[Wikimediaindia-l] [Wikimedia-IN-PUN] [Press] : Times of India : " Editing Wiki is now part of CoEP's syllabi"

[Vickram Crishna]

On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 8:27 AM, Anirudh Bhati <anirudhsbh at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thank you for posting this, Tinu.
>
> Hisham, it is really heartening to know that we are making inroads into the
> higher education system of India beginning with these institutes.
>
> Can you tell us more about the agreement that the WMF has entered into with
> the colleges?  Thanks so much.
>

One small step for a student, one giant step for humankind!



> Yours sincerely,
>
> Anirudh Bhati
>
> +855 975 529 803
> Skype: anirudhsbh
>
>
> On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 9:46 AM, CherianTinu Abraham <
> tinucherian at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> *Times of India : " Editing Wiki is now part of CoEP's syllabi"*
>>
>> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Editing-Wiki-is-now-part-of-CoEPs-syllabi/articleshow/9643009.cms
>>
>>
>> *PUNE: Over 800 students from seven engineering disciplines of the
>> College of Engineering Pune (CoEP) will now engage in editing Wikipedia
>> pages, as a mandatory activity for first semester of their B.Tech
>> programme. *
>> *
>> *
>> *"Articles written by students for the web-based free content
>> encyclopaedia, will carry weightage in terms of internal evaluation at the
>> end of semester," said CoEP director Anil Sahasrabudhe on Wednesday. "The
>> exercise is aimed at developing research, writing and review skills,
>> critical thinking and collaborative work ethics among students," he said.
>> *
>> *
>> *
>> *Students from mechanical, electrical, electronics and telecom,
>> production, computer, infotech and mathematics disciplines will work on
>> select topics, under the guidance of trained faculties, for writing
>> articles. Most topics relate to their respective engineering branches. *
>> *
>> *
>> *"In all, 843 students from seven disciplines and 10 courses have been
>> identified for the content writing activity. Details of topics have been
>> posted on the Wikipedia site, which can be accessed by going to search for
>> `WP:INDIAEDU' or `Wiki India Education Program'," said Sahasrabudhe. *
>> *
>> *
>> *Wikipedia, which ranks among the world's biggest and most referred
>> encyclopaedias, have signed an agreement with the CoEP to facilitate
>> training of students as well as faculty in content editing and article
>> writing aspects. *
>> *
>> *
>> *Incidentally, the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs the online free
>> encyclopedia, has chosen Pune as the first place outside San Fransico, US,
>> for a pilot program in India that aims at promoting web-based free content
>> writing as a tool of learning in higher education. *
>> *
>> *
>> *"Apart from CoEP, we are working with the Symbiosis School of Economics;
>> Progressive Education Society's Modern College of Engineering; and Shrimati
>> Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) University," said Hisham Mundol,
>> Wikimedia's national programs consultant for India. *
>> *
>> *
>> *As of now, Wikipedia has over 400 million users worldwide including 8
>> million in India. The free encylopedia logs 12 billion page requests every
>> month. Yet, it presents a unique model of content development through
>> writing, editing and re-editing entirely by community members, who share a
>> strong passion for various subjects. *
>> *
>> *
>> *Mundol said, "The advent of internet has only ensured that accessing
>> information has become easier, but on the flip side, it has also given way
>> to intellectual laziness that was first recognised by professors and
>> teachers at leading US institutions in terms of paper writing by their
>> students. This also led to skepticism and hatred for the online
>> encyclopedia." *
>> *
>> *
>> *To dispel doubts, Wikimedia launched a pilot project called 'Public
>> Policy Initiative' to explore the potential of formally using Wikipedia as a
>> teaching and learning tool in higher education, he said. *
>> *
>> *
>> *"Professors at Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley
>> and Georgetown University, among other institutions, have implemented
>> Wikipedia into their class curricula, asking their students to create and
>> improve articles on the English-language Wikipedia. The success of this
>> programme prompted us to undertake similar projects elsewhere," he added.
>> *
>>
>>
>> Regards
>> Tinu Cherian
>> http://wiki.wikimedia.in/In_the_news#Aug_2011
>>
>>
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>>
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-- 
Vickram
Fool On The Hill <http://communicall.wordpress.com>
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