedia Library, we have been thinking a lot about readerly literacy in Wikipedia (and hope to build a portal to expose people to research literacy information), and the age group that you are targeting these materials for, would be fairly good for a public audience as well. Will this work product/game based learning material have to be in an on-wiki format?
It would be awesome if we could distribute it more broadly, while keeping people on Wikipedia. I am thinking the game-architecture used for the The Wikipedia Adventure ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Adventure ) would allow for such a piece of information to be shared with members of the editing community and become a standard link on things like welcome templates.
Cheers,
Alex Stinson
On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
For those of you who haven't seen it, Leicester City Council are currently tendering for a team to work on a short games based learning project with schools and 13/14 year olds, to create games to support Wikipedia use and engagement: http://www.sourceleicestershire.co.uk/contracts/show/id/12580 http://t.co/E7ZpK6LjOT
http://t.co/E7ZpK6LjOT Please do pass on to people you know who the work might suit. For those outside the UK, the outputs will of course all be shared under an open licence and I'll post an update to the list.
Best, Josie Fraser @josiefraser
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Hi Anna, Many thanks for your kind words. Yes, the schools building programme capital implementation grant is primarily funded by UK central government (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_Schools_for_the_Future), and delivered by local government (Leicester City Council). The DigiLit Leicester project has been developed in partnership with De Montfort University and 23 local school communities http://www.digilitleic.com/).%C2%A0 On a less positive note, the council were criticised in the Mail on Sunday this week for supporting the project: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3123142/30-000-teach-pupils-use-Wiki... Best, Josie
From: Anna Koval akoval@wikimedia.org To: Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com; Wikimedia Education education@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Friday, 12 June 2015, 19:32 Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipdia information literacy resources for secondary school/K12 learners
Hi Josie, Thanks so much for sharing this. It sounds very interesting. I was curious to learn more, so I Googled "BSF ICT Innovation and Learning Group consultation" (which was mentioned in the blog post [1] ) and found this article in The Guardian [2] which references: "The government's £45bn Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme to rebuild or refurbish all secondary schools in England within the next 10-15 years..." My question is: would you consider this to be a government partnership of sorts? I believe I would. If you agree, I'd like to add this to the Government Partnerships page on Outreach:Education. [3] :) Thank you again for your leadership on this project and for sharing it with the global education community. All the best, Anna [1] http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889%5B2%5D%C2%A0http://www.theguardian.com/edu...
-- Anna Koval, M.Ed. Manager, Wikipedia Education Program Wikimedia Foundation +1.415.839.6885 x 6729Skype: annakoval.wiki akoval@wikimedia.org education.wikimedia.org
On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 11:36 AM, Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
Hi Alex, and thanks for the encouraging reply. The format that the activities and games take will be determined by the team appointed in consultation with school staff and young people. They may be web hosted but not web based for example, and it's likely they will include activities for groups. We've put up a little more info on our blog: Wikipedia - support for schools | | | | | | | | | | | Wikipedia - support for schoolsWe are really excited about our latest project, which will produce games based resources to enhance Year 9 learners (13-14 years old) engagement with, and understan... | | | | View on www.digilitleic.com | Preview by Yahoo | | | | |
The Wikipedia Adventure game is great - I'll be sure to pass on the link and your contact details to the team appointed (if they aren't already aware of them). Many thanks! Josie From: Alex Stinson sadads@gmail.com To: Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com; Wikimedia Education education@lists.wikimedia.org Sent: Thursday, 11 June 2015, 16:27 Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipdia information literacy resources for secondary school/K12 learners
Hi Josie, That sounds like a really interesting project. At the Wikipedia Library, we have been thinking a lot about readerly literacy in Wikipedia (and hope to build a portal to expose people to research literacy information), and the age group that you are targeting these materials for, would be fairly good for a public audience as well. Will this work product/game based learning material have to be in an on-wiki format? It would be awesome if we could distribute it more broadly, while keeping people on Wikipedia. I am thinking the game-architecture used for the The Wikipedia Adventure ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Adventure ) would allow for such a piece of information to be shared with members of the editing community and become a standard link on things like welcome templates. Cheers, Alex Stinson On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
For those of you who haven't seen it, Leicester City Council are currently tendering for a team to work on a short games based learning project with schools and 13/14 year olds, to create games to support Wikipedia use and engagement: http://www.sourceleicestershire.co.uk/contracts/show/id/12580 Please do pass on to people you know who the work might suit. For those outside the UK, the outputs will of course all be shared under an open licence and I'll post an update to the list.
