Certainly a good idea to offer something to people who have done a bit of Wikipedia editing, but don't want to wade through all the documentation to figure out next steps. So yes, an intermediate course would be good, though tricky to figure out exactly what to assume is already known by people who haven't been through the beginning course. As for the length (of both the beginning and intermediate course), it's probably tricky to decide the length without actually sitting down and doing (rough) lesson plans. It might well be that ten classes are needed to get to a reasonable editing ability for just a beginner. (Depends, of course, on whether we're talking about 60 minute or 90 minute or - I hope not - 120 minute classes.)
I'm a bit more skeptical of prospects for an advanced course, for several reasons:
* There are a lot of directions it could go (bots, scripts, AWB and other tools, etc.; in fact, I have five or so chapters on advanced topics that never made it into Wikipedia: The Missing Manual), and it's not clear that what interests some students would interest others.
* Those who have gotten to the point where they are ready for an advanced course probably have gotten fairly good at learning by reading the voluminous Wikipedia documentation, and so don't necessarily need a course.
* There are lots of editors at Wikipedia willing to do one-on-one help (IRC), and helping on advanced topics (as opposed to very basic editing) is probably fairly interesting to them.
Instead, perhaps an "advanced discussion group" would work better. Or even a series of discussion meetings, covering a different topic each time. In any case, I suggest we focus on beginning (and possibly intermediate) courses; when we have those up and running successfully, then we'll have more time and energy to think about advanced topics.
-- John
----- Original Message -----
From: "N Michael Bashour" <nicholasbashour@gmail.com>
To: wikimedia-dc@lists.wikimedia.org
Sent: Monday, June 6, 2011 11:12:42 AM
Subject: Re: [Wikimedia-DC] What programs would you like to see in 2012?
I suggest three 4/5-session courses, beginner, intermeidate, and
advanced. Some people who already know the basics would only register
for the intermediate or advnaced classes, while those who don't cant
take all 3 in succession.
Sincerely,
N Michael Bashour
On Mon, Jun 6, 2011 at 10:08 AM, Sage Ross <sross@wikimedia.org> wrote:
> Whether or not there are fees, I think the root of John's proposal is
> interesting and novel and worth pursuing.
>
> There have been a lot of one-off Wikipedia workshops. There's never
> been (that I know of) an extended Wikipedia course. Putting together a
> course plan and class materials of that level of detail to fill out a
> (say) 10-session course would be really valuable for the whole
> Wikimedia community, something to build on and incorporate into the
> on-wiki help and tutorial material we have.
>
> I think an honorarium for the instructor who leads such an effort
> would be appropriate.
>
> Cheers,
> Sage
>
> 2011/6/6 John Broughton <johnbroughton@comcast.net>:
>> James -
>> It would be great if the chapter were to offer classes in how to edit
>> Wikipedia. The chapter could charge a small fee (say, $50 for a ten-week
>> session, with one class per week), and pay the instructor part of that (more
>> an honorarium than real wages, if the fee is low and the class size is
>> restricted, particularly if the chapter has to pay for the room). Given how
>> many people in the DC area have an interest in what is and could be on
>> Wikipedia, I don't think we'd lack for students.
>> The chapter gets publicity from this; the instructor puts the material on
>> the en.wikipedia.org website (to encourage similar efforts elsewhere);
>> Wikipedia gets more editors. And (in the best of worlds) we could even pay
>> for someone to make a set of videos of the classes, to be posted on the web
>> for free viewing. Plus we could offer the same course to institutions like
>> the Smithsonian, to further expand our reach.
>> -- John
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "James Hare" <messedrocker@gmail.com>
>> To: wikimedia-dc@lists.wikimedia.org
>> Sent: Monday, June 6, 2011 7:49:14 AM
>> Subject: [Wikimedia-DC] What programs would you like to see in 2012?
>>
>> Hello, community!
>>
>> As the treasurer of our (pending) Wikimedia chapter, I have begun
>> preparing the budget for the 2011-2012 fiscal year. While next year we
>> have the Wikimania 2012 conference (and we are all excited for that!),
>> we can also plan other programs and events as a chapter. Not
>> everything has to be processed through the corporate infrastructure,
>> of course, but if your idea involves spending a lot of money, let me
>> know and I'll see what I can do to make it work. Conversely, if you
>> have ideas about fundraising, I would also like to hear them. This is
>> your opportunity to do something awesome in the D.C. community!
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> James Hare
>>
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>
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