[Foundation-l] Structure of Wikiversity (was Re: Using 'publish this page' )

[Robert Scott Horning]

Ray Saintonge wrote:

> Robert Scott Horning wrote:
>
>> I would imagine that this would also be a useful feature for 
>> Wikiversity (publishing a sylibus from a "teacher"),
>
>
> As much as I may be attracted by the idea  of a Wikiversity, the above 
> exchange only succeeds in telling me that it is still very, very far 
> away.
>
> It must start with a VISION, and that is still lacking./

There are several problems right now with Wikiversity, and I would have 
to agree that leadership is one of them.  There are, however, several 
people that seem to be very comitted to the idea, and really want to 
push it forward, regardless.  I, for one, don't think we need to wait 
for more software tools.  They may be useful and have other applications 
in other Wikimedia projects as well, but they are not strictly necessary 
in order to get the project started.  What it needs is somebody that is 
willing to say "damn the torpedos, we are going to get this accomplished!"

Preferably, I would like to see somebody with a background in 
Instructional Technology or similar educational technology background to 
get something like this put together.  I have been trying to work with 
the interested parties that are active on Wikibooks to get their input 
on the idea, and to scale back the idea, at least for now.  I've been 
pushing strongly for now to get a sort of community adult education 
center-type project going for now... in part because there is no way we 
can even begin accrediation processes going the usual wiki-way.  There 
have been other on-line adult education communities that have come 
together largely through volunteers, and I think there is some merit 
behind this general proposal.  

On my own part, I would prefer to partner with some of these other 
on-line educational communities rather than try to try and go it alone 
like some of the active people contributing to Wikiversity seem to be 
pushing for right now.  It also seems like from some viewpoints that 
some of the participants want to create right from the beginning a fully 
accredited multi-college research university, and I just don't see how 
that can happen right away.  I got involved early on with 
http://www.wgu.edu/ when it was just starting up, and I knew some of the 
early organizers for that project.  It has been like pulling teeth 
trying to get it going, and that had the full support of several state 
legislatures, governors, and state boards of regents (particularly from 
the state of Utah), and enough PhDs involved from the start that you 
knew something was going to happen.  It will be years before Wikiversity 
could ever get to this level or performance, if it ever will happen.

Another group that is much more modest, and the one I would like to use 
as a model for Wikiversity, is http://www.vu.org/, Virtual University. 
 This project started out as an education-based dial-up BBS in the San 
Francisco bay area where people would get together and share ideas and 
hold on-line classes.  When wide-spread internet connectivity started to 
come around, they moved to internet servers and continued to teach 
classes.  Most of their classes were completely free in the beginning, 
and a very controvercial decision was made to start charging students 
for "attending classes".  It is a modest fee, and mainly to help support 
the server farm including IRC servers.  The instructors are still 
largely volunteers, and rarely do they even use textbooks.  In this 
regard Wikiversity is already ahead of VU with the Wikibooks project. 
 In many ways I would like to see Wikiversity be more like the way VU 
was before the "corporate takeover" of the project.

What I'm trying to say is that there are models to use on how to 
organize the project, and ways to do it much better than some of these 
other volunteer groups.  We also have an existing charitable 
organization to help out with Wikiversity (the Wikimedia Foundation) 
that can help smooth out some of the big problems that happen when you 
move from a germ of a neat idea into something that may get popular to 
the point that the resources of a single person can't pay for the server 
farm with his/her pizza money.  All other on-line educational 
communities usually get very bogged down on this one point at trying to 
find out how to start raising money to pay for everything with new 
organizational structures...and something I don't see being a huge 
problem for Wikiversity.  That organization is already in place.

-- 
Robert Scott Horning