Best, Josie Fraser@josiefraser
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Hi all,
I saw this article come across my Facebook feed about your project: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Scrapped-Nonsense-30-000-plan-teach-Leices...
Thats a real shame, if the project is completely tabled. Is there anything we can do to help? What is needed most to keep this as an opportunity? As I said previously, such a project has considerable positive outcomes on a Global scale, and I would hate to see it tabled.
Cheers,
Alex Stinson
On Mon, Jun 15, 2015 at 4:41 PM, Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
Hi Anna,
Many thanks for your kind words. Yes, the schools building programme capital implementation grant is primarily funded by UK central government ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_Schools_for_the_Future), and delivered by local government (Leicester City Council). The DigiLit Leicester project has been developed in partnership with De Montfort University and 23 local school communities http://www.digilitleic.com/).
On a less positive note, the council were criticised in the Mail on Sunday this week for supporting the project: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3123142/30-000-teach-pupils-use-Wiki...
Best, Josie
*From:* Anna Koval akoval@wikimedia.org *To:* Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com; Wikimedia Education < education@lists.wikimedia.org> *Sent:* Friday, 12 June 2015, 19:32
*Subject:* Re: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipdia information literacy resources for secondary school/K12 learners
Hi Josie,
Thanks so much for sharing this. It sounds very interesting.
I was curious to learn more, so I Googled "BSF ICT Innovation and Learning Group consultation" (which was mentioned in the blog post [1] ) and found this article in *The Guardian* [2] which references: "The government's £45bn Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme to rebuild or refurbish all secondary schools in England within the next 10-15 years..."
My question is: would you consider this to be a government partnership of sorts? I believe I would. If you agree, I'd like to add this to the Government Partnerships page on Outreach:Education. [3] :)
Thank you again for your leadership on this project and for sharing it with the global education community.
All the best,
Anna
[1] http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889 [2] http://www.theguardian.com/education/2008/mar/18/link.link11 [3]
https://outreach.wikimedia.org/wiki/Education/Government_Partnerships#United...
--
Anna Koval, M.Ed. Manager, Wikipedia Education Program Wikimedia Foundation +1.415.839.6885 x 6729 Skype: annakoval.wiki akoval@wikimedia.org education.wikimedia.org
On Thu, Jun 11, 2015 at 11:36 AM, Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
Hi Alex, and thanks for the encouraging reply. The format that the activities and games take will be determined by the team appointed in consultation with school staff and young people. They may be web hosted but not web based for example, and it's likely they will include activities for groups. We've put up a little more info on our blog: Wikipedia - support for schools http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889
[image: image] http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889
Wikipedia - support for schools http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889 We are really excited about our latest project, which will produce games based resources to enhance Year 9 learners (13-14 years old) engagement with, and understan... View on www.digilitleic.com http://www.digilitleic.com/?p=889 Preview by Yahoo
The Wikipedia Adventure game is great - I'll be sure to pass on the link and your contact details to the team appointed (if they aren't already aware of them).
Many thanks! Josie
*From:* Alex Stinson sadads@gmail.com *To:* Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com; Wikimedia Education < education@lists.wikimedia.org> *Sent:* Thursday, 11 June 2015, 16:27 *Subject:* Re: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipdia information literacy resources for secondary school/K12 learners
Hi Josie,
That sounds like a really interesting project. At the Wikipedia Library, we have been thinking a lot about readerly literacy in Wikipedia (and hope to build a portal to expose people to research literacy information), and the age group that you are targeting these materials for, would be fairly good for a public audience as well. Will this work product/game based learning material have to be in an on-wiki format?
It would be awesome if we could distribute it more broadly, while keeping people on Wikipedia. I am thinking the game-architecture used for the The Wikipedia Adventure ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Adventure ) would allow for such a piece of information to be shared with members of the editing community and become a standard link on things like welcome templates.
Cheers,
Alex Stinson
On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 1:58 PM, Josie Fraser josie@josiefraser.com wrote:
For those of you who haven't seen it, Leicester City Council are currently tendering for a team to work on a short games based learning project with schools and 13/14 year olds, to create games to support Wikipedia use and engagement: http://www.sourceleicestershire.co.uk/contracts/show/id/12580 http://t.co/E7ZpK6LjOT
http://t.co/E7ZpK6LjOT Please do pass on to people you know who the work might suit. For those outside the UK, the outputs will of course all be shared under an open licence and I'll post an update to the list.
Best, Josie Fraser @josiefraser
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
On 22 June 2015 at 17:04, Alex Stinson sadads@gmail.com wrote:
Hi all,
I saw this article come across my Facebook feed about your project: http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Scrapped-Nonsense-30-000-plan-teach-Leices...
