I am starting a research project specifically related to Wikipedia. The project is "Wikipedia Primary School: Providing on Wikipedia the information necessary to complete the cycle of primary education in the languages used by the different education systems" (please refer below for a short description).
I wanted to inform you about the project and i'd like to invite you to join in if you are interested (please do not hesitate to contact me).
more specifically - and more urgently - i'm looking for research partners in Germany and Belgium. I'm preparing with Tobias Schönwetter (UCT University of Cape Town, IP Law Department and co-coordinator of Creative Commons Africa) the application. The proposal is meant for the ERAfrica programme (new ideas) http://www.erafrica.eu (deadline April 15th). Unfortunately for this application not all countries are eligible, and we need to specifically address universities (they will receive and manage the eventual grants). but we can also establish partnerships with stakeholders (wikimedia chapters, NGOs).
At the moment South Africa: UCT University of Cape Town, IP Law Department (Tobias Schönwetter) Switzerland: SUPSI University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (Iolanda Pensa) Kenya: Strathmore University, Centre for IP and IT Law (Isaac Rutenberg) - pending Germany: (it would be particular relevant to involve researchers who can work on data analysis). Belgium: (maybe the University of Leuven with the Anthropological Research on Africa (IARA) - to involve the African studies networks. but we didn't approach them jet)
please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to get involved - io@pensa.it and to forward this message. we are very motivated in developing this project, and we will be focusing on it also with other applications. The documentation is not confidential and if you are interested in promoting it or implementing it, we are more than happy. we would like the project to actually happen. thanks and best regards iolanda/iopensa
-- Iolanda Pensa - via Rabolini, 10 - 20125 Milano - Italia. Tel. +39 335 655 36 33, io@pensa.it - http://www.iopensa.it - Skype: iopensa. Researcher at SUPSI University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland -------------------------------------- Wikipedia Primary School Providing on Wikipedia the information necessary to complete the cycle of primary education in the languages used by the different education systems.
A project allowing students, families and teachers to find on Wikipedia the documentation necessary to obtain the primary school qualification in their country, in their language. Wikipedia is meant to be an educational tool and it is currently available online, via mobile phones and offline. Experiences have shown that, once accessible, Wikipedia does not provide information that responds directly to curriculum-based questions. The project relies on Wikipedia as an existing and growing resource, it solves the need for an encyclopaedia capable of responding to curriculum-based questions, and it fosters Wikipedia content, quality and outreach. More specifically the project aims at: Bridging Wikipedia and primary education. This objective implies to move the Wikipedia community towards a focus on primary education, and at the same time to strengthen the capacity of the education ecosystem to contribute to Wikipedia, and in general to open collaborative knowledge. Enriching Wikipedia with new content relevant to primary education. This objective implies an assessment of the articles produced. Fostering the development of translations and new content in different Wikipedia linguistic editions. This objective implies the release of existing educational resources (OER in cc by or cc by-sa), the production of datasets and the involvement of the Wikimedia movement. Verifying and evaluating the use of Wikipedia as a source of information for primary education. This objective implies the involvement of stakeholders and data analysis. Wikipedia Primary School contributes to universal primary education and to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG2: Achieve Universal Primary Education). Even if it is scalable and international, the project is conceived primarily to address African countries and languages. Wikipedia is a very peculiar encyclopaedia. It is a living organism made of a wide community with specific policies, clusters and dynamics. Contributing to Wikipedia means to play a fair game, and to respect the way Wikipedia works, its rules and community. To strengthen the capacity of Wikipedia to respond directly to curriculum-based questions, the project does not simply transfer content from national schoolbooks into Wikipedia. The methodology is centred around research and fieldwork activities. Research activities focus on monitoring Wikipedia in different linguistic editions; understanding the different national education systems and identifying which are the content capable of responding to curriculum-based questions; involving a scientific committee in contributing to the project; establishing and managing a Wikipedia Scientific Journal, a peer-reviewed scientific publication in Creative Commons attributions share-alike license, designed to involve scholars and to assess Wikipedia articles, in collaboration with other scientific journals and by fostering synergies between scientific knowledge and Wikipedia and open access; producing datasets to generate stub articles on Wikipedia in all linguistic editions; uploading content, in particular OER Open Educational Resources already available and images and texts provided with an open license compatible with Wikipedia; supporting territorial development with tutors and with upload capacities (in particular for countries with low connectivity); monitoring and evaluating the project. Fieldwork activities focus on testing and enhancing the use of Wikipedia in primary school and it is developed in collaboration with the stakeholders already working in education. They provide training, in particular training for Wikipedians in residence; they organise Wikipedia events, in particular Wiki Loves Monuments; they allow networking with institutions and governments to facilitate the release of content with open licenses; they tutor institutions and people; they develop pilot projects in schools and in collaboration with NGOs working in education; they establish hotspots where needed; and they facilitate the distribution of Wikipedia offline in countries where relevant. What we do not do
