Cross-posting to reach pan-India
Thanks
Nitika
From: Nitika Tandon [mailto:ntandon@wikimedia.org]
Sent: 05 September 2011 16:40
To: 'wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org'
Subject: Update, Examples & Request: Wikipedia India Education Program
Hi Folks,
I thought I’ll share an update with you’ll on the Wikipedia India Education Program. It's running majorly in 2 colleges in Pune (Symbiosis School of Economics and College of Engineering Pune). We already have over 1000 students enrolled from just these 2 colleges. Most of these students have gone through one or more out of a total of 35 introductory, basic editing and refresher sessions conducted by Campus Ambassadors.
It’s good to see big numbers but I thought I’ll also share with you some articles that the students have been working on. It’s really inspiring to see their progress! J
User: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Abhilasha369> Abhilasha369 started a new article: Robinson Crusoe Economy <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe_Economy>
User: basic.atari <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Basic.atari> is working on article Human capital <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_capital>
User: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/SaurabhKB> SaurabhKB is editing <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organizing_list> Self-organizing list
User: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Aishani_Sharma> Aishani Sharma on Social preferences <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_preferences>
User: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Contributions/Jinchurikidan> Jinchurikidan has been actively editing the article on Animation studio <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animation_studio>
These is still some way to go on these articles but I think they are fantastic starts! The 5 users and articles above are just illustrative. You can also track progress of the entire program here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:INDIAEDU
Please do reach out to the students (not just the one's listed above) and offer help and encouragement. Please do help them out on their articles as well. While they have been trained, they're going to need a lot of support because they are almost entirely newbies. Please do also leave kind words for the Campus Ambassadors. They've been doing amazing work!
Thanks
Nitika Tandon
Cross-posting to reach pan-India
Thanks
Nitika
From: Nitika Tandon [mailto:ntandon@wikimedia.org]
Sent: 06 September 2011 20:59
To: 'wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org'
Subject: Want to Help Newbie Editor Students of the India Education
Program?: Inviting Online Ambassadors!
Greetings,
As many of you are aware, the Wikipedia India Education Program works with
teachers and students to encourage Wikipedia in the classroom. The basic
idea is that teachers ask their students to edit Wikipedia articles instead
of submitting traditional reports, assignments, etc. Students and teachers
are trained and supported and motivated by Wikipedia Campus Ambassadors -
who are volunteers. We currently have 1,000 students in the pilot we are
running in Pune; the response has been amazing!
There are huge challenges also. Most of the students have already been
taught the basics of Wikipedia by their Campus Ambassadors. However, they
need more help. The workload on Campus Ambassadors is already massive (as
there are hardly 20 Campus Ambassadors for 1,000 students). It is going to
keep increasing as more and more of the students start editing as we are now
in the 2nd half of their semesters - and therefore closer to the last dates
for their articles. We are already increasing Campus Ambassadors numbers by
15 in the next few days - but that still won't be enough.
We're separately building a team of passionate and helpful folks - with good
mentoring and teaching skills - to be Wikipedia Online Ambassadors. Online
Ambassadors will help these students by providing online support and
hand-holding so that the students can make high-quality contributions.
Online Ambassadors can be based anywhere in India (or indeed the world)
since their interaction with students will be over the internet.
I am reaching out to you to see whether you would be interested in helping
students and teachers and becoming a Wikipedia Online Ambassador.
We have two different Online Ambassador roles: Level 1 and Level 2.
. Level 1 is open to everyone - including people who have never edited
Wikipedia before - and will support students on really basic Wikipedia
questions. (They will be given specific training on this.)
. Level 2 is open to experienced Wikipedians and will support students on
more advanced Wikipedia questions.
Both Level 1 and Level 2 roles will be provided orientation sessions.
Currently, all the students are working on English wikipedia.
Passion for helping others and the ability to help newbies are the most
essential qualities for both levels. For more information about these roles
and what is expected of them, please see this page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:India_Education_Program/Online_Ambass
adors/Description. The time commitment is 3-5 hours per week on average
throughout the semester (or academic term.)
I warmly invite and highly encourage you to apply to become a Wikipedia
Online Ambassador! To apply, please go to:
https://docs.google.com/a/wikimedia.org/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dEdtdG5
ObU9mMm5oZno3MExDc3lEZHc6MA - by Monday, September 12th (earlier is better),
and we will be in touch very soon about next steps. If you have any
questions, please do reach out to me either on this mailing list or offlist.
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the
sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
Thank you so very much! I look forward to your application.