Thats a real shame, if the project is completely tabled. Is there anything we can do to help? What is needed most to keep this as an opportunity? As I said previously, such a project has considerable positive outcomes on a Global scale, and I would hate to see it tabled.
The political context is probably better imagined than explained.
I don't suppose a sum of about 50K USD is so easy to find, nor the chance to test material thoroughly in classrooms with young teenagers.
As Alex knows, I have a project for an educational material platform based on Javascript, and it was an interesting paper exercise to think how it might be turned in this direction. Rather smaller sums would go some way to providing software support, and graphical pizzazz. But it would be rather tasteless to hijack this thread with details, I feel.
Charles
Hi Leigh,
Thanks for that very well-considered post. I like the flipped classroom concept as well. Would you mind if I forwarded your email around to other people and lists?
Thanks!
Pine
On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 9:56 AM, Leigh Thelmadatter osamadre@hotmail.com wrote:
If you think of "education" as the provision of information, then yes, the Internet is "replacing teachers". However, it is really not doing anything different than books, video and audio; none of which has replaced teachers.
There is a social component to education, the interaction with those who have more experience and yes, knowledge, that a computer cannot match. Even with a memorization-heavy subject like history, you still need a teacher, if for nothing else, to help sift through and analyze the mass of information and interpretations now available.
Remember, we went through similar predictions with videotaped lessons, before that, televised lessons and even before that, correspondence courses. However, the completion rate on these are dismal, because people need interaction and structure at the very least.
Rather than thinking of technology as replacing teachers, it is radically challenging teachers and educational institutions, not so much because that it is providing information in a radically different way, but because information is now ubiquitous. If teachers and schools dont exist simply to provide a set of information to learn, what should we be doing? There is no clear answer, but from experience, I do know it will require being a LOT more active and interactive than it used to be. If students are going to plunk money down for formal education, those hours in the classroom need to count for a lot more than they use to.
As for Wikipedia, I dont see the educational value in it so much as the technology, but rather that it provides an opportunity for students to "apprentice" especially from my point of view as a language teacher. Students are creating and modifying texts, which are not simple exercises but the "real thing" with real consequences. And not just texts, but other forms of media such as video and digital animation.... Wiki Learning is doing a couple projects of this type as we speak now.
However, none of this indicates that working with Wikipedia means a purely online environment. Perhaps just the opposite. Creating Wikipedia content is not drill-work,but rather so-very human. With its mass of rules and norms, the involvement of someone who has experience becomes more essential. This is why very few new editors stick around and why the Education Program has the concept of Campus Ambassadors.
IMHO, technology is best used in these situations: to take drill work out of the classroom, to take lecture out of the classroom (flipped classroom) and to allow students to do activities that before were not possible before. Wikipedia fits in the last category, because perhaps its greatest contribution to education is allowing students to publish work for the world to see within a community that is outside campus.
Leigh
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2015 08:30:06 -0700 From: wiki.pine@gmail.com To: education@lists.wikimedia.org; wikimedia-cascadia@lists.wikimedia.org; wiki-research-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipedia's role in Internet-based education
I'm interested in hearing experienced educators' and researchers' thoughts about what roles Wikipedia, and Internet-based learning in general, can and can't do well.
Articles for consideration:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0608-godsey-altschool-teachers-20...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/04/technology-wont-f...
What does Wikipedia education do well, and what doesn't it do well?
Is Wikipedia-based education amplifying the learning of students who are likely to be from highly resourced schools?
Do we have evidence that Wikipedia based education has outcomes for students that are similar to, or better than, other kinds of online learning?
How can we offer a service that is widely beneficial for students and teachers with limited technological resources? Or should we not try because of the additional challenges?
Thanks,
Pine
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Be my guest!
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2015 21:53:05 -0700 From: wiki.pine@gmail.com To: education@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipedia's role in Internet-based education
Hi Leigh,
Thanks for that very well-considered post. I like the flipped classroom concept as well. Would you mind if I forwarded your email around to other people and lists?
Thanks! Pine
On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 9:56 AM, Leigh Thelmadatter osamadre@hotmail.com wrote:
If you think of "education" as the provision of information, then yes, the Internet is "replacing teachers". However, it is really not doing anything different than books, video and audio; none of which has replaced teachers.
There is a social component to education, the interaction with those who have more experience and yes, knowledge, that a computer cannot match. Even with a memorization-heavy subject like history, you still need a teacher, if for nothing else, to help sift through and analyze the mass of information and interpretations now available.
