Hi all,
I just thought I'd let you know that I'm meeting (informally) with a couple
of people from KDE [1] at their upcoming conference [2] in Dublin - about
Wikiversity. (Well, actually, we're meeting this Friday, the day before the
conference officially begins, but that's the only day that suits.) From
what I gather, they're thinking of using Wikiversity as a training
centre/programme for their developers - which sounds like a very practical
application for Wikiversity (and applicable to MediaWiki development also),
so we'll see what comes out of it. I'm really just there as a person to
explain to them what Wikiversity is and what it could be used for, but,
since I'm not very technically minded, any ideas or things to bear in mind
would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Cormac / Cormaggio
[1] http://www.kde.org/
[2] http://conference2006.kde.org
Hello,
Here are some questions that have been asked on Beta FAQ. I have some ideas
but I would like other people to give their opinion (a kind of
brainstorming).
Thanks for your time!
g.
----------------------------------------------------------
What does Wikiversity Beta offer over Meta?
Why do we need a Wikiversity Beta instead of using the Wikimedia Incubator?
What about Wikiversity projects that are currently on Wikibooks, including
non-English versions of Wikiversity?
--
Guillaume Paumier
Disciplus Simplex
http://fr.wikipedia.org : Resistance is futile — You will be assimilated.
[ crossposting on foundation-l, wikiversity-l & translators-l ]
Hello,
Wikiversity Beta is now 10 days old and I think the time has come to give
some news. I have decided to organize it as a list of FAQ. Feel free to ask
questions I have not thought about. This page is available in English at
http://beta.wikiversity.org/wiki/Help:FAQ/En and will be available in French
soon.
* What is Wikiversity?
--- Wikiversity is a new Wikimedia project [1] exploring ways to use the
power of wiki to support online learning. This new project will be in beta
phase during the first six months [2].
* What is Wikiversity Beta?
--- Wikiversity Beta is a global platform aiming at coordinating Wikiversity
projects in several languages [3]. This multilingual coordination intends to
deal with Wikiversity's mission and general guidelines of the project's
scope (for example, about original research). Wikiversity Beta is also a
place where Wikiversity projects which don't have a subdomain yet can
develop.
--- In a nutshell, Wikiversity is both a meta-wiki and an incubator for
Wikiversity projects.
* How is it possible to have so many languages coexisting on Beta without it
becoming a mess?
--- Wikiversity Beta intends to take advantage of the input of its many
members (not only English-speakers). Multilingual discussions should not
only coexist, but live in symbiosis. A multilingual discussion system has
been proposed to manage them [4] so non-English speakers can take part in
discussions. Moreover, Beta is using the Language select feature [5]
developped on Meta, which allows users to hide foreign languages on
multilingual pages.
* What about separate Wikiversity projects which already have their own
subdomain?
--- Those separate projects [6] are growing their way. However, their
participants are strongly encouraged to take part into discussions about
general guidelines that will apply to all Wikiversity projects. Moreover,
they are encouraged to post reports [7] about their projects to let
everybody know about how it grows.
* What's next?
--- Now we need people to take part in the discussions on Wikiversity Beta.
People from existing separate projects and people willing to contribute to a
future separate project should join the discussions and work together.
People who do not speak English are encouraged to take part in discussions
but we also need volunteer translators to translate the talk summaries [4].
* Your multilingual system will never work. It requires too many
translators.
--- If people really sum up their discussions, not only this will help them
to focus on important things but it will not take much time to translate
them. Ten days after Beta opening, its main page is already available in
five languages.
--- By the way, it is just a proposal. Hey, if everybody speaks english,
very well, we won't have anything to translate. If the system does not work,
at least we can say we tried.
* For a coordination project, it would be much more practical if a single
language of discussion is chosen.
--- Of course it would be more practical; the question is: should we manage
Beta the way that is easier for us English speakers or should we manage it
the way everybody can take part in discussions about guidelines that will
apply to all projects?
* Wikiversity Beta Motto?
--- The shorter, the better. If you want your ideas to reach people speaking
other languages, write short and understandable summaries.
Please feel free to ask questions and to make constructive comments. I would
also like to thank Sebmol & JWSchmidt for their help.
g.
[1] Board resolution:
http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Resolution_Wikiversity
[2] Anthere's mail about Wikiversity:
http://mail.wikimedia.org/pipermail/foundation-l/2006-August/009074.html
[3] Wikiversity Beta URL: http://beta.wikiversity.org
[4] Multilingual discussion proposal:
http://beta.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Multilingualism
[5] Language selection system:
http://beta.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Language_select
[6] List of separate Wikiversity projects:
http://beta.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Separate_projects
[7] Reports from separate projects:
http://beta.wikiversity.org/wiki/Wikiversity:Reports
--
Guillaume Paumier
Disciplus Simplex
http://fr.wikipedia.org : Resistance is futile — You will be assimilated.
Hi all,
Does anyone have a feel for where we are regarding uploading and using
various files in lessons?
I have a query into WikiCommons but I could not find any definitive
procedure or policy regarding which file formats are accepted there and
which are not.