Wikipedia Primary School is a scalable and international project with a specific goal: it responds to a real need, it relies on existing networks and resources, and it is structured to allow people and institutions to contribute to it. The very nature of the project is meant to produce a broad impact. If the project Wikipedia Primary School is successful, it can be developed in the future by producing content for other cycle of education. We do not break Wikipedia rules. The project respects Wikipedia pillars and the opinions of Wikipedia and the Wikimedia communities. We do not believe the project substitutes in any way the essential role of people and institutions working in education. We want to contribute in a specific way to the work many people and institutions are already implementing and we believe only a collaborative approach can really allow the project to be effective and relevant. We do not produce a selection of Wikipedia articles. We want people to access and benefit from the whole Wikipedia. We do not address students, teachers and families only. Contributing to Wikipedia is meant to provide better knowledge for everyone everywhere. We do not work for governments and ministries of education. The project is meant to be independent. It selects articles to be based on national educational systems, but it does not implement on Wikipedia governments’ strategies or requests. We do not provide offline access to Wikipedia over online access. We consider online access to Wikipedia a priority and the best way to access Wikipedia, because it allows to contribute to it. We do not consider Wikipedia a schoolbook. Wikipedia is not a schoolbook and it can not substitute teachers and educators and other appropriate educational resources. We do not simplify Wikipedia articles. Wikipedia is an encyclopaedia and it requires a certain level of literacy in order to access it. We do not want to adapt Wikipedia to primary school level; we want to include topics and content relevant for primary education. We do not make content available for Wikipedia only. Using Creative Commons as part of the project methodology allows contents to be available beyond Wikipedia. We do not promote Wikipedia as a stable and passive resource. We consider essential that people who use Wikipedia understand what Wikipedia is. To understand it, the only appropriate way is to contribute to it and being part of it. We do not provide Wikipedia as it is. The project aims at fostering a joint effort to improve Wikipedia and to assess its quality. We do not centralise all the activities. The project can only reach its goal and produce high quality content and impact, if people and institutions can adapt them to their context, vision and work.
The project Wikipedia Primary School and all its documentation is under Creative Commons attribution share alike license. Iolanda Pensa drafted the project in 2012.
At the moment WikiAfrica Cameroon promoted by doual'art with the support of Orange Foundation is implementing a pilot project around Wikipedia and primary school (2012-2013).The WikiAfrica Primary School Feasibility Study has been developed in 2012 with the support of volunteers and lettera27 Foundation to evaluate the possible synergies between Wikipedia and primary school with a focus on the linguistic editions of Wikipedia and their use in primary education in Africa, current Wikimedia projects, OER-Open Educational Resources and case studies on the primary schools systems and current relevant projects in the field of education in Italy, Cameroon and South Africa. The Africa Centre based in Cape Town is currently developing trainings in Africa for Wikipedians in residence. SUPSI University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland and University of Cape Town, in collaboration with Wikimedia Switzerland and the Africa Centre based in Cape Town have applied in March 2013 for a Swiss South African research project related to Wikipedia Primary School within the SSAJRP programme.
Iolanda -- Can you help me understand what is meant by "curriculum-based questions"? You use the phrase many times and each time it sounds like what I would call "teaching to the test". I appreciate that the proposal goes on to answer many worries from an educator's perspective. I suspect there are remaining worries from the perspective of the Wikipedia community which I would describe as "curiosity-based". Thanks and best regards. -- Ward
On Mar 15, 2013, at 6:20 AM, Iolanda Pensa wrote:
Wikipedia Primary School Providing on Wikipedia the information necessary to complete the cycle of primary education in the languages used by the different education systems.
A project allowing students, families and teachers to find on Wikipedia the documentation necessary to obtain the primary school qualification in their country, in their language. Wikipedia is meant to be an educational tool and it is currently available online, via mobile phones and offline. Experiences have shown that, once accessible, Wikipedia does not provide information that responds directly to curriculum-based questions. The project relies on Wikipedia as an existing and growing resource, it solves the need for an encyclopaedia capable of responding to curriculum-based questions, and it fosters Wikipedia content, quality and outreach.
Sorry for my delay.
Il giorno 15/mar/2013, alle ore 14:50, Ward Cunningham ha scritto:
Iolanda -- Can you help me understand what is meant by "curriculum-based questions"? You use the phrase many times and each time it sounds like what I would call "teaching to the test".
sorry, maybe the expression is not the right one. "teaching to the test" can be a component, but this does not necessary mean that Wikipedia will be used only as a tool for "teaching to the test" or that Wikipedia will provide the right answers for the test[1].
I appreciate that the proposal goes on to answer many worries from an educator's perspective.
Actually I am not sure about this[2].
I suspect there are remaining worries from the perspective of the Wikipedia community which I would describe as "curiosity-based". Thanks and best regards. -- Ward
yes, I agree. Maybe this project can drive some curiosity; in any case it will provide content. My impression is that wikipedians in general appreciate content[3].