Remember, we went through similar predictions with videotaped lessons, before that, televised lessons and even before that, correspondence courses. However, the completion rate on these are dismal, because people need interaction and structure at the very least.
Rather than thinking of technology as replacing teachers, it is radically challenging teachers and educational institutions, not so much because that it is providing information in a radically different way, but because information is now ubiquitous. If teachers and schools dont exist simply to provide a set of information to learn, what should we be doing? There is no clear answer, but from experience, I do know it will require being a LOT more active and interactive than it used to be. If students are going to plunk money down for formal education, those hours in the classroom need to count for a lot more than they use to.
As for Wikipedia, I dont see the educational value in it so much as the technology, but rather that it provides an opportunity for students to "apprentice" especially from my point of view as a language teacher. Students are creating and modifying texts, which are not simple exercises but the "real thing" with real consequences. And not just texts, but other forms of media such as video and digital animation.... Wiki Learning is doing a couple projects of this type as we speak now.
However, none of this indicates that working with Wikipedia means a purely online environment. Perhaps just the opposite. Creating Wikipedia content is not drill-work,but rather so-very human. With its mass of rules and norms, the involvement of someone who has experience becomes more essential. This is why very few new editors stick around and why the Education Program has the concept of Campus Ambassadors.
IMHO, technology is best used in these situations: to take drill work out of the classroom, to take lecture out of the classroom (flipped classroom) and to allow students to do activities that before were not possible before. Wikipedia fits in the last category, because perhaps its greatest contribution to education is allowing students to publish work for the world to see within a community that is outside campus.
Leigh
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2015 08:30:06 -0700 From: wiki.pine@gmail.com To: education@lists.wikimedia.org; wikimedia-cascadia@lists.wikimedia.org; wiki-research-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipedia's role in Internet-based education
I'm interested in hearing experienced educators' and researchers' thoughts about what roles Wikipedia, and Internet-based learning in general, can and can't do well. Articles for consideration: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0608-godsey-altschool-teachers-20... http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/04/technology-wont-f... What does Wikipedia education do well, and what doesn't it do well? Is Wikipedia-based education amplifying the learning of students who are likely to be from highly resourced schools? Do we have evidence that Wikipedia based education has outcomes for students that are similar to, or better than, other kinds of online learning? How can we offer a service that is widely beneficial for students and teachers with limited technological resources? Or should we not try because of the additional challenges? Thanks, Pine
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
_______________________________________________
Education mailing list
Education@lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Leigh, you are speaking right out of my heart. Sometimes we se unholy alliances between people who are overly enthusiast about technology in education, and politicians who see opportunities to save money... Kind regards Ziko
2015-06-12 15:17 GMT+02:00 Leigh Thelmadatter osamadre@hotmail.com:
Be my guest!
Date: Thu, 11 Jun 2015 21:53:05 -0700 From: wiki.pine@gmail.com To: education@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipedia's role in Internet-based education
Hi Leigh,
Thanks for that very well-considered post. I like the flipped classroom concept as well. Would you mind if I forwarded your email around to other people and lists?
Thanks!
Pine
On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 9:56 AM, Leigh Thelmadatter osamadre@hotmail.com wrote:
If you think of "education" as the provision of information, then yes, the Internet is "replacing teachers". However, it is really not doing anything different than books, video and audio; none of which has replaced teachers.
There is a social component to education, the interaction with those who have more experience and yes, knowledge, that a computer cannot match. Even with a memorization-heavy subject like history, you still need a teacher, if for nothing else, to help sift through and analyze the mass of information and interpretations now available.
Remember, we went through similar predictions with videotaped lessons, before that, televised lessons and even before that, correspondence courses. However, the completion rate on these are dismal, because people need interaction and structure at the very least.
Rather than thinking of technology as replacing teachers, it is radically challenging teachers and educational institutions, not so much because that it is providing information in a radically different way, but because information is now ubiquitous. If teachers and schools dont exist simply to provide a set of information to learn, what should we be doing? There is no clear answer, but from experience, I do know it will require being a LOT more active and interactive than it used to be. If students are going to plunk money down for formal education, those hours in the classroom need to count for a lot more than they use to.
As for Wikipedia, I dont see the educational value in it so much as the technology, but rather that it provides an opportunity for students to "apprentice" especially from my point of view as a language teacher. Students are creating and modifying texts, which are not simple exercises but the "real thing" with real consequences. And not just texts, but other forms of media such as video and digital animation.... Wiki Learning is doing a couple projects of this type as we speak now.
