[Foundation-l] Wikiversity

[Birgitte SB]

--- Cormac Lawler <cormaggio at gmail.com> wrote:

> On 8/15/06, Birgitte SB <birgitte_sb at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> > --- Jimmy Wales <jwales at wikia.com> wrote:
> >
> > > NPOV does apply to Wikiversity, but of course
> > > context matters in how we
> > > understand and apply it.
> > >
> > > For example, a course which is highly biased and
> > > pushing some POV should
> > > be fixed, as we would quite
> > > properly consider it to be broken.
> > >
> > > But of course, as Cormac points out, some of
> what
> > > Wikiversity is going
> > > to be about is explorations of
> > > research, etc.  As Amgine put it, even here NPOV
> > > applies, but it applies
> > > in a way that makes sense for this
> > > type of content.
> > >
> > > The danger of saying too quickly "NPOV does not
> > > apply" is that we would
> > > thereby open the door to lunatics
> > > (and there are lunatics!) trying to push
> extremely
> > > biased courses.  We
> > > can do better than that.
> > >
> > > --Jimbo
> > >
> >
> >
> > I think everyone is not quite on the same page
> here.
> > Although neutrality is going to be an important
> aspect
> > of Wikiversity.  WP:NPOV is not going to be the
> policy
> > in use there.  Mainly this is becuse Wikiversity
> is
> > not writiing encyclopedia articles.  Bias will
> take a
> > subtley different form on that project.  Just like
> > bias rears its' head on Wikisource in the form of
> > altered texts.  I do not believe it was something
> > people thought of early on at Wikisource, but it
> is
> > certainly what has transpired.  I am just trying
> to
> > guess as to how bias will try and work its way
> into
> > Wikiversity.  It may not be possible, we might
> have to
> > wait and find out when it happens.  WP:NPOV is
> about
> > how to counteract bias on WP.  I do not believe
> anyone
> > is suggesting counteracting bias at WV is not of
> the
> > utmost importance, just that WV will have approach
> it
> > in a unique way.
> >
> > Birgitte SB
> >
> >
> 
> 
> Yes, I think you've got me, Birgitte :-). I just
> think that NPOV (as I
> conceptualise it) is not a useful concept to apply
> to Wikiversity.
> Don't get me wrong - I wince just as much as anyone
> if someone will
> try to teach people that the world began 10,000
> years ago ;-), but
> surely the point of education is to try to get
> people to think for
> themselves? I see no problem with provocative, even
> biased,
> educational materials - so long as people are given
> the wherewithal to
> critically evaluate them. I think we need an analogy
> to NPOV -
> "completeness" sounds better, but just not catchy
> enough :-)
> 
> Cormac
> 

Yes I agree and your response just sparked in my mind
a very realistic example.  I always thought WV would
find an audience developing homeschooling materials. 
Now in the US many people who homeschool do this
because they do not like the lack of religion in
public schools.  How will WV handle the develpoment of
science teaching materials for homeschoolers which are
based in "creationism"?  

Birgitte SB

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