Bristol Wiki Academy 1

When: Saturday 19 March 2011
Where: University of Bristol (room to be confirmed)

Participants

• Wikipedia:User:SteveVirgin
• Wikipedia:User:MartinPoulter
• Wikipedia:User:Woodsy (Steve Woods)
• Wikipedia:User:RodW (likely, but not confirmed)
• Wikipedia:User:Smartse (likely, I'm not sure I'll be in the UK yet.)
• Wikipedia:User:Sadads (Alex S)
• Wikipedia:User:William Avery
• Wikipedia:User:ProductBox (Michael Corbett)
• (Add yourself to this list)

Note for presenters

• We will get a room with a networked Windows PC and Powerpoint. Presenters should bring slides on a USB stick. We will make the slides available online afterwards. Use of slides isn't mandatory: talk through the relevant WP pages if that's more informative.

Aims

The focus of the day is on thinking strategically about mutual benefit, not so much the process of editing. However, we hope the event will drum up interest in subsequent events where people are trained to edit and contribute.

Attendees will:

1. understand the aims of Wikimedia UK and how they overlap with those of their own organisations;
2. understand the diversity of value created by the Wikimedia projects (not just the encyclopedia);
3. think of specific things their organisation or group can do
   1. Join an edit-party to be trained up?
   2. Enter a content partnership?
   3. Engage with a specific activity such as QR codes or Spoken Wikipedia?
   4. Apply for microgrants?
   5. Host a Wikipedian-in-residence?
4. have a sense of a community with a common goal
   1. find people interested in a wider event to train people in using WP
   2. create interest in an ongoing series of Bristol meetups

Note for guests

It's not compulsory, but consider bringing with you something you think should be "on" Wikipedia or its related projects. It might be a book with an some interesting information, a photograph, a document or a physical object that we can photograph. If suitable, we will try and get it onto the relevant Wikimedia project during the day.

Agenda

• 10.00 Welcome and aims of the day - Steve V? (10 mins)
• 10.10 Introducing Wikimedia (20 mins) - Martin

  The aims of the Wikimedia Foundation and Wikimedia UK: overview of the content projects

  Some statistics on progress so far

• 10.30 The Five Pillars of Wikipedia and what that means- Alex (20 mins)
  • WP philosophy including what we don't want and what we really want
• 10.50 Audience exercise: how do they interpret the vision? Is it plausible? What consequences do they expect as it is achieved? (20 mins) (Alex)
• 11.10 Improving Wikipedia - Rod? (20 mins)

  Quality on wiki: article assessment, reviews

  Look at a typical FA

  Wikiproject Bristol as an example of directed quality improvement

• 11.30 Wikipedia as a social web site - Martin (10 mins)

  Engaging with other users; not being discouraged if initial edits are disputed

  Work with the community, rather than against it

  Don't duplicate Five Pillars section

• 11.40 Sharing images - William (20 mins)

  Quick look at the Commons: what's available now?

  What is involved in uploading content? How easy is it? What are the legal pitfalls?

  Local images (e.g. Bristol listed buildings) as an example

• 12.00 Panel - All (30 mins)

  Audience share questions about the morning

  Try to elicit and address any misconceptions they might have!

• 12.30 Lunch and informal discussion (1 hour)
• 1.30 Maximising the educational benefit of Wikipedia - Alex (20 mins)

  The US experience: Campus Ambassadors/ Public Policy Initiative

  What training do the students get? Lessons learned?

  Examples of how both the content and the students benefited

• 1.50 A look under the hood - Simon? (20 mins)

  Creating a Watchlist and reverting vandalism as an example of a small contribution any individual can make

  Watchlists and page histories demystified. What's a "diff"?

• 2.10 MediaWiki: a free platform for collaboration - Steve W? (20 mins)

  What is MW? What's great about it? What do you need in order to use it?

  a local example

• 2.30 Content partnerships: Some examples of GLAM sector partnerships and what is involved (20 mins)
• 2.50 Wikipedia in public spaces - Roger (20 mins)

  QR codes as an example of how Wikipedia content can enhance someone's experience of a museum, zoo or other public space at almost no cost.

• 3.10 Discussion: next steps (in groups by interest) (30 mins?)

1. Education group (Alex and Martin)
2. Further into editing: hands-on
3. More groups, depending on audience needs

• Plenary discussion:

  What can we collectively do to make the content better (incl. content partnerships)?

  What can we collectively do to maximise the educational benefit?

  What can we collectively do to draw in other individuals and groups?

Handouts and materials

Suggestions welcome: distribute outreach materials?

Guests

Add here organisations/ groups that will be represented.