However, none of this indicates that working with Wikipedia means a purely online environment. Perhaps just the opposite. Creating Wikipedia content is not drill-work,but rather so-very human. With its mass of rules and norms, the involvement of someone who has experience becomes more essential. This is why very few new editors stick around and why the Education Program has the concept of Campus Ambassadors.
IMHO, technology is best used in these situations: to take drill work out of the classroom, to take lecture out of the classroom (flipped classroom) and to allow students to do activities that before were not possible before. Wikipedia fits in the last category, because perhaps its greatest contribution to education is allowing students to publish work for the world to see within a community that is outside campus.
Leigh
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 2015 08:30:06 -0700 From: wiki.pine@gmail.com To: education@lists.wikimedia.org; wikimedia-cascadia@lists.wikimedia.org; wiki-research-l@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: [Wikimedia Education] Wikipedia's role in Internet-based education
I'm interested in hearing experienced educators' and researchers' thoughts about what roles Wikipedia, and Internet-based learning in general, can and can't do well.
Articles for consideration:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0608-godsey-altschool-teachers-20...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/04/technology-wont-f...
What does Wikipedia education do well, and what doesn't it do well?
Is Wikipedia-based education amplifying the learning of students who are likely to be from highly resourced schools?
Do we have evidence that Wikipedia based education has outcomes for students that are similar to, or better than, other kinds of online learning?
How can we offer a service that is widely beneficial for students and teachers with limited technological resources? Or should we not try because of the additional challenges?
Thanks,
Pine
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
_______________________________________________ Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Dear Pine,
Thanks for asking about this. Of course, I have many opinions on the topic! :) But I think Prof. João Alexandre Peschanski from Brazil [1] sums it quite well in this post on the chapter's blog. [2]
All the best,
Anna
[1] https://br.wikimedia.org/wiki/Programa_de_Educa%C3%A7%C3%A3o/Relatos2/Relato... [2] http://wikimedianobrasil.org/comunidade/em-defesa-da-wiki-pedagogia/
--
Anna Koval, M.Ed. Manager, Wikipedia Education Program Wikimedia Foundation +1.415.839.6885 x 6729 Skype: annakoval.wiki akoval@wikimedia.org education.wikimedia.org
On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 8:30 AM, Pine W wiki.pine@gmail.com wrote:
I'm interested in hearing experienced educators' and researchers' thoughts about what roles Wikipedia, and Internet-based learning in general, can and can't do well.
Articles for consideration:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0608-godsey-altschool-teachers-20...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/04/technology-wont-f...
What does Wikipedia education do well, and what doesn't it do well?
Is Wikipedia-based education amplifying the learning of students who are likely to be from highly resourced schools?
Do we have evidence that Wikipedia based education has outcomes for students that are similar to, or better than, other kinds of online learning?
How can we offer a service that is widely beneficial for students and teachers with limited technological resources? Or should we not try because of the additional challenges?
Thanks,
Pine
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Anna, Thanks for sharing! I hadn't heard about this website here in Brazil. Oona
2015-06-12 12:36 GMT-03:00 Anna Koval akoval@wikimedia.org:
Dear Pine,
Thanks for asking about this. Of course, I have many opinions on the topic! :) But I think Prof. João Alexandre Peschanski from Brazil [1] sums it quite well in this post on the chapter's blog. [2]
All the best,
Anna
[1] https://br.wikimedia.org/wiki/Programa_de_Educa%C3%A7%C3%A3o/Relatos2/Relato... [2] http://wikimedianobrasil.org/comunidade/em-defesa-da-wiki-pedagogia/
--
Anna Koval, M.Ed. Manager, Wikipedia Education Program Wikimedia Foundation +1.415.839.6885 x 6729 Skype: annakoval.wiki akoval@wikimedia.org education.wikimedia.org
On Wed, Jun 10, 2015 at 8:30 AM, Pine W wiki.pine@gmail.com wrote:
I'm interested in hearing experienced educators' and researchers' thoughts about what roles Wikipedia, and Internet-based learning in general, can and can't do well.
Articles for consideration:
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-0608-godsey-altschool-teachers-20...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/06/04/technology-wont-f...
What does Wikipedia education do well, and what doesn't it do well?
Is Wikipedia-based education amplifying the learning of students who are likely to be from highly resourced schools?
Do we have evidence that Wikipedia based education has outcomes for students that are similar to, or better than, other kinds of online learning?
How can we offer a service that is widely beneficial for students and teachers with limited technological resources? Or should we not try because of the additional challenges?
Thanks,
Pine
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education
Education mailing list Education@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/education