On 8/15/06, James Hare <messedrocker(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
Will Wikiversity even give out diplomas? Or will
it be like Wikipedia's
"we're-good-for-learning-stuff-but-don't-use-us-for-school"?
Wikiversity will not be giving out diplomas (or at least, not for the
foreseeable future). Some people are motivated to getting Wikiversity
to be an accredited institution, but for now, the absolutely most
important part is that we provide useful content as well as a way for
people to consolidate their learning. So, to answer your question,
James, we will attempt to be useful for people who want to self-study
- as well as for teachers who want to use our content in their
classes. So, people can use our content in their own accredited
courses, but wikiversity will not be the place that they get their
certification. (For the foreseeable future - in other words, I can't
even see the course-giving option on the horizon.)
*But*: Wikiversity is designed to allow for active learning
communities to develop around the materials it hosts. So, people can
use Wikiversity, not just for its content, but as a community of
teachers and learners to further their learning (or to help others
with their's).
I very much agree. I think that it would be a big accomplishment if
courses were brought to such a standard that "our students" could use
what they learned at Wikiversity as a basis for challenging courses in
their own respective schools. It would be too easy to fall into the rat
race of granting diplomas and degrees. Wikipedia is a success because
it dared to do things differently; I expect nothing less from Wikiversity.
Ec