Cormac Lawler wrote:
The 'safe' proposal until now has been to make wikiversity a repository of learning materials. This, I presume, would include lesson plans/curricula as well as actual resources like reading/listening comprehension exercises, flash cards, discursive questions on particular advertisements, etc. ...
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikiversity/Modified_project_proposal
This proposal is not 'safe'. Look at the Wikiversity (overview) page linked here, then follow any of the six links from "Cell Biology" to "Media literacy". They all read like textbooks or introductions to textbooks. The C programming course contains "lectures" and "quizzes", which together function as a textbook. The pages also contain lists of students (instead of authors), but in short, most of the current Wikiversity consists of textbooks which must stay at Wikibooks, and not become a separate wiki.
A 'safe' version of the proposal would include all learning materials EXCEPT any that could be found in a textbook, encyclopedia, dictionary (or other Wikimedia project).
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikiversity/Modified_project_proposal
What is interesting about the "modified project proposal" is that it is an opportunity to define Wikiversity (or whatever we call this project) in a way that does not overlap with Wikibooks, but supports the other Wikimedia projects including Wikibooks, Wiktionary, and Wikipedia. I like the proposal for "reading groups" where multiple users meet on a wiki and agree to read the same (free or non-free) material and discuss it; then if they want, they use their knowledge to improve Wikibooks or Wiktionary or add citations to Wikipedia. The users learn and (optionally) the other Wikimedia projects including Wikibooks gain benefits.
Another proposal that I have read about is to have an "index of sources". This would not be a collection of free source texts, like Wikisource is. This would be a database potentially listing every (free or non-free) source that was ever cited in any Wikipedia article or Wikibook, and some new sources. What if whenever I wanted more information while writing a Wikibook, I could go to "Wikiversity" to find interesting books or web sites on my topic?
The problem with both of these proposals is that with the current http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikiversity they share not much. Its as if someone just made some random proposals and attached the "Wikiversity" name.
In fact, there is currently no consensus for what Wikiversity means.
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Moving_Wikiversity_forward wrote:
Wikiversity currently means different things to different people.
See for example http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Moving_Wikiversity_forward#living_boo ks where a user actually proposes that Wikiversity should develop textbooks!
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