Thanks and best regards, Iolanda
----- [1]The project has been conceived primary to address African countries. When wikipedia was distributed in high schools in Kenya by Wikimedia Kenya, students pointed out that it is nice to have Wikipedia but Wikipedia does not provide content relevant to their curricula: in other words you can use Wikipedia with a "curiosity-based" approach, but not to facilitate your schoolwork. I am not saying that a "curiosity-based" approach is not a good, relevant and useful one, but if Wikipedia claims of being an educational tool and if the movement contributes to make it accessible in schools as an educational tool, maybe it makes sense to check what you are actually providing. This becomes a central issue if you provide Wikipedia in a way which does not allow editing. You can not use the argument "oh, if they don't find what they are looking for, they can simply make it".
In many countries "teaching to the test" is a relevant, because to obtain the primary education diploma you need to prepare exams. In a class of 100 kids, the teacher and the students do focus on the exam. Looking at the exams is a way for the project to define content which might be relevant for primary education (for the project WikiAfrica Cameroon the organisation doual'art achieved to make an agreement with the government to put online the last years primary school exams with the answers). But the project will not simply copy and paste content from schoolbooks or the answers to the exams. Here is an example from a schoolbook from Cameroon and it explains why we will not simply copy and paste existing content. “Among the human species there are several races. The humans of black race live mainly in Africa, Oceania and America. The humans of yellow race live mainly in Asia. And they are the most numerous. The humans of white race live mainly in Europe, America and north Africa”. Jean Criaud et des enseignants camerounais, chapitre 21 Les races dans le monde, Histoire et géographie du Cameroun, C.E.2, Les classiques africains, 1992, p. 49.
Curricula is quite different from country to country. "teaching to the test" is a component, but it is not the only one. There are for example countries in which teachers create they own "didactic units". This makes it more complicated to define which are the relevant content for primary education but maybe it is possible to define some priorities.
There are also reasons to do this work which go beyond primary education 1. to fill some "Wikipedia holes". The idea is to look at primary education curricula and identify some major general topics: the world, continents, your country, maybe your city/town/village, geography, history (just to give some examples). it is quite impressive to notice that those very general content on Wikipedia can be significantly improved, and maybe the community can be interested in contributing. the project can help making sure that also the last 50 years of studies are included (particularly important for post-colonial studies) 2. to provide some ground for other content. working progressively on wikipedia i think can facilitate further contributions. in other word, it is very difficult to explain that a specialistic journal from Nigeria is notable if the article about the country is poor. 3. to contribute to linguistic editions in a specific and probably relevant way. In the feasibility study we did, Kelsey Winds who did the research about South African primary education system highlighted that teachers are expected to teach in other languages after the first grades, but often they don't feel comfortable in a second language. Wikipedia can really provide support from this point of view.
----- [2] According to the preliminary study we did, the project actually does not properly respond to worries from an educator's perspective. Educators were more interested in 1. Schoolbooks. This is not possible: Wikipedia is not a schoolbook. We can produce/provide content, related but there is no way Wikipedia provide content as a schoolbook. 2. Simplified articles. This is not a feasible direction. There is the English simplified version of Wikipedia, but if we aim at provide content in many languages, we will not develop simplified version of all languages. 3. Selected documentation and exercises. This is also something we might provide while doing pilot projects in schools, but it is not at the centre of the project. There are also two other things to consider: a) when you look at issues related to primary education, content is not considered by many a central one. Even the report from South Africa – a country which invests a lot in education – what emerges are issues related to infrastructures, training for teachers, absenteeism of teachers, very large classes... Content appears to be a very marginal issues compared to the rest. b) one of the people working in education interviewed in South Africa said a very interesting thing. According to him, providing Wikipedia can make "already good teachers" better ones; Wikipedia will not have an impact on the "not so-good" or "ok" teachers. I think it can maybe be the same with students; Wikipedia can support good students to become even better. I think this could be a very relevant result; as Ntone Edjabe says, there is little space in Africa for excellence.
----- [3] OER Open Educational Resources will be at the centre of the project. making existing OER in cc by-sa or cc by and making other resources open. by the way there are very few OER for primary education. i'd like also to focus on dataset of public administrations. this is a relevant focus (last year we made the dataset for Botswana but there are still 53 to go). I have to admit that i believe the real challenge of the project is the relationship with communities rather that to the community (projects - and communities - related to education, data, languages, wikimedia commons, wikversity, afripedia, Wikipedia project pages...) and of course the wikimedia chapters and groups.
On Mar 15, 2013, at 6:20 AM, Iolanda Pensa wrote:
Wikipedia Primary School Providing on Wikipedia the information necessary to complete the cycle of primary education in the languages used by the different education systems.
A project allowing students, families and teachers to find on Wikipedia the documentation necessary to obtain the primary school qualification in their country, in their language. Wikipedia is meant to be an educational tool and it is currently available online, via mobile phones and offline. Experiences have shown that, once accessible, Wikipedia does not provide information that responds directly to curriculum-based questions. The project relies on Wikipedia as an existing and growing resource, it solves the need for an encyclopaedia capable of responding to curriculum-based questions, and it fosters Wikipedia content, quality and outreach.
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