Volunteering Portal/Featured volunteer/4

Dan Garry is an experienced Wikipedian and trainer with Wikimedia UK. He has assisted with, and organised, events to teach others about contributing to Wikipedia.

I had known that Wikimedia UK existed for several years, but my first contact with the chapter was when I saw an announcement of the Train the Trainers.

I had started editing Wikipedia between classes when I was at college, and it all kind of spiralled from there. I'd been editing the English Wikipedia for eight years when I first got involved with Wikimedia UK. I'd been an admin for seven years, and a bureaucrat, checkuser and oversighter for around six. I previously served on the Arbitration Committee and Mediation Committee, and had just started a term on the Wikimedia Foundation's Ombudsman Commission.

I did have some experience with training; I had been a demonstrator on a course that taught basic mathematical and computational modelling techniques to new biology PhD students. Part of that demonstration involved giving a lecture on programming, and running a one week intensive programming course. At the Train the Trainers events, I learned quite importantly that there is a big difference between running a technical mathematical training course and delivering Wikimedia training courses. I also learned a lot about my own learning style. It's helped me to tailor my training to my audience, so that the training is much more effective. It's also helped me design training courses that have a good mix of audio, visual and tactile components so that the training is as effective as it can be.

I've recently run the Women in Science 2013 Editathon on Ada Lovelace Day in Oxford (blog post) with Martin Poulter and Doug Taylor. The editathon was aimed at an academic audience, from undergraduates to professors, to contribute articles about women in science. Our aim was to improve the English Wikipedia's coverage of women in science, but we were also open to answering any questions anyone had about Wikimedia. Numerous articles were created as a result of the event.

From volunteering with Wikimedia UK, I've met lots of great people, and it's great to know I'm making a difference to something which is used by billions of people worldwide. The idea that something that I write can be instantly accessible to the entire world is really inspiring. To others considering volunteering, I would say: don't be afraid. Get stuck in to volunteering, no matter what your experience with Wikimedia projects in. Wikimedia UK benefits greatly from anyone who volunteers, and people with no Wikimedia experience have as much to contribute to Wikimedia UK as those with years of experience.

Dan can be contacted on his user talk page.