Sincerely,
Nitika Tandon
cross-posting to reach pan-India; apologies if you have got it from other mailing lists.
hisham
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Hisham Mundol <hmundol(a)wikimedia.org>
> Subject: India Programs Team: Starting Selection Process for New Team Members
> Date: September 2, 2011 3:32:04 PM GMT+05:30
> To: "Discussion list on Indian language projects of Wikimedia." <wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
>
> Hi Folks
>
> I'm writing to update you that the selection process of 2 more team members of the India Programs team has commenced. (As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we've selected Shiju & Nitika for our efforts on Indic languages and Participation.) The 2 positions I'm referring to in this mail are the remaining members of the team:
>
> Communications. This person will manage all communications, public relations/media, social media & digital outreach.
> Team Support. This person will manage all the backend (but essential) operations of the team - such as office administration and basic accounting and personnel management.
>
> Details on the positions as well as the application process are available on the Wikimedia Foundation site :-
>
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/RFP/Consultant,_Communications_-_India_…
>
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/RFP/Consultant,_Team_Support_-_India_Pr…
>
> Similar to the process that we followed for the earlier selections, these have been posted on linkedin. (I'll be cross posting this mail on local wikimedia mailing lists, as well as the main FOSS India mailing list.)
>
> Can I request the following from as many of you as possible:
>
> We'd love to have existing Wikimedians on board. Please do apply if you're interested!
> Please share this mail with anyone you know who might be interested.
> Pls broadcast these links on your social networks, mailing lists, bulletin boards, etc.
>
> fyi, last date is 10 September.
>
> Please do not hesitate to contact me for any clarifications.
>
> Many thanks.
>
> Hisham Mundol
>
> Wikimedia India Programs
> skype : hisham.wikimedia
> gtalk : hmundol(a)wikimedia.org
> twitter : @mundol
>
> Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
>
cross-posting to reach pan-India; apologies if you have got it from other mailing lists.
hisham
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Hisham Mundol <hmundol(a)wikimedia.org>
> Subject: India Programs Team: Starting Selection Process for New Team Members
> Date: September 2, 2011 7:44:26 AM GMT+05:30
> To: "Discussion list on Indian language projects of Wikimedia." <wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
>
> Hi Folks
>
> I'm writing to update you that the selection process of 2 more team members of the India Programs team has commenced. (As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we've selected Shiju & Nitika for our efforts on Indic languages and Participation.) The 2 positions I'm referring to in this mail are the remaining members of the team:
>
> Communications. This person will manage all communications, public relations/media, social media & digital outreach.
> Team Support. This person will manage all the backend (but essential) operations of the team - such as office administration and basic accounting and personnel management.
>
> Details on the positions as well as the application process are available on the Wikimedia Foundation site :-
>
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/RFP/Consultant,_Communications_-_India_…
>
> http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/RFP/Consultant,_Team_Support_-_India_Pr…
>
> Similar to the process that we followed for the earlier selections, these have been posted on linkedin. (I'll be cross posting this mail on local wikimedia mailing lists, as well as the main FOSS India mailing list.
>
> Can I request the following from as many of you as possible:
>
> We'd love to have existing Wikimedians on board. Please do apply if you're interested!
> Please share this mail with anyone you know who might be interested.
> Pls broadcast these links on your social networks, mailing lists, bulletin boards, etc.
>
> Please do not hesitate to contact me for any clarifications.
>
> Many thanks.
>
> Hisham Mundol
>
> Wikimedia India Programs
> skype : hisham.wikimedia
> gtalk : hmundol(a)wikimedia.org
> twitter : @mundol
>
> Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
>
cross-posting to reach pan-India; apologies if you have got it from other mailing lists.
Begin forwarded message:
> From: Hisham Mundol <hmundol(a)wikimedia.org>
> Date: August 24, 2011 8:49:42 AM GMT+05:30
> To: Wikimedia India Community list <wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Subject: India Programs-Monthly IRC: Welcoming Nitika & Shiju - Thursday August 25th @ 9pm IST (#wikimedia-office)
>
> Hi Folks
>
> As I mentioned earlier, we're scheduling the Monthly IRC of India Programs tomorrow (Thursday August 25th) at 9pm IST. This will be on the #wikimedia-office channel. (For those who are not familiar with IRC, it is an Internet messaging system similar to a regular chat room. It's very simple to use and you can join in by clicking on the following link: http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=#wikimedia-office)
>
> The main agenda items are to give an update on India Programs - and also for Nitika and Shiju to introduce themselves, and for you to get to know them better. For those who missed the earlier mail exchanges on this, Nitika Tandon and Shiju Alex have joined the Wikimedia Foundation's team in India. (Nitika has already started and Shiju will be starting shortly.) I'm really excited about the additions to the team and I invite you to come join us tomorrow night to welcome them aboard!