I did find a procedure citing a free tool to convert some video file
formats into ogg vorbis so perhaps that is a current answer. I have no
experience with accessing ogg vorbis from the middle of html or media
wiki renderer. Does anyone know if it works well with translated files?
Does anyone have strong feelings one way or another regarding what kind
of files we should be accepting? I know some at Wikipedia felt
strongly a while back that all materials served should be free formats
accessible by free tools.
I am wondering if some experience with what materials people have lying
around to donate has modified these early stances.
For example all of my (mine as in I was the producer and own all rights)
animation clips are currently in avi or FLC. If clear directions exist
on how to convert these files to a preferred format then I will do so.
If it is still vague territory suited best for linux gurus then I will
probably forego the pleasure.
regards,
mirwin
Dear all, I'm just passing on an email which you might find
interesting. It's from Ray Saintonge, who I think was the one who
coined the name "Wikiversity" (which he questions, below). The context
of the mail is that I asked him what he originally meant by a mailing
list post in 2005, in which he said:
> "I still prefer the term wikiversity. I don't feel the strong
> association with traditional universities, nor any of the other
> perceptions that you have of it. There was a time when university was
> another name for a corporation. What I find attractive about
> "wikiversity" of turning toward a totality in a more classical approach
> to learning."
Here's what he said:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ray Saintonge <saintonge(a)telus.net>
Date: Aug 21, 2006 11:12 PM
Subject: Re: Ray: a clarification
To: Cormac Lawler <cormaggio(a)gmail.com>
[my mail snipped]
Hello Cormac:
It seems that sometimes mailing lists are merely an excuse for a descent
into incoherence. :-)
In trying to paraphrase my intent I risk descending further from
incoherence to speculation..
To a large extent I would say that I was guided by the Latin origins of
the word, and the idea of turning to the one. The Latin and early
English writers saw university/univeritas as equivalent to "universe".
I can even take heart from the words in [[Medieval university]]:
"Initially mediaeval universities did not have a campus. Classes were
taught wherever space was available such as churches and homes, a
university was not a physical space but a collection of individuals
banded together as a universitas (the corporation)."
One can only imagine a conversation between Lawrence Lessig and John
Henry Newman, or wonder how Newman might have viewed a university if the
internet had been available in his time.
I cannot vouch that my use of the word "Wikiversity" was the first when
I first used it in a casual exchange of banter with Mav a few years. At
least I was not then aware that it had been used by anyone else. I've
always felt that a little grandiosity can enhance humour. My use of the
term then was more in jest than in augury.
Newman observed, "We cannot then be without virtual Universities; a
metropolis is such: the simple question is, whether the education sought
and given should be based on principle, formed upon rule, directed to
the highest ends, or left to the random succession of masters and
schools, one after another, with a melancholy waste of thought and an
extreme hazard of truth."
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/newman/newman-university.html
I have from the beginning hesitant about Wikiversity. When the notions
of accreditation and diplomas are raised, I immediately know that we are
not referring to the same thing. Other interested individuals would
have us assemble a "Summa Wikilogica" that would put us in the same pit
as education in the thirteenth century.
The preparation of elaborate courses will get us nowhere in the absence
of sudents. The prospective student needs to relate the prospectus for
these courses to his own circumstances. What other incentive could he
possibly have for participating? Wikipedia has succeeded because it
began with an original idea that inspired people; that kind of
inspiration is absent from Wikiversity. Perhaps Newman should be
obligatory reading for anyone who seeks to teach a Wikiversity course.
Newman also had words for Wikimania: "A fine time of year is chosen,
when days are long, skies are bright, the earth smiles, and all nature
rejoices; a city or town is taken by turns, of ancient name or modern
opulence, where buildings are spacious and hospitality hearty. The
novelty of place and circumstance, the excitement of strange, or the
refreshment of well - known faces, the majesty of rank or of genius, the
amiable charities of men pleased both with themselves and with each
other; the elevated spirits, the circulation of thought, the curiosity;
the morning sections, the outdoor exercise, the well - furnished, well -
earned board, the not ungraceful hilarity, the evening circle; the
brilliant lecture, the discussions or collisions or guesses of great men
one with another, the narratives of scientific processes, of hopes,
disappointments, conflicts, and successes, the splendid eulogistic
orations; these and the like constituents of the annual celebration, are
considered to do something real and substantial for the advance of
knowledge which can be done in no other way. Of course they can but be
occasional; they answer to the annual Act, or Commencement, or
Commemoration of a University, not to its ordinary condition; but they
are of a University nature; and I can well believe in their utility."
Ray
As some of you know, I am providing hosting and support for
wikieducator.org, an eLearning wiki hosted by the Commonwealth of
Learning (col.org). A particular project started there may be of
interest to you:
http://wikieducator.org/WikiEdProfessional_eLearning_Guidebook
The Commonwealth Education Media Center for Asia (CEMCA) and the
Commonwealth of Learning (COL) recently published the 2nd revised
edition of E-Learning. A guidebook of Principles, Procedures and
Practices. This guidebook has been developed by Som Naidu of the
University of Melbourne, Australia in close consultation with Sanjaya
Mishra of Indira Gandhi National Open Univeristy.
