Wikipedia:Education Program/Structure proposals/Revised Structure - CB

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etlib Chanitra Bishop

What idea(s) do you have for what the new structure for the U.S. and Canada Wikipedia Education Programs could look like?

To create a sustainable program it is important to meet the needs of students, instructors and the Wikimedia Foundation. The current structure relies very heavily on volunteers, mainly students, to be Campus Ambassadors and work with students and faculty. This method did not always results in an on-going group of students interested in participating in the program. college students are very busy so it is difficult for them to continuosly commit to volunteering.To increase student interest in the program, the program needs to meet the needs of students. This can be accomplished by turning the Campus Ambassador experience into a internship or service learning program. An intership program would allow students to receive college credit and allow them to put the program on their resume. An intership would carry more weight than participating as a regular volunteer.

An internship program, such as a Wikipeadian in Residence, would also appeal to colleges and universities as they are frequently looking for opportunities for student to get real world experience in a particular area. Many universities also require students to do service learning. Depending on the class project, the internship could count as service learning. Campus Career Centers are typically willing to work with organizations to set up formal inter ships.

Regional Ambassadors can help coordinate the program on a local level but the Regional Ambassadors should be limited to one state or a small area to prevent burnout. For example, southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. This would make it more manageable for Regional Ambassadors to keep track of what is going on in a given area. Ideally the Regional Ambassador would have ties to a university in the area so they could serve as a Campus Ambassador, if necessary, and also assist in training new Campus Ambassadors. If an area has a higher concentration of people that want to be involved at the Regional Ambassador level, the area could have multiple Regional Ambassadors that mainly focus on one or two colleges. In those areas, the Regional Ambassadors would meet periodically to keep abreast of what is happening at each university. Regional Ambassadors in less concentrated areas would mainly state in contact through the listserv and by arranging meetups as appropriate.

A central organization that coordinates the program at a national level is also important to keep the program on track and answer strategic questions that Regional Ambassadors may not be able to answer. The organization is also important to legitimize the program and provide direction to make sure that each region is following a similar plan.

To minimize the amount of work for Regional Ambassadors, the professors should also have to go through a training program to teach them about the program the most appropriate uses of Wikipedia in the classroom. The training can be online. Its main purpose would be to ensure that professors have considered how Wikipedia fits in with the learning outcomes of their class and so that professor would have an understanding of how to use Wikipedia in a class.

Structure

  Central organization
      Innovations & Feedback Group (group composed of students, professors and Wikipedians and other organizations interested in the program) (the new central organization would routinely solicit feedback & ideas from this group)
      Online Ambassadors
      Regional Ambassador
           Professors participating in the program
           Career Center
           Campus Ambassador (Internship)

How would you ensure this new structure involves all key stakeholders, including academics and the Wikipedia community?

The Innovations & Feedback group would be routinely asked for ideas and asked to evaluate the program.

What are potential pitfalls of this approach?

It realizes on Regional and Online Ambassadors to continue to volunteer and spend a significant amount of time working with students and professors.

Any other comments about your proposal?

This proposal mainly looks at ways to make the program sustainable by seeking to make the program fit the current structure on college campuses for volunteering. It also tries to minimize the work of volunteers to make the work manageable so that volunteers will want to continue to participate. What is great about Wikipedia is that volunteers are able to participate in a way that is most convenient for them and spend time creating articles on their own schedule. For the US Education Program to be successful, volunteers have to commit to working many hours continuously. Trying to minimize how many hours each volunteer, particularly the Regional Ambassadors, have to work is crucial to the success of the program.