>
> Hope to see many, many of you tomorrow.
>
> Best
>
> Hisham Mundol
>
> Wikimedia India Programs
> skype : hisham.wikimedia
> gtalk : hmundol(a)wikimedia.org
> twitter : @mundol
>
> Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
>
*DNA : Sahitya Parishad to add more Gujarati pages on Wikipedia*
*
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_sahitya-parishad-to-add-more-gujarati-…
*
*Gujarati Sahitya Parishad is planning to add more Gujarati pages on
Wikipedia. The 100-year-old institution will also correct facts related to
Gujarati literature on the site. This was discussed at a discussion
organised by the literary institution on the issue of Gujarati language,
Wikipedia and internet on Sunday. Veteran Gujarati littérateurs like Ratilal
Borisagar and Ramalal Soni discussed the authenticity of information posted
on Wikipedia. *
*Secretary of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, Rajendra Patel said, “If we want to
pass on a rich legacy of Gujarati language to next generation of Gujaratis,
we must use the technology and medium of expression available. Of course, we
should check the authenticity of the facts and information posted on the
net. Gujarati Parishad is posting Gujarati literature on Wikipedia and as an
institution, we would like to check the information available on the site.”*
*
*
*Dhaval Vyas, a UK-based member of Gujarati Wikipedia, who works in a
multinational bank, said, “It is the characteristic of Wikipedia that
anybody can add, edit or remove information. Of course, there will be people
who may distort the content.”*
*
*
*He further said, “The issue of authenticity of the content put on Wikipedia
can be taken care of if more and more people start uploading information and
verify the content.”*
*
*
*Vyas also argued that while there are millions of pages in English, there
are only 21,000 pages in Gujarati available on Gujarati Wikipedia. He also
talked about Wikipedia, Wikisource and Wikitionary and stressed for creating
more information pages on Wiki.*
Regards
Tinu Cherian
http://wiki.wikimedia.in/In_the_news#Aug_2011
Dear All,
The Call for Participation for WikiConference India 2011 is open now.
Details are available here: *
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WikiConference_India_2011/Call_for_Participa…
*
Few guidelines that you need to keep in mind before submitting the proposal
are available on this page. The guidelines are only meant as a pointer to
help speakers and is not expected to be exhaustive. You can submit talks
within all aspects of Wikimedia even if the topic is not specifically
included on that page. ''' Be Bold.'''
Few wikimedians had provided their wish list regarding WikiConference India
2011 here:
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:WikiConference_India_2011/Programs You
can use that also as reference while submitting the proposal.
*Important: *Please forward this mail to all the relevant mailing lists, in
case I missed any list.
Regards
Shiju Alex
For WikiConference India 2011, Program Commitee
cross-posting pan India (apologies if you got/get this through other mailing lists.)
Hi Folks,
I'm really pleased to send out this email welcoming the first 2 new members of the India Programs team. Just before I introduce them, I thought I'd share with you the background of their selection.
Context
As you might be aware, the Foundation had decided to undertake a catalyst operation in India to promote the growth of the community and projects here. The team is expected to be a small, nimble 5 person group. We had put out 2 job postings - for Indic Initiatives and for Participation. (Please refer: http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikimediaindia-l/2011-May/003007.html) We posted them on linkedin and on the Indian FOSS community list as well as announcing them on various Facebook pages and Twitter feeds.
The response was wonderful. >110 applications for Indic Initiatives and nearly 175 applications for Participation. These were short-listed to 10 (3 for Indic Language and 7 for Participation.) These were a mix of existing & previous Wikipedians, Wikipedia newbies and open source advocates.
In June, the shortlisted 10 were interviewed and further down-selected to 4. These 4 were then further interviewed by a group of other staff members from the Foundation. I am pleased to inform the community of the final selected 2.
Shiju Alex - Indic Initiatives
Most of you already know Shiju. For those who don't, Shiju is a long-time Wikipedian [User: shijualex] and is active on Malayalam Wikipedia, English wikiprojects and Wikimedia Commons, as well as Wikisource and offline. He has been passionately involved with the establishing and building of Indic language Wikipedias. He's participated in a series of outreach activities and is also (jointly) undertaking a grant from the Foundation for outreach across India. He's a regular member of the Bangalore community.
Shiju is from Palakkad, Kerala and is married with a 2 year old baby. He currently works as a Senior Technical Writer with ABB in Bangalore.