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) has released a digital wiki version
of this guide under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike
License.
Help is needed to convert the PDF into the wiki format, and to create
SCORM eLearning packages from it. Aside from that, the guide may be
good reading material for Wikiversity and Wikibooks users. The PDF
version is here:
http://www.cemca.org/e-learning_guidebook.pdf
--
Peace & Love,
Erik
I'm really confused about this proposal. Who is it that originally came
up with the idea of a "beta" Wikiversity and what is it supposed to do?
I can't really find any substantive details about the whole thing, and
it seems to be merely an afterthought of some other discussion. If this
is supposed to be an independent incubator for multi-lingual Wikiversity
projects, the whole idea really needs quite a bit more thought put into it.
Frankly, I think the whole idea stinks altogether. If there is a
pressing need to start up a trial Wikiversity in another language other
than de and en, it should be on the incubator wiki together with other
similar kinds of ideas. And there is absolutely not even
acknowledgement that Wikiversity has been going for some time in other
languages like Portuguese, Polish, and Italian. I really don't see too
many people really pushing to remove Wikiversity from the other language
projects either, but then again I'm not on the community discussion
pages for those other projects.
If given my druthers, I would not want to see
http://beta.wikiversity.org/ go live as a seperate Wikimedia project ever.
BTW, I'm not exactly sure what the next language that will be set up for
Wikiversity will be, and there is some support for several languages
right now. Surprisingly, there is now 5 votes for fr.wikiversity on
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Requests_for_new_languages#Requests_for_Wiki…
--
Robert Scott Horning
I've decided to "*BE BOLD*" and start a new course or learning
experience on Wikiversity. I know there are several attempts right now
to start at the top and work down to corses, and a few "bottom up"
ideas, but I'm really going to try and push forward the model that has
been explained and described, but not actually done so far in any large
degree.
One of the things that case up on the IRC discussion today (August 17th)
is that there was a need for a few critical "core" subjects that really
are prerequisites for just about anything else. While I'm not quite as
comfortable doing this as perhaps others might be, I have selected as
one of these core subjects to be College Algebra, which is often a
graduation requirement for just about every college student unless you
are lucky enough (I was) to have to take even more advanded math as a
requirement instead because of the technical nature of the program.
I'm seeking a little bit of in-depth throught on this subject in terms
of how to organize it for an on-line experience. I've considered trying
to come up with formal lesson plans that would be followed on a weekly
basis as a sort of "topic of the week" for participants in this learning
group. I would also hold "classes" via IRC to explain some of the
details and give a bit of a lecture of sorts, although this is also more
a way for us to try and study the topic together. A homework "study
area" would also be set up on Wikiversity that would go over some
homework problems (there is going to be homework for this class) and to
try and get into depth on that topic. There would also be required
reading from various sources including web content from other sites,
including non-Wikimedia websites.
Just as in real life, you will get out of this as much as you put into
it. As there isn't going to be a grade or "transcript" kept of your
participation (yet... this is a detail we should seriously talk about)
your ability to learn is going to be directly proportional to the effort
that you put into this subject. My thought was to try and go through
cycles of about 10-15 weeks where at the end of the 15 weeks we would
start all over again at the beginning. At that time you should move on
to another subject, and hopefully feel comfortable with what we are
discussing, although I hope that a few "students" will stick around for
the next round and act as instructors for the new group. The idea here
is that I would like this to become a self-sustaining community unto
itself after a fashion that would be able to continue the idea and make
modifications to the curriculum even if the originator of the course has
moved on. I think this would definitely be possible for some of these
core subjects if they could be properly organized and set up.
I also am planning on using the Algebra Wikibook, and I'm hoping that
the students who are going to be involved with also help partially write
that Wikibook as they find blatant errors and want to add more depth to
the material. In this way (as has been suggested in the past) Wikibooks
and Wikiversity can also achieve a type of synergy that can help each
other out and bring these core textbooks up to a standard that they
might actually be used for other educational environments besides
Wikiversity. BTW, I was thinking of putting that explictly into the
"homework" requirements of making some sort of modest change each week
on the Wikibook.
I know this sounds like a tough goal, but I would like to be able to get
this up to the point that those who are serious about participating with
this study group can start from scratch and then have the ability to
"test out" of any College Algebra course at a major university. This is
a high goal, but I don't think it is impossible even with a small group
of Wikiversity participants. The amount of material already available
is pretty substantial, and for those that are trying to push for some
sort of degree program, this would be a very important first step.
My goal is that by the week of September 3rd to be ready for my first
group of students. I know I'm going to make a few mistakes along the
way, and this first round isn't going to be quite up to my stated goals
and wishes, but we need to make a start and meet the expectations of
people coming to Wikiversity. Another goal is to use this as a sort of
"gold standard" to compare other learning groups, although I'm not
trying to suck the wind out of any other efforts. I am also openly
admitting that this is but one idea for how people can learn via
Wikiversity, but it is something concrete and something that people can
relate to that are familar with in terms of a more traditional learning
environment.
--
Robert Scott Horning