If editing Wikipedia counted as community service my school ought to start handing me plaques.

Alas, it does not, for a host of legitimate reasons as I see it, ranging from academic uncertainty about the usefulness of doing so when it comes to community impact, to the sheer difficulty of actually measuring. More meaningful (and, in the spirit of things, selfless) to volunteer at a local Wikipedia editing event then to sit back in an armchair and do the whole first-world-netizen-at-a-computer thing.

On Mon, Apr 13, 2015 at 8:57 PM, Pine W <wiki.pine@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi all,

Many schools in the United States encourage or require students to perform
community service hours, such as by cleaning up parks, caring for the
disabled, or tutoring younger students. Sometimes more specialized
requirements apply, such as university schools of education or health which
may require experience that is applicable to a student's desired
coursework. Contributing to Wikimedia is one form of accepted community
service in a multi-campus Mexican university, and the practice seems to be
gaining momentum (see
https://blog.wikimedia.org/2015/04/13/wiki-learning-edit-a-thon-mexico/).

These community service programs are different from in-class assignments
that require Wikipedia editing. Wikipedia can benefit from both kinds of
activities.

I am wondering, have other Wikimedia affiliates had success with
encouraging students to complete community service requirements by
contributing to Wikimedia? I am thinking that here in Cascadia, we might
encourage schools to allow this option, and other affiliates also might
want to explore this possibility.

Thanks,
Pine
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