Even those of you who know him might not know the following 2 things that I was lucky to discover during the selection process. Shiju is an MSc in Physics with a specialisation in Astronomy and Astrophysics - and he retains a deep interest in anything astronomical. Feel free to quiz him vigorously on this! He also enjoys trekking and misses his time in Pune where he could be up & close the gorgeous Sahyadri Hills.
Shiju is going to lead our work on promoting Indic language projects across India. The challenges are enormous - from technical constraints to low levels of awareness of these projects to vibrant but nascent communities. However, these only point to the massive size of the opportunity for Indic language projects - which is the joint top-2 strategic priority of the movement in India. After he joins, he'll collaboratively put together a plan for Indic language projects and work towards quality execution of high-impact initiatives.
Shiju is currently serving out his notice period so will be able to join us only around September - October.
Nitika Tandon - Participation
Nitika [User:nitika.t] is relatively newer to the community - and has been brushing up her editing. She's been immersing herself in the Wikimedia world and attended community meet-ups as well as reviews of the Wikipedia India Education Program. She is from Delhi - and is currently based in Mumbai - where she works as a Strategic Partnerships Manager with Directi. (If you're not aware, they are one of the most prominent internet domain & solutions providers in India.)
Nitika has an MBA and has also worked on research analytics. A fascinating detail I discovered about a previous assignment of hers - and you must ask her about it - is how African drums can be used for management coaching! She also reliably informs me that there are 7 Spanish dance forms and she instructs in all of them!
Nitika is going to be working on Participation - which is primarily focussed on increasing the contributor base of non-Indic language projects, primarily Wikipedia. One of her first tasks will be to expand the Wikipedia India Education Program from the Pune pilot to a more national footprint. She'll also work on other initiatives to promote participation - and I can foresee Wikimedia Commons being a potential initiative.
Nitika will join us on August 1st.
Introductions
I'm going to be scheduling the August Monthly India Programs IRC on Thursday August 18th to introduce them both to you. Please do join us. I'll send a reminder closer to the date. Also, needless to say, they'll be attending a series of community meet-ups over the next months.
In the meantime, please do join me in welcoming them onboard. I'm really excited because this means that we will now have the capacity and capability to dramatically accelerate our activities in India.
Warmest Regards,
Hisham Mundol
Wikimedia India Programs
skype : hisham.wikimedia
gtalk : hmundol(a)wikimedia.org
twitter : @mundol
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
cross-posting pan India (apologies if you have got this through other mailing lists.)
Hi Folks
I wanted to share an update on the Wikipedia India Education Program. As of today, we have 15 teachers from 4 colleges participating. The most exciting part is that we have nearly 800 students (and counting) who are going to work on about 1200 articles in this semester. (Do note these numbers may fluctuate as the actual editing in classrooms starts - which is only to be expected.)
Please see the project page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:India_Education_Program - and do go through the sub-tabs for Ambassadors and courses.)
I think it will be a great idea if the Campus Ambassadors had a chance to introduce themselves to you and you had a chance to interact with them. Can we do it on the India Programs Monthly IRC this Thursday (July 28th) at ppm IST on #wikimedia-office. (I apologise that we are late on this month's IRC.)
You can also hear from them about their experiences. They've having 1-on-1 discussions with faculty members to identify potential articles to work on and conducting editing workshops for students in classrooms.
I look forward to as many of you attending as possible - and for a wonderful interaction with the Campus Ambassadors. They are great guys and have done amazing stuff so far. They're going to need your help and encouragement. Drop in and say hello, and a little more!
Warm Regards,
Hisham Mundol
Wikimedia India Programs
skype : hisham.wikimedia
gtalk : hmundol(a)wikimedia.org
twitter : @mundol
Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. Help us make it a reality!
FYI - We invite applications for scholarships for attending WikiConference India, 2011 in Mumbai from 18-20 November 2011. Kindly Refer to email below.
Kind Regards,
Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:36:07 +0530
From: vvcrishna(a)radiophony.com
To: wikimediaindia-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: [Wikimediaindia-l] WikiConference India 2011 - Scholarships
https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dGNxS…
Applications are invited for travel/boarding scholarships for WikiConference India 2011. There are a very limited number of such scholarships, and it is also possible to apply for partial assistance, in case you can handle part of the costs on your own - doing so will ensure that more Wikipedians will be able to get assistance. Provisions have been made for participants from special interest groups. Applications will be welcomed until Aug 15, and the decision process will be completed by the first week of September 2011. Please study the form carefully before submission.
We look forward to plenty of active participation at the conference, with the help of all Wikipedians.
--
Vickram
Fool On